betta fish constipated

Question
Hi Chris,
   Hi, my crown tail betta who eats a variety of foods, and lives in a 1 gallon
tank , air pump, light, and under gravel filter. He has a very large belly area
and i think he is constipated although, i don't now how to treat it. Please
help. He has a swim bladder disorder to but thats going away, slowly since he
last got it a day ago. He is 11 months old and he can not die. I also need a
cure that i could perform at home since i can not buy any medicine. He still
swims around to and is starting to swim straighter. He also does not poop so
i need to now how i can make him use the bathroom. he does not have
dropsy or anything. He is only constipated and has a swim bladder disorder.
The temp. is around 75-82 degrees and eats like a pig. Bu, all i want to now
is how to cure him from his swim bladder thin and his constipation issue.
Also if you can maybe you could tell me how to get my own mosquito larvae
at home. But please help.

Answer
Hi Bob;

Just "fast" him for 2 to 4 days and then feed him peeled green peas for after that. Fasting means no food at all for at least 2 days. It will help clear his digestion and then the peas can do their job as a laxative. You can use canned, thawed frozen, or fresh cooked peas. Break one into tiny chunks and feed on the end of a toothpick. Here is a web page about this treatment with more details;

http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/12/332/

Unless the weather is warm where you live right now you won't be able to find any mosquito larvae. I can't recommend getting live fish food from outdoors like that anyway. You never know what other things you could get with it. There are natural parasites, bacteria, fungi, and viruses that could infect your fish. You can buy frozen and dried mosquito larvae from the local fish store. It is commercially raised, processed and rinsed before it is packaged. I wish I had a safe, cheap alternative for you. I just don't know of one personally.

I hope your fish feels better soon...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins