Betta keeps getting bloated

Question
QUESTION: I have a 5 month old crowntail betta named Salizar. He lives in a 9x8" glass bowl with room temperature water. I use 1 betta buddy tablet to condition the water. For the past few months he's been having problems digesting because he keeps getting bloated. I used to feed him 2-3 pellets a day but started feeding 1 a day after he kept getting bloated. I've fed him peas and skipped a day or two feeding him; the peas do make him poop big poops, a little bigger than the size of a pea. That's the only time he poops though and I don't understand why he gets so bloated when I barely feed him much to begin with. He used to live in a heated tank and he never pooped much in there either. Am I feeding too little or too much?

ANSWER: Hi Patricia,
I am going to write down information on how a Betta should be kept.  Hopefully this information should help your betta.

Bettas need 5 gallons of water or more to be healthy, and happy.  Your three gallon tank will do for now.
In their habitat the betta may live in shallow waters, but they have lots of room to swim.  
Keeping Bettas in small bowls, containers, vases etc, is cruel.  The Betta is one of the most mistreated fish on the market.
They need a heated tank.  Temperature should be 78-80-82 degrees.  Their water should never fluctuate.  They are tropical fish, and are cold under this temperature.  Cold bettas get sick, are miserable, and live unhappy lives. ( Always remember  when heating a tank, do this very very slowly..1 (one) degree every two days, as bringing up the temperature too fast would kill your Betta.)  The temperature should always be stable.  Fluctuating temperature is very bad for bettas, and any other fish.  
They should have a silk plant in their tanks, so that they can rest on the leaves  They also need a little tunnel or some knick knack that they can go through.   One teaspoon to five gallons of diluted aquarium salt may be added to his water, when a Betta is well.  
Aquarium salt helps them with stress, and helps with parasites.  However if a Betta is showing signs of a swollen tummy, salt should not be used.
They need a varied diet. This is very important.  Betta pellets one day, Betta Flakes the next, Daphnia the next, and bloodworms should be given once a week as a treat.
He should be given one well cooked frozen cooked pea a week, and on the day you give him the pea, he should fast.    
A betta is prone to constipation, and constipation leads to Swim Bladder Disease.  A frozen cooked pea a week keeps them from getting constipated.  Always remove the outer layer of the pea, and cut it into small pieces feeding it to your betta one piece at a time.
They should have 2-3 small meals a day, and not one big meal.  We must remember that their tummy is the size of their eye.
Example:  2 pellets for one meal.
Water changes are very important.  Water changes must be made every week without fail with a good water conditioner such as Aqua Safe or Stress Coat.  There is also a conditioner made especially for bettas.  Depending on the size of your tank, all of the water should be changed.
Never put two bettas in the same tank, they will kill each other...male or female.  The Betta male is a loner.  Females can be kept together in a big enough tank, but they are also aggressive towards each other, and the tank should be at least 30 gallons with many hiding places.
When treated well, a betta can live up to 8 years, if you buy him when he is very young.  (Unfortunately we do not know their age when we buy them at the Pet Store which is why some bettas die three or four years after we have bought them.)
He's an intelligent little fish, and should be treated with kindness.
Too many vendors know nothing about the betta, and don't care...so don't give good information on how to keep them.
They are there to sell, and will say anything just to make a buck.  They send you home with your bought betta, telling you a small bowl is perfect, and bloodworms!  The poor customer thinks he has everything he/she needs, and then the fish gets sick, money is spent to cure him, and eventually the fish dies.   
This turns my stomach over.  Unfortunately there are no laws to protect fish.  
Bettas kept in small bowls, one gallon tanks, and vases, will get sick, and are very hard to cure in such little water.  They end up dying, and
that hurts the person who has grown so attached to them.  They don't deserve to be treated this way.
This is how a Betta should be treated.  If treated this way, you will have your friends for a long long time.  I have bred them, love them, and know what is good for them.

If you have anymore questions, do not hesitate to write me.
I hope that this information will help you.
Lynda


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

QUESTION: Is there any particular reason for a betta to keep getting bloated with small amounts of food in either heated or unheated water? For now I'll try varying his food more and keep giving him peas.

Answer
Hi!
As I have mentioned above, he should be in heated water, at least 78 degree water.  Bettas kept in cool waters get sick, and this could be the reason.  He could also have something wrong with him internally.  Try feeding him antibiotic food that you will find at your pet store.  It could also be stress.  If he was in a heated and bigger tank, this also could be the reason.  We cannot change the habitat of a Betta no matter what we do.  He is a tropical fish, needs heated water, and at least a 5 gallon tank.  He also needs a silk plant to rest on, and some knick knack that he can go through.  They are not expensive, and you can find them at the Pet Store.  Also make sure he has no ammonia in his water, and change his water in his bowl twice a week, always using a good conditioner.  
Hope this helps
Lynda