This is the first betta I’ve had. I’ve been taking care of him with my daughter. He looks bloated, like there is a large bulge below his fins. Last night we gave him a bath in epsom salts (2tsp unfragranced in one gallon of water taken from the tank), and we’ve been fasting him for two days. The pictures are from the separate salt bath, pic below from afterward in tank. I asked the owner of the betta store what to do; she seems to know what she’s doing. She said to do a salt bath first, and that if that doesn’t work to treat for hexomita. She gave us an antibiotic, a small amount of yellow powder, in a plastic deli container. She said we could fill it with tank water, put the betta in there, and then float him in it in the tank for 48 hours. I don’t want to stress him out, and I don’t know how long to wait before I try that. I could also get a larger (2-3 gal) quarantine aquarium with mini-heater and put the powder in there, but I don’t know whether that would dilute it too much.
For the past few days, he’d mostly been just laying in his house/hide on the bottom, pretty lethargic. Today, he’s out, hanging around the heater, which is what he often used to do. He still seems bloated, though. It’s possible that we overfed him after we got back from 2 days out of town at Thanksgiving, but I don’t recall giving him that much food.
I’d appreciate any tips on when to medicate and how to do it (e.g., in separate small tank or floating container in his current tank). I also don’t know how long to keep fasting him. We fasted him for two days; then yesterday I gave him a couple frozen brine shrimp.
Tank size: 7.5 gallons
Heater/filter: yes (note pics are from salt bath container)
Temp: 79F
Parameters: Used aquarium co-op test strips; ammonia: 0; Nitrite: 0; Nitrate: 0; Hardness seems to be over 301; same with buffer; pH is over 8.0 (not sure what to do about that); chlorine: 0.
Got tank in early August 2025, fish in September
Water change: 30% once per week, with dechlorinated tap water we’ve let sit out for a few days
Tankmates: None, besides some tiny snails who Came in on a plant.
Food: Fluval bug bites, twice per day, about as much as he can eat in one minute. Last night I tried 1-2 brine shrimp and could do that again.
Decorations: 1 plant (spirea?) attached to driftwood; leaf hammock; house/hide
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This is the first betta I’ve had. I’ve been taking care of him with my daughter. He looks bloated, like there is a large bulge below his fins. Last night we gave him a bath in epsom salts (2tsp unfragranced in one gallon of water taken from the tank), and we’ve been fasting him for two days. The pictures are from the separate salt bath, pic below from afterward in tank. I asked the owner of the betta store what to do; she seems to know what she’s doing. She said to do a salt bath first, and that if that doesn’t work to treat for hexomita. She gave us an antibiotic, a small amount of yellow powder, in a plastic deli container. She said we could fill it with tank water, put the betta in there, and then float him in it in the tank for 48 hours. I don’t want to stress him out, and I don’t know how long to wait before I try that. I could also get a larger (2-3 gal) quarantine aquarium with mini-heater and put the powder in there, but I don’t know whether that would dilute it too much.
For the past few days, he’d mostly been just laying in his house/hide on the bottom, pretty lethargic. Today, he’s out, hanging around the heater, which is what he often used to do. He still seems bloated, though. It’s possible that we overfed him after we got back from 2 days out of town at Thanksgiving, but I don’t recall giving him that much food.
I’d appreciate any tips on when to medicate and how to do it (e.g., in separate small tank or floating container in his current tank). I also don’t know how long to keep fasting him. We fasted him for two days; then yesterday I gave him a couple frozen brine shrimp.
Tank size: 7.5 gallons
Heater/filter: yes (note pics are from salt bath container)
Temp: 79F
Parameters: Used aquarium co-op test strips; ammonia: 0; Nitrite: 0; Nitrate: 0; Hardness seems to be over 301; same with buffer; pH is over 8.0 (not sure what to do about that); chlorine: 0.
Got tank in early August 2025, fish in September
Water change: 30% once per week, with dechlorinated tap water we’ve let sit out for a few days
Tankmates: None, besides some tiny snails who Came in on a plant.
Food: Fluval bug bites, twice per day, about as much as he can eat in one minute. Last night I tried 1-2 brine shrimp and could do that again.
Decorations: 1 plant (spirea?) attached to driftwood; leaf hammock; house/hide
https://preview.redd.it/0xme4myvat5g1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=753ba713c1221bbf155331bb968fd52dd61113aa
link to video of him in tank after epsom salt bath: [https://imgur.com/a/qoNMbVw](https://imgur.com/a/qoNMbVw)