constipation?

[nhassold]

Hi, We have a Betta - probably less than one year. He used to be quite personable, but since just before Christmas he's gone off his feed. (We haven't noticed him eating anything.) His water is regularly changed - nothing in his routine has changed. He also tends to float on his side occasionally. On the bettysplendens site, I found some symptoms that indicated constipation. How do I treat this? The site recommended giving the fish the inside of a cooked pea - but if he's not eating, how do I do that?

[1fish2fish]

your fish hasn't eaten since christmas?

How big is your tank?
How often do you do water changes?
Do you have a heater?

Do you have pictures of the fish?

[nhassold]

No pictures yet. His tank is a small Betta tank, but he was in a medium fish bowl when this started. No heater. Water is changed at least weekly, if not more often.

[1fish2fish]

What do you mean by 'small betta tank'? Approx. in gallons. If he is in anything less than 1 gallon he needs a water change every other day. He really needs a heater as that could be the sole reason why he won't eat. That is the first thing you need to do.

After he is in a heated tank try feeding him blanched, de-shelled peas. You may also want to look up swim bladder disorder if he is floating on his side. Try getting some frozen bloodworms and see if they entice his appetite.

[nhassold]

Well, his tank is certainly less than 1 gallon (112 in2). I've tried feeding him peas a couple times and he doesn't show any interest, even if I wiggle it around with a toothpick. When I bought the tank at the fish store they said he didn't need a heater and he just needed to be at the same general temperature. Were they wrong?
The frozen bloodworms were a no-go as well. He's sulking.

[1fish2fish]

He definitely needs a heater.. and a bigger tank. He needs a MINIMUM of a 2 gallon bowl and eventually he needs a tank 2.5 gallons or larger. If you pick up a 10 watt heater or a hydor mini 7.5 watt heater and put him in a plastic bin (that is 2-3 gallons) it will make a great tank for him and he can start to heal.

Bettas are tropical fish and need to be in temps of 76-82*F and tanks of at least 2.5 gallons.

While he is in the small container your going to need to do water changes every other day because the ammonia builds up really fast. If your not doing this already he could be suffering from ammonia poisoning.

[dramaqueen]

I would also try feeding him some daphnia. It's a more natural alternative to peas.

[nhassold]

Thanks for all the help, but he died right before I got him into his new tank sometime before I got home.

[dramaqueen]

I'm so sorry about your fish!