beta fish on side

Question
My male beta fish is laying on his side at the bottom of the bowl...he doesn't move that much...his stomach is fat and i was told to feed him a pea and put epsom salt in the bowl...he may be constipated...what can i do for him???

Answer
Hi Heather,

If your betta didn't eat the pea and the Epsom salt is not helping ease the bloating, water quality is probably the issue - the water in the bowl probably has ammonia and/or nitrite. You can change the water with new water (50-75%) and add dechlorinator, *however*...

I am of the opinion that bettas cannot live in bowls. There isn't any stability in a bowl. One bit of uneaten food, a chill from a draft or a heat wave, and your betta can get sick because there is no margin of error. Think about it - he is in as much water as a large vase, and it isn't circulating! That's just no kind of life for a pet. While a betta may be much more suited to life in a bowl than a big, messy goldfish - it's still not adequate, and you can't expect them to live long this way. Six months for "bowl bettas" is a long life.

A 5 gallon tank with a filter and light is $30-40 at Walmart, and it fits in just about the same amount of space as a bowl, practically. Get your betta a tank this size (a 3 gallon tank being the absolute minimum) and he may turn around, if he is not too far gone.

Get some water testing supplies. Kits come as strips or drops, drops are more accurate but more expensive - I use the strips and find them acceptable. 0 ppm of ammonia and nitrite are necessary for a fish to be healthy. Besides circulating the water and keeping it fresher longer, the filter in the tank holds bacteria that convert ammonia and nitrite into less toxic nitrate, which can be as high as 20 ppm safely. Weekly water changes of 50% (new water should be treated with dechlorinator) will dilute wastes and keep the tank stable.

Do not overfeed, 6 pellets a day is a good rule of thumb - although I like to feed bettas pellets and flakes as well as frozen bloodworms. They only need a tiny amount of food, and any extra just makes them bloated and constipated. Epsom salt is not really effective in a bowl, because being in stagnant water is just not a healthy environment. When bettas are healthy, they love 1/4 of a skinned, cooked pea, and it is good for them to have this green food occasionally, along with things like Spirulina flake or other algae based prepared food.

For more on betta care, check out this website if you haven't yet:
http://www.bettatalk.com

I hope that helps, take care!
Nicole