Female Betta gets swim bladder often

[marybethw]

Hellooo I'm pretty new to this site but it looks quite helpful. Okay so I have one female crowntail betta named Xena. She is so cute and lively. She lives in a 1 gallon tank, I wish i could get her a 5 gallon but I live in a dorm :( so sorry about that.
She seems to get swim bladder quite often. Like once a week. She's a tiny tiny wisp of a thing. I feed her 2 pellets once every other day. That routine seems to keep her the healthiest. And she didn't have any swim bladder for a while. But then it started happening again. I mean i soak her pellets before i feed them to her to make them soft, but she still gets swim bladder. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
Oh and i tried feeding her cooked peas (small cut with the shell off and everything). And she wouldn't eat it. :/ Soo what's the next step for me to prevent swim bladder?
I've had other bettas as well so I'm not completely a noob. but Xena is my first female betta.

[lvandert]

Being a bit bloated after meals is normal. Swimm bladder disease isn't just something that comes and goes. When your fish has SBD they either float or sink and can't swim well. They also develop a curve to their spine. When you say she gets it and then it goes away, what exactly are you talking about?

Also you need to fix your feeding schedule. we generally recommend 2 pellets twice a day but if she's tiny you might do one pellet twice a day. It's the same thing as us, how would you like to be fed one big/normal meal every other day? Two smaller meals a day is a much better deal.

[Oldfishlady]

Welcome to the forum and sorry you are having problems....We need some more info and a pic.....

In the 1gal tank-how much and how often are the water changes, filter, live plants, additives used, water temp, any tank mates-How long have you had her. Can you describe the S/S-any buoyancy issues, clamp fins, hiding, stop eating, pooping...etc......Is it just an enlarged tummy....

I don't recommend soaking food since that can leach nutrients and water soluble vitamin-and while the food will swell in water they don't swell like that in the Betta gut due to the enzymes and gastric acid-Poor nutrition can cause compromised immune response.
Often if the Betta is having issues after eating-its the food-it might be high in grain/grain byproducts that can cause gas. A 24h fast, water changes and change in diet will usually fix that problem.

Nutrition-good quality varied diet fed in small frequent meals is best.

I also don't recommend use of aquarium salt long term. It is a great product to use for the right reason, dosage and duration.

IMO/E-Your 1gal is fine for long term keeping-provided that you maintain water quality....

[marybethw]

Uh let me start by telling you how she looks and why i think she has swim bladder. Okay so what you said about a curved spine, she definitely has one. I thought it was weird like when i first got her that she was all curvy.. But i didn't know anything about it. And also she gets very bloated in her stomach and she is like a balloon trying to sink in water. She just cant swim to the bottom and shes up flailing at the top. And i guess what I mean when i say it comes and goes it's because it gets really bad some days and i feel so bad. she's just like trying so hard to swim down and she cant. and some days shes like normal. and that's why im so confused is how erratic it is.
Okay and here is information about her care. she has no tank mates and no live plants. Only 2 silk plants and gravel. I changer her water once a week, usually i have a small cup for her that i prepare with water purifier and a little aquarium salt and i let it sit for about a day before i'm going to change her water. And then the next day I scoop her out put her into the cup of water that has been sitting for 24 hrs and then i clean the tank with aquarium safe API cleaner, never any soap for anything. Then I fill it back up, add half a tsp of aquarium salt, and some water purifier. Then i let her whole tank sit for about 3-4 hours while I'm at class and such. Then I put her in it. The temp in my room is about 77 degrees I would say. But the light in her tank gives off a lot of heat, and shes usually really lively. I would worry about her getting cold except it can get pretty hot in my room when I'm in it.
Thank you guys so much, you're already helping so much! I'll definitely change her feeding pattern, and not use aquarium salt all the time. And i'm willing to buy her any type of food she needs, i just need to know what kind. Oh and I've had her since august 15th. thanks again!

[Oldfishlady]

Can you post a pic..what tail type is she....

I would go ahead and start Epsom salt 2tsp/gal-Lower the water level in her 1gal and treat her in it. Dissolve the Epsom salt in a cup of hot dechlorinated water-then top it off with some of her tank water to cool it down once its dissolved-Then slowly add this water to her tank over about 30min.
If you have a tannin source add this to her tank-either IAL or dried Oak leaf

Cover the top with plastic veggie wrap to retain heat/humidity for the labyrinth organ.

Get a 1gal jug of dechlorinated water and add Epsom salt 2tsp/gal to have ready to use for the water changes of 50% daily for 10-14 days.

If she is still having buoyancy problems after 14 days of treatment-You can use Epsom salt 1tsp/gal long term.

Sometimes it is genetic related or related to how she was reared at the fish farm and it can be a life long issue-Generally they can still live a normal life albeit with buoyancy issues-The Epsom salt and tannin can help some with the symptoms.

[marybethw]

Okay so I have Epsom salt already, and i'll start that, but i've never heard of tannin.. What exactly is tannin? Like what does it do and where can i get some xD
once again thank you so much. I'll post again here after I've followed your directions to let you know how she is. <3 Xena gives you her thanks as well.

[Oldfishlady]

Tannin-from either IAL (Indian almond leaf) usually you have to get this online

I use-naturally dried and fallen from the tree Oak leaves-about 20 crushed/gallon of premixed treatment water

The tannins from both the IAL and OL have antibacterial/fungal properties, help ease stress, tan/darken the water, lower the pH a tiny bit over time, toughen scales/fins....

[marybethw]

wooops sorry i just noticed you asked for a picture D: And she's a crowntail.

Okay so i attached a picture. I hope i did it right..

[Pogthefish]

It could have to do with her getting eggy and that pushing on her swim bladder. I know there is no male around, but still... can they still get kinda eggy? Some of my girls get eggy wehn seeing other girls (I don't judge) and she could see her reflection?

[marybethw]

uhh what does that mean exactly? I mean yeah she can definitely see her reflection. but she's usually chillin in her plant most of the time xD that white plants that's in the background of the picture.