something is wrong with my beta fishl,

Question
my beta fish has a huge stomach.  we just resently noticed this about 4 months now.  we thought it was because of too much food but we only feed it two to three times per day.  it still moves around and he seems to want food even more any time he sees myself or my husband he comes to the surface and sought of trying to signal us to for food.  he is in the regular small plastic fish tank.  and stays on top of the kitchen counter top.  could he/she be pregnant.  no tank mates, we bought him a year and a half ago.  we feed him the regular beta fish food and clean his tank when it gets cloudy.  

Answer
Hi Chrissy,

It is not possible for your fish to be 'pregnant' as bettas are not live bearers - livebearers are animals (including humans) that give birth to live young. Female bettas release eggs which are then fertilised by a male.

I think you must be feeding your betta a little (or a lot) too much. ;) Their stomaches are about the size of their eyes. Try halving the amount of food you are giving for a while and maybe permanently because overfeeding can lead to permanent internal damage.

Something I picked up on while reading your message was that you only clean your fishes tank when it gets cloudy.

While I am sure that you care about your fish a lot, leaving it in a tank until it gets cloudy is like leaving a child in a room until it is filled with trash. Your betta is literally swimming in his own waste, and if that builds up it must be awful, particularly for the fish because it cannot leave the tank.

Any size fish tank needs weekly cleaning to ensure your fish lives a happy, healthy life.

Hope this helps,

Prue.