betta problems

Question
Hi Richard,

I have had my betta, Smaug, for about two months. He lives in a three gallon tank with a filter. The water temperature is usually around 78 degrees F and the pH is at about 7.4 (high I know, but I can't seem to bring it down). At first he was really active and blew tons of bubbles but lately he's sluggish.

About two and a half weeks ago, I noticed a discoloration under his gills. He's is a bluish/purple but the area under his swim bladder, around his gills, was white. His swim bladder was also bloated. He wasn't as active, mostly floated at the top of the tank, hiding in the plants, or hiding behind the filter. But he still ate like a pig. It looked like swim bladder disease to me, expect for the discoloration. I talked to some people at a local pet store and they thought it was some fungus disease. So I treated him for both. I bought some anti-fungal remedy and treated him with that for about a week while feeding him only peas for about four days. His swim bladder returned to normal size but the discoloration didn't go away. It slowly has been turning from white to yellow. He seemed to go back to normal though, so I thought I had it taken care of. Since then, I've been feeding him less to keep the swim bladder disease from coming back. Two days ago though, I noticed he was becoming sluggish again and today his swim bladder is bloated again and the discoloration seems to have spread a little. I have no idea what's wrong with him and I'm really worried. Thank you for your help, I appreciate it.

Thanks again,
Bethany

Answer
Hi Bethany

The discoloration could be nothing, a simple change in colors which is common as Bettas get older, or it could be some type of bacterial infection. Treat him with Pimafix, 1/3 tsp a day for 7 days. Pimafix is a safe and natural remedy so if it isn't an infection, it won't do him any harm.

If he had Swim Bladder Disease, it's unlikely he would've recovered from it. I think he's had a couple of bad cases of constipation. Change his food to Tetramin Tropical Flakes which is what I've been feeding my Bettas since I started keeping them and they are all active, colorful and healthy, and a couple of them are 5 years old. DO NOT feed him pellets. Pellets expand in the Betta's stomach and cause extreme discomfort. Once a week, cook a frozen pea until it is tender. Remove the outer shell and feed it to your Betta. Feed him the pea in the morning and don't feed him anything else that day. This will keep him from becoming constipated.

Hope this helps, good luck!

Richard