betta fish acting weird

Question
I recently go a female betta fish. She has been fine for the first couple of weeks but now she is just floating on the top of her fish bowl. She has this long white string of poop always coming out of her. he hasn't been eating either. When i put my finger in to touch her she moves around but just goes back up to to top and just sits their. Is there anything wrong with her. Is this normal for a betta fish, this is my first one.

Answer
Hi Alice,
Your Betta is constipated.  Constipation is serious, and leads to Swim Bladder Disease.  If left untreated it will lead to Dropsy which is very hard to cure, almost impossible.  The cause to Swim Bladder is poor diet, and overfeeding.
Since she is not eating, you must treat her with an antibiotic.  "Kanamycin" is very good for Swim Bladder, but sometimes hard to find.  If you cannot find it, treat her with "Tetracycline" or "Furan 2."  You must act quickly so that this disease does not progress.  Follow the directions on the package, be careful not to overdose.
If she pulls though, feed her one cooked frozen pea with the outer layer removed, and cut into tiny pieces.  Feed the pieces one at a time to her, making sure that the pieces do not fall to the bottom of the tank.  She should have one pea a week, and on the day she has the pea, she should have nothing else to eat.  This is so she can clean out her system.  This is very important.  She must waste.
Vary her food as much as possible.  Betta Pellets one day, Betta Flakes the next, Daphnia the next, Bloodworms the next, Plankton flakes, Glassworms, and Mealworms.  Feed her 2 or 3 times a day.  Example:  2 pellets or 2 flakes for one meal.  We must always remember that her tummy is the size of her eye.
If you haven't already done so, add a little silk plant to her bowl, so she has something to rest on.
Bettas should also be kept in heated 5 gallon tanks.  In their habitat the betta may live in shallow waters, but has lots of room to swim.  You might consider upgrading her, to a bigger tank.  Bettas kept in bowls do not do well, they end up getting sick, and their lives are cut short.  When heating a tank for a Betta, you must do this very slowly, I repeat...very very slowly, as bringing up the temperature too fast would be deadly.  Raise the temperature one degree at a time, until you reach 80 or 82 degrees.  Bettas are tropical fish, and need heated water for them to thrive, and be happy.
I hope she pulls through, and if you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to write me.
Lynda