Betta splendens
The betta is a popular fish, mainly because it can be contained in small quarters. I wrote an essay on betta housing in April, you can see it here.
Bloat & Constipation
Unfortunately, since bettas have been in captivity forever, and have lost a lot of their ability to regulate their own hunger (according to some online sources) they are very susceptible to constipation. Constipation leads to bloating, and this can lead to an early death.
A normal Betta splendens looks like this:
Crowntail Betta splendens
A badly bloated Betta splendens looks like this.
Note just how distended the abdomen of this fish is. The good thing you see is feces trailing from the vent. This is what you want, because it means the fish is trying to pass whatever has been blocked.
This problem can occur even with experienced fishkeepers, and what works for one fish may not work for another. But what causes it?
Causes
A lot of this issue has to do with how we feed them. Most people go with the pellets. I don’t, they are very dry and expand in the gut. I feed flake and frozen, and vary the diet. However, even flake gets eaten before it has absorbed a lot of water. this is part of the problem.
Another aspect to the problem is bettas, like many fish, don’t regulate their eating very well. People almost certainly overfeed. Even my limitation of one veggie flake in the morning, one frozen morsel, and one meaty flake in the evening was too much.
And it’s hard not to overfeed, because this is usually the most interactive we get with a fish.
Address the Problem
So, what to do about bloat? There are a few steps you can take, but nothing is certain. That said, the earlier you catch it, the easier it will be to recover the fish. Once the fish develops dropsy symptoms, the chances of recovering the fish are next to nil.
Feed blanced, deshelled peas. Bettas actually love this stuff, and it wouldn’t hurt to give a pea or two once or twice a week. It acts like a laxative.
Live brine shrimp acts like roughage. The betta digestion likes the hard shells.
The bigger hammer is to add 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt per five gallons of water to the tank water. If you use a HOB filter, add it there, otherwise dissolve it before adding it to the water.
The Epsom salts relax the muscles and again, acts like a laxative. If it’s effective, you’ll be rewarded with some long strings of poo. Get those out of the water once they break off. This is an attempt at recovery.
No Miracles
Don’t expect miracles, it doesn’t cure them overnight. Bloat usually takes a long time to get really bad, so it also takes time to recover. And, sometimes, the fish don’t recover. In this case, the best you can do is try to keep them comfortable in proper housing and clean water.