Is this a problem?

[jonnylaw37]

I don't think there is anything wrong, but I just wanted to ask what you guys thought. When I went to feed BettaBob last night, I noticed that he was just floating at the top of his bowl. When I came near, he was swimming around actively, but then when he stopped to rest, he quickly floated back to the top. His dorsal fin is even sticking out of the water like a shark . I've seen him struggle to swim down a couple of times but then he would just float back up. And then I noticed that he is blowing little bubbles all around his bowl. Not in just one place like a nest, but around the whole perimeter. It is just a little weird, but I'm not 100% sure whats going on. It seems to me like he keeps taking in air to blow bubbles, and thats what brings him back to the top. But he wont let the air out so he can swim around. Any thoughts?

[Twistersmom]

Sounds like he is making a bubble nest. Perfectly normal for a happy betta.

[dramaqueen]

If he can't swim downward and floats at the top, he may have swimbladder disorder. Sometimes they'll float on their sides. The best thing to do for this is to fast him for a couple days, then feed him some daphnia.

[jonnylaw37]

Thats what I thought, but he just seems to be doing it in a weird way :)
Thanks for the reply!

[dramaqueen]

You're welcome.

[jonnylaw37]

Originally Posted by dramaqueen

If he can't swim downward and floats at the top, he may have swimbladder disorder. Sometimes they'll float on their sides. The best thing to do for this is to fast him for a couple days, then feed him some daphnia.

what is the best place to get daphnia? (and, just curious, "how" does it help?)

[dramaqueen]

I was told that it helps to clean out their digestive tracts. You can get it either frozen or freeze dried. You should be able to get it at Petsmart, Petco or any other petstore. Unfortunately, my Petsmart didn't have the freeze dried but had the frozen when I was looking for it. Its awfully tiny. It looks kind of like sawdust. lol

[crowntail lover]

You can also try Sun Dried Baby Shrimp found at Walmart! This does the same thing as the daphina...:]

[BettaSquirt]

Hope he gets better! By the way, very cute name for your betta!

[jonnylaw37]

Thanks for all of your replies. He seems to be fine now actually, but I am going to fast him until tomorrow anyway. I went to my local pet store to try and buy some daphnia this morning, but the guy there told me that I was wrong and that it wouldn't help. They didn't have daphnia anyway so I decided not to argue with him, and just bought some BettaFix at his suggestion. I'm not going to use it right now, but I'll have it just in case. I probably won't be going back there either... he wasn't very nice. Thanks again!