Guh! Swimbladder/constipation

ZachZaf · 02-10-2012, 07:46 AM

Yup my daughters betta has it.. he is real bloaty and doing the cork hop...

from what i remember... stop feeding for a couple days, keep the tank warm, and feed a frozen (thawed) pea skinned and sliced after a couple days of fasting. i also recall to 'exercise' the fish with a mirror... but i havnt had to treat one in quite a long time... Teenagers... at any rate, are there any newer or better ways to get him back to good health?

KG4mxv · 02-10-2012, 10:31 AM

Sounds like you are on the right track.

So far I have never had to do this with my beta,
I feed a staple of flake food made from shrimp (every other day) and frozen blood worms( weekly) and occasional live brine shrimp. ( once a month or so.)

Well that is how I feed the entire community
consisting of
4 otto's
3 Green cory's
3 neon tetra's
4 fancy guppies
3 Dalmatian mollie's
3 cherry barb's
and last but not least 1 male beta.

I also drop in a small pice of blanched zucchini for the otto's once a week
And a few sinking shrimp pellets for the cory's twice a week.

AndehX · 02-10-2012, 11:40 AM

I am convinced that one of my female bettas has this swimbladder problem.

Her tail end seems to float, causing her head to dip down all the time. She occasionally darts around the tank frantically, and then sorta wobbles from side to side for second when she stops. Im not sure what I need to do to help her.

AndehX · 02-10-2012, 11:47 AM

heres a video to show you. Appologies for the quality, its recorded on my phone.

Betta swimbladder problem - YouTube

snail · 02-11-2012, 05:55 PM

It looks like you are feeding a lot to me. Treat as you said, some bettas recover, some don't and many recover somewhat but are always a bit sensitive.

Are you keeping male and female bettas together?

AndehX · 02-11-2012, 06:03 PM

1 male, and 4 females yes. The male is lovely with them. He doesn't bother the females at all, unless they swim right by him, then he'll flare his gills and fins. It looks like a lot, but I only give them half a cube of frozen bloodworms a week, so they're not overfed.

I should point out that the female in question had this issue before I bought her (or so I would asume) as she's been like this since I put her in the tank. (1 week ago)

majerah1 · 02-11-2012, 07:18 PM

On the contrary,that female is stressed.I can see her stripes.Males and females cannot coexist together,not permanently,someone will get pissed and fins will fly.

On topic,The frozen pea needs to be blanched,meaning you put it in a bowl of water in the micro for 30 seconds.Let it cool,deshell and feed a fourth of this.Frozen and live foods are best and using pellets instead of flakes will also help.

If you feed pellets,then oak them until they get soft then feed.Also please keep in mind,bettas stomaches are about the size of their eye.

AndehX · 02-12-2012, 02:43 AM

ah so the stripes really do appear through stress? I read that that was just a myth.... learn something new everyday lol

majerah1 · 02-12-2012, 10:58 AM

Yes horizontal stripes are stress,vertical are spawning.Also note that the vertical is a sign of submission.Many females will flash vertical stripes and swim head down near males and even more dominant females as a sign they dont want any trouble.

AndehX · 02-12-2012, 12:21 PM

well my female with the issues, I have noticed on a few occasions some vertical stripes, so im not sure if this means shes carrying eggs, or if shes just being submissive.... Either way I am going to have to sort out another little tank for her and try to help her get better.

snail · 02-12-2012, 01:38 PM

Maybe you'd be best to put the male in his own tank and keep the females together.

AndehX · 02-13-2012, 02:10 AM

if I encounter any problems with the male harrassing the females, I will do that. So far they have been fine and seem happy. I purposfully got 4 females so that the male wouldn't focus all his attention on one, and I wouldn't have to keep them in seperate tanks.

ZachZaf · 02-13-2012, 01:53 PM

Well now... SO he has been fasted for four days by this morning. and no luck on passing, he has eaten a little piece of pea, though admittedly my daughter was the one tat saw him, so it might be a little hope rather than reality...
He still looks bloated, and is still sticking around the top of the tank... what else would be the cause of boyance issues? He teeter totters side to side when floating about... and is usually stuck at the top, he cant seem to loser his tail... and when poked (gently!) he will only get down about half way then shoot back up...

majerah1 · 02-13-2012, 04:34 PM

Its not unheard of for this to be a permanent condition.He may be permanently bouyant.You can add floating plants to make him feel more secure.When feeding,soak his food first.

ZachZaf · 02-13-2012, 05:36 PM

Got home today, he is running laps, looks considerably less bloaty and is heading down pretty well, he does make it to he bottom now... he is still alot more buoyant than not.. but he is getting better... i will probably feed him in the am and see how he fares.

snail · 02-13-2012, 06:25 PM

Glad he has improved, let us know how it goes.

FW Fanatic · 02-24-2012, 02:54 AM

I'm afraid keeping a male and females together like that is most likely going to end in disaster. The fact that they haven't ripped eachother up yet is not indicative of a success, not by my definition. They are stressing eachother and I encourage you to seperate them.

