Beta fish swimming oddly

Question
I have had my Beta fish for about three months and have kept him in a small starter Beta tank. I'm a college student and I recently took him home for Thanksgiving break and my dad took care of him while I was out of town. When I brought him back to school, he began acting very strangely. I changed the water to see if that would help, but it didn't. He is swimming very oddly and acts as if one of his fins is hurt, but he seems to be using all of them and doesn't appear to have any injuries. He either swims sideways or vertically rather than horizontally. He is eating but is seems like he's having trouble. When he's trying to swallow his pellets, he usually sinks to the bottom vertically, like he can't keep himself up. Most of the time, he just floats at the top without moving. Can you tell me what's wrong with him and what I can do to help? I hate to see him suffer and I don't want him to die. Could the car ride have hurt him?

Answer
Hi Rachel;

I doubt the car ride bothered him. It sounds more like constipation and it is affecting his swim bladder. If the water got too cool and/or he overate it can cause this trouble.

The swim bladder is an organ right below the spine that controls buoyancy. It is above the digestive organs so if there is a blockage or constipation it puts pressure on the swim bladder and it can't work properly. The swim bladder can also become infected or just simply fail.

Here are some links to articles on these troubles;

http://www.healthybetta.com/articles/Illness%20Diagonsis/sbd.html
http://www.healthybetta.com/articles/Illness%20Diagonsis/constipation.html

I hope he feels better soon.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins