Betta illness

Question
QUESTION: In the last 2 days I noticed my Betta swimming kind of funny and his appetite was off. I fed him his normal meal yesterday (bloodworms) and he ate only a little. Tonight he is laying very still on his side and floating at the top. He seems to be struggling to stay 'upright'. He struggles to swim when I tap the glass otherwise I'd think he had died. He did poop yesterday but looks a little bloated, not bad though. I have had him over a year and he has been healthy. His fins look good and no ick or anything funny on him. What can I do and what is wrong?

ANSWER: Lori,


 I will bet the farm it is swim bladder disease. The main problem is his feeding. Blood worms are good to give him as a treat but not as an every day food. The treatment is as follows.

Feeding frozen pea:

  Remove the sick fish and put them in your hospital tank. Fast them for 2 days, on the 3rd day take a frozen pea and put it in hot water. This thaws it out and cooks it. Remove the shell from the pea and throw it away. DO NOT feed the shell to your fish, they cannot digest it. Cut the inside of the pea in small pieces and feed them to your fish. Fast them again for another 2 days. If they are still bloated, repeat the whole process.

If you follow these directions he should get better. Sometimes you have to do it twice. It is good to change up the food. All of mine get pellets, flakes, brine shrimp, bloodworms, both frozen and freeze dried. One day a week it is good to fast them. This help them digest what's still in there before adding more. Also, once a week feed your Betta a pea. Make sure you do it the same way you do when treating for swim bladder. If after the treatment(s) he doesn't get better, or he gets worse at any time, let me know.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your very quick reply! I went ahead and tried as you suggested with the pea as he only ate very little yesterday morning.I removed the covering and offered him small pieces. He showed an interest initially but seems unable to eat. He went after in in his small 'hospital' tank but kept turning sideways and struggling and finally gave up. I can't get him to go for it again. I am hoping after a rest he will try again. If he can't eat, any other suggestions? I reduced the water in his little tank to about a pint so he doesn't have to struggle to get down so far. I am concerned he is going to die...never thought I would become attached to a fish but he has been a neat little guy :)


Answer
Lori,

 Sorry if this will be a ramble but I try to get important information out if I am having the same problem with one of my fish. I currently have 10 adult fish and a few fry of different ages. Recently I have noticed the same problem with 2 of my fish. I have one, Grits, who I thought was going to die every day for over a month. I did the hospital tank and he just didn't look like he was getting better. I was trying to figure out how I could make sure he was getting the medicine all right a long with other things I had to give him. One day I decided that the hospital tank just wasn't working for me. I save all the containers that I bring my fish home in. I took one of those containers, and filled it half way with some of the water from his main tank. I then taped it to the side of the tank so that he was floating in the water. I then started treating him in there. I still had a few problems with him but I then realized he was doing better. He is now swimming around in his part of the main tank. I have since done this to 2 more fish. One is getting better but unfortunately the other died. I am telling you this so that you have another option on how to get him better. Because my male is in such a small container, his water is changes daily sometimes twice a day. I fed my Grits small pieces of pea and then I fasted him again.

When it comes to feeding the fish when they are sick you almost have to become a doctor and try different ways of doing things. Try this the next time you feed him the pea. The only thing you will need, besides the pea, is a pair of tweezers. I use them to feed the sick fish. You can make the pea small but big enough to grab it with the tweezers. I then take the food and put it right in front of the fish's mouth. He will start going for it and biting small pieces. When I think it is small enough I let him take the rest off the tweezers. This seems to work very well for my and I hope it works for you. Please, keep me up to speed on how your little guy is doing.

I have had many fish in my lifetime but I would have to say the Betta is by far the best pet. They all have different personalities. You can even teach them tricks. I have taught mine to jump through a hoop. Its awesome. Good luck.