AndehX · 02-24-2012, 03:23 AM

They're not stressing each other at all. The male never bothers the females, and the females swim around pretty happily.

KG4mxv · 02-24-2012, 06:26 AM

I am another owner of the exception to the rule beta,
I have a bule veil that lives quite happily in a 46 gal bow front community
tank with 13 shcoling fish.

he plays nice with all and no one nips his fins.

02-10-2012, 07:46 AM	#1 (permalink)
ZachZaf That guy.... ZachZaf's Photo Gallery Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 197 Name: Zach Location: Coralville, Iowa My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 29 Times Said "Thanks" 31 Times Was Thanked 29 Times in 28 Posts	Guh! Swimbladder/constipation Yup my daughters betta has it.. he is real bloaty and doing the cork hop... from what i remember... stop feeding for a couple days, keep the tank warm, and feed a frozen (thawed) pea skinned and sliced after a couple days of fasting. i also recall to 'exercise' the fish with a mirror... but i havnt had to treat one in quite a long time... Teenagers... at any rate, are there any newer or better ways to get him back to good health? __________________ When you pay that cash or swipe that card you are making a bond with that animal that you will treat it with love and respect, and its needs will be met, first and foremost (unless you have kids...) I don't care if you have to eat ramen noodles or nothing at all to feed your cat dog fish rat whatever. That's the bond you made! Life is precious!

02-10-2012, 10:31 AM	#2 (permalink)
KG4mxv Engineer KG4mxv's Photo Gallery Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 631 Name: Louis Charles Bruckner Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 59 Times Said "Thanks" 24 Times Was Thanked 265 Times in 260 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation Sounds like you are on the right track. So far I have never had to do this with my beta, I feed a staple of flake food made from shrimp (every other day) and frozen blood worms( weekly) and occasional live brine shrimp. ( once a month or so.) Well that is how I feed the entire community consisting of 4 otto's 3 Green cory's 3 neon tetra's 4 fancy guppies 3 Dalmatian mollie's 3 cherry barb's and last but not least 1 male beta. I also drop in a small pice of blanched zucchini for the otto's once a week And a few sinking shrimp pellets for the cory's twice a week.

02-10-2012, 11:40 AM	#3 (permalink)
AndehX AndehX's Photo Gallery Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 118 Name: Andy Ashcroft Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation I am convinced that one of my female bettas has this swimbladder problem. Her tail end seems to float, causing her head to dip down all the time. She occasionally darts around the tank frantically, and then sorta wobbles from side to side for second when she stops. Im not sure what I need to do to help her.

02-11-2012, 05:55 PM	#5 (permalink)
snail snail's Photo Gallery Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 2,647 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 2,935 Times Said "Thanks" 363 Times Was Thanked 636 Times in 593 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation It looks like you are feeding a lot to me. Treat as you said, some bettas recover, some don't and many recover somewhat but are always a bit sensitive. Are you keeping male and female bettas together?

02-11-2012, 06:03 PM	#6 (permalink)
AndehX AndehX's Photo Gallery Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 118 Name: Andy Ashcroft Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation 1 male, and 4 females yes. The male is lovely with them. He doesn't bother the females at all, unless they swim right by him, then he'll flare his gills and fins. It looks like a lot, but I only give them half a cube of frozen bloodworms a week, so they're not overfed. I should point out that the female in question had this issue before I bought her (or so I would asume) as she's been like this since I put her in the tank. (1 week ago)

Members currently in the chatroom: 7
	The most chatters online in one day was 16, 03-02-2012. CrazyMFFM, drunkenbeast, susankat, whitetiger61, clep.berry, zero, Summer

02-11-2012, 07:18 PM	#7 (permalink)
majerah1 Wild betta tamer majerah1's Photo Gallery Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 4,296 Name: Beverly D Fincannon Location: Easley,SC My location Feedback: 13 / 100% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 2,736 Times Said "Thanks" 547 Times Was Thanked 1,129 Times in 1,014 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation On the contrary,that female is stressed.I can see her stripes.Males and females cannot coexist together,not permanently,someone will get pissed and fins will fly. On topic,The frozen pea needs to be blanched,meaning you put it in a bowl of water in the micro for 30 seconds.Let it cool,deshell and feed a fourth of this.Frozen and live foods are best and using pellets instead of flakes will also help. If you feed pellets,then oak them until they get soft then feed.Also please keep in mind,bettas stomaches are about the size of their eye. __________________ http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/ "Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

02-12-2012, 02:43 AM	#8 (permalink)
AndehX AndehX's Photo Gallery Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 118 Name: Andy Ashcroft Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation ah so the stripes really do appear through stress? I read that that was just a myth.... learn something new everyday lol

