female siamese fighter

Question
My siamese has got quite fat and has lost all its colour, is this normal in pregnancy or has it got a disease?

Answer
Hi Heather,
No this is not normal.  I think she is constipated.  Try feeding her a pea.  Cook a frozen pea until it is well cooked, and tender.  Remove the outer layer, and cut it into small pieces.  Try feeding this to your betta.  Hopefully she will eat it.  This is the beginning of swim bladder disease, often seen in bettas.  This is often caused by overfeeding and giving only bloodworms.  Blood worms should be fed as a treat once a week, and pellets, and Betta flakes should be the main diet.  They should be given one frozen pea a week to clean out their system.  The betta's eye is the size of it's tummy, so three small meals a day is better than one big meal.  They should also have one pea a week. Example:  2 pellets for one meal.  They should go one day without food.  The day I pick is the day I give them the pea to eat.
If this does not work, you will have to treat with a good antibiotic.  Kanamycin, Tetracycline, or Furan 2 are good medicines to cure Swim Bladder Disease.  If caught in time, this disease is curable.  Never over medicate, use the right dosage, and if you can, bring your temperature up to 80 degrees.  Do this very slowly, because a quick temperature rise is dangerous to fish.
Check your water for ammonia, make sure there is no ammonia in your water.  This is so important.  If you do have ammonia, make a good water change with a good conditioner to make sure your water is safe.
Hope this helped