Swollen beta

Question
Hi Chris.

I have two betas in a ~2 gallon tank since last October. They're a
female and a male, separated by a see-through screen-type
divider. The beta girl has always been very active and eating like
a little pig. But recently (I would say for the last week and half or
so) she got really swollen around her stomach and she almost
stopped swimming during these last few days... She just hangs
out at the bottom, leaning against the walls or the divider, like if
she's extremely tired... Her colour looks fine, though she's
starting to clamp her fins a bit... I don't see any obvious signs of
an infection like ich or something, and her scales look okay.
She was eating but yesterday and today she didn't swim to the
top to get the pellets. It seems to me that she's also breathing
heavily...
I was wondering if it's swimbladder disease, but I've "starved"
her for 1 to 2 days, and she looks exactly the same... Can it be
eggs? Is it some internal infection? She just looks like she's
going to explode at any moment.

I would really appreciate your opinion...

Ana


Answer
Hi Ana;

She may be constipated or may even have an internal infection. Here is a list of web pages that you might want to check out that have treatment options and symptoms. Some even have pictures;

http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm
http://groups.msn.com/TheBettaObsession/illnessamptreatmentpart2.msnw
http://groups.msn.com/TheBettaObsession/epsomsaltbath.msnw
http://groups.msn.com/TheBettaObsession/illnessandcurepart3.msnw
http://www.healthybetta.com/illcure.html

I hope she feels better soon......

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins