feeding Tink

Question
hi,
I have a female betta who has had trouble with constipation off and on for a months. I can't seem to get her healthy. I havn't been feeding her right I guess, but I got some daphnia, shrimp, and hikari pellets to feed her.
My problem is, I can't feed her at all. I came home from vacation, and she was bloated again. (My mother had taken care of her, she followed my rules pretty well) It was so bad that she looked like a little pink balloon. So, I put her in a glass with her spring water, dropped in a few pieces of aquarium salt, and turned the heat in my room up to 80. She was better the next morning.
I waited for three whole days, and she was fine, and she didn't "go potty" at all, so I figured she had nothing left in her system.
So I took some baby shrimp on the fourth day and chopped it up into small pieces, and fed her two of those in the morning.
Sure enough, that evening, she was very bloated again. It took her a whole day to recover.My question is... WHY can't I feed my fish ANYTHING without her blowing up like a helium balloon? It didn't even look like the shrimp was broken down when she finally went.. but what else can I possibly do? I'm scared to feed her!
-Thanks,
Stacey Weneck (concerned mommy)

Answer
Hello Stacey-

Aw, poor little gal! I had a female like that...she would swell up, but never quite un-swell...Eventually she passed on. :(

Anyways, I'm thinking that the swelling is caused by freeze-dried foods. These foods tend to swell up when they come in contact with moisture. You can try rinsing the foods with tank water, letting them dry, and then feeding her. Or, you can switch to an all-pellet diet, if you've had better results with pellets.

You may also want to feed her a chopped up pea (no meaty foods) every second day. This will clean out her system, as it provides lots of fiber for her bloated little belly. I would try this first - if she bloats up after eating just a pea, she may have a more serious intestinal problem.

Either way, feel free to update me at abworman@purdue.edu
Hope she feels better soon!
-Amber Worman