Chips

Question
Chips is my betta fish. Since i got him he has been lying on the bottom of the tank, and not realy swimming around like the other bettas i have had. He will swim durring feeding time, but now he looks like he's just chewing up his food and spitting it out. after he does that he just lies on his side on the bottom of the tank. His stomach also appears to be verry large now. im not sure what is wrong with him

Thanks

Meg

Answer
Dear Meg,
Does Chips have difficulty swimming to the top? Does he seem to be able to control his movements alright? If he couldn't then I would highly suspect swim bladder problems. The swim bladder is a special organ running kind of along a fishes spine and it is responsible for controlling a fishes equilibrium and what level in the aquarium that he wishes to be.
If something interferes with that. The poor creature will lose all his balance and cannot control his movements well at all. The most common thing that causes swim bladder disorder is improper diet or too much of a good thing.
Some dry foods can absorb water once the betta swallows it and this causes it the expand many times it's original size. Sometimes this can cause an impactation that interferes with the swim bladder. A betta with swim bladder disorder will sink uncontrolably to the bottom--unable to rise up to the surface, or float miserably at the top of the tank. The best treatment is to stop feeding the betta his normal food for about 2-3 days and then try feeding a thawed, deshelled green pea. This usually helps the clear any blockages in the betta and with time he should be well again.

Now if you don't suspect Chips has swim bladder problems...A few other things can cause a fishes stomach to be larger than normal. It could be in internal bacterial infection--which unfortunately it very hard to treat. It could be dropsy which is actually a symptom of various causes. Or he could be constipated.

Is Chips laying flat on his side or just resting in normal fish position? Are his fins clamped? These are important things to know in diagnosing what could be wrong with your pet fish but even then it is hard without actually seeing the fish myself.
Did you just get Chips very recently? He may not have adjusted to his new bowl/aquarium yet and may take some time. Is he just downright refusing his food? Has he eaten it well before?
Suddenly not eating could certainly indicate an illness.

If you could get back to me with answers to those questions it would really help! When diagnosing a fish illness or problem, it is best to have as much info as possible.

Thank you! ~For now, I would give your betta a good water change. If he is accostumed to frequent water changes than I would give him either a 50% water change if Chips live in an aquarium or a 100% water change if in a bowl. Remember when making replacement water that it is always the same temperature as his bowl/aquarium is and that you dechlorinate it everytime with a good water conditioner like Amquelplus. Another thing to check is Chips water temperature. Bettas don't do well in room temperature water that is below 75F or lower. They thrive best at 78-80F.

I really hope this helps...Get back to me as soon as you can!

Best wishes,
Karen~