02-12-2012, 10:58 AM	#9 (permalink)
majerah1 Wild betta tamer majerah1's Photo Gallery Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 4,296 Name: Beverly D Fincannon Location: Easley,SC My location Feedback: 13 / 100% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 2,736 Times Said "Thanks" 547 Times Was Thanked 1,129 Times in 1,014 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation Yes horizontal stripes are stress,vertical are spawning.Also note that the vertical is a sign of submission.Many females will flash vertical stripes and swim head down near males and even more dominant females as a sign they dont want any trouble. __________________ http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/ "Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

02-12-2012, 12:21 PM	#10 (permalink)
AndehX AndehX's Photo Gallery Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 118 Name: Andy Ashcroft Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation well my female with the issues, I have noticed on a few occasions some vertical stripes, so im not sure if this means shes carrying eggs, or if shes just being submissive.... Either way I am going to have to sort out another little tank for her and try to help her get better.

02-12-2012, 01:38 PM	#11 (permalink)
snail snail's Photo Gallery Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 2,647 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 2,935 Times Said "Thanks" 363 Times Was Thanked 636 Times in 593 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation Maybe you'd be best to put the male in his own tank and keep the females together.

02-13-2012, 02:10 AM	#12 (permalink)
AndehX AndehX's Photo Gallery Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 118 Name: Andy Ashcroft Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation if I encounter any problems with the male harrassing the females, I will do that. So far they have been fine and seem happy. I purposfully got 4 females so that the male wouldn't focus all his attention on one, and I wouldn't have to keep them in seperate tanks.

02-13-2012, 01:53 PM	#13 (permalink)
ZachZaf That guy.... ZachZaf's Photo Gallery Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 197 Name: Zach Location: Coralville, Iowa My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 29 Times Said "Thanks" 31 Times Was Thanked 29 Times in 28 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation Well now... SO he has been fasted for four days by this morning. and no luck on passing, he has eaten a little piece of pea, though admittedly my daughter was the one tat saw him, so it might be a little hope rather than reality... He still looks bloated, and is still sticking around the top of the tank... what else would be the cause of boyance issues? He teeter totters side to side when floating about... and is usually stuck at the top, he cant seem to loser his tail... and when poked (gently!) he will only get down about half way then shoot back up... __________________ When you pay that cash or swipe that card you are making a bond with that animal that you will treat it with love and respect, and its needs will be met, first and foremost (unless you have kids...) I don't care if you have to eat ramen noodles or nothing at all to feed your cat dog fish rat whatever. That's the bond you made! Life is precious!

02-13-2012, 04:34 PM	#14 (permalink)
majerah1 Wild betta tamer majerah1's Photo Gallery Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 4,296 Name: Beverly D Fincannon Location: Easley,SC My location Feedback: 13 / 100% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 2,736 Times Said "Thanks" 547 Times Was Thanked 1,129 Times in 1,014 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation Its not unheard of for this to be a permanent condition.He may be permanently bouyant.You can add floating plants to make him feel more secure.When feeding,soak his food first. __________________ http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/ "Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

02-13-2012, 05:36 PM	#15 (permalink)
ZachZaf That guy.... ZachZaf's Photo Gallery Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 197 Name: Zach Location: Coralville, Iowa My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 29 Times Said "Thanks" 31 Times Was Thanked 29 Times in 28 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation Got home today, he is running laps, looks considerably less bloaty and is heading down pretty well, he does make it to he bottom now... he is still alot more buoyant than not.. but he is getting better... i will probably feed him in the am and see how he fares. __________________ When you pay that cash or swipe that card you are making a bond with that animal that you will treat it with love and respect, and its needs will be met, first and foremost (unless you have kids...) I don't care if you have to eat ramen noodles or nothing at all to feed your cat dog fish rat whatever. That's the bond you made! Life is precious!

02-13-2012, 06:25 PM	#16 (permalink)
snail snail's Photo Gallery Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 2,647 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 2,935 Times Said "Thanks" 363 Times Was Thanked 636 Times in 593 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation Glad he has improved, let us know how it goes.

02-24-2012, 02:54 AM	#17 (permalink)
FW Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 24 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 2 Times Said "Thanks" 2 Times Was Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation I'm afraid keeping a male and females together like that is most likely going to end in disaster. The fact that they haven't ripped eachother up yet is not indicative of a success, not by my definition. They are stressing eachother and I encourage you to seperate them.

02-24-2012, 03:23 AM	#18 (permalink)
AndehX AndehX's Photo Gallery Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 118 Name: Andy Ashcroft Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation They're not stressing each other at all. The male never bothers the females, and the females swim around pretty happily.

02-24-2012, 06:26 AM	#19 (permalink)
KG4mxv Engineer KG4mxv's Photo Gallery Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 631 Name: Louis Charles Bruckner Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 59 Times Said "Thanks" 24 Times Was Thanked 265 Times in 260 Posts	Re: Guh! Swimbladder/constipation I am another owner of the exception to the rule beta, I have a bule veil that lives quite happily in a 46 gal bow front community tank with 13 shcoling fish. he plays nice with all and no one nips his fins.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)