Overweight betta?

Question
Hi Mr. Johnson.

I currently have a single male betta in a 2.5 USGAL tank. There's a heater set to 78* F, and I use a Whisper HOB filter designed for a 10 gal tank. (Yeah, I know, it's a bit powerful, but that's the smallest I can find. He seems to enjoy 'exercising' by swimming in the current coming straight off it...)

I feed him Hikari Betta Bites, usually about three times a day, sometimes twice if I'm busy. I put 3-4 pellets in, wait until he eats them, put some more in, and continue until he stops eating.

He's gotten quite a gut on him lately. I've never seen an overweight fish, but this guy is getting what looks almost exactly like a beer belly just before his fins. (Camera is having issues ATM, or I would share a picture.) Could he actually be overweight? How much should I be feeding him?

I clean his tank once a week, since it's so small and the filter is going too. I dump everything, rinse the glass marbles that's the 'gravel' really well, rinse the tank and the plants, and put it all back together. I fill with drinking water (We live in town, and the pH of the tap water is off the charts, literally, and molds quickly. Anyone who drinks it gets sick, so I figured drinking water is best for him), and add a little Stress-Coat to help his slime coat from being netted.

I've tried putting ghost shrimp in to help clean the tank of the pellets that sometimes fall, but he always eats them. :/ Is there another 'tank cleaner' I could put in there with him?

Thank you very much in advance for your time,
Amanda

Answer
Amanda,

We have a few problems so I will start at the top and work my way down. The tank size that you have is the minimum size tank he can be in where 5 gallons is best. Since it is so small, the filter can be removed. He swims in the current because he has to in that small of a home. He is definitely being over fed and he might be suffering from swim bladder disease. Because you have a filter in the tank, you never do a 100% water change. When the tanks have filters, they go through cycle stages. The cycle can take 2-4 weeks to go through. Every time the tank is cleaned completely, and new water coming in, the filter will cycle again. When this happens a bad bacteria bloom will happen and then a good bacteria bloom. It is the last one that the fish needs to have in the tank all the time. It is the first bacteria bloom that is bad for the fish and when people lose all their fish. I think it is in the best interest of your fish to remove the filter. Especially since it is way too big for the tank he is in now. Now, for the feeding. He is being way over fed. A Betta's stomach is the size of his eye. Normally you feed 2 to 3 pellets a day.

Lets deal with the possible swim bladder disease and how to help him. You will fast him for 2 days. Feed him nothing for 48 hours. On the third day feed him a cooked shelled pea cut in bite size pieces. DO NOT feed him the shell of the pea because he cannot digest it. Then fast him again for days 4 and 5(2 days after the pea). What i do with my Betta's is one day a week I fast them. The next day I feed them the pea. This helps prevent swim bladder disease.

Because the tank is so small, there really isn't any other kind of fish you can put in with him for tank cleaning. Another reason a bigger tank is better is the cleaning. In a 5 gallon tank you can use a gravel vacuum to help get rid of the gunk on the gravel. This way, you do not need to remove the fish during cleanings. I hope this has helped and if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.