Constipation - cause ?

[hamfist]

OK, one of our Bettas, Andrew, seems a bit prone to constipation.

When we first got him, we were not aware that too much bloodworm bungs up Betta's guts. Anyway, we got him well and truly blocked up with bloodworm. He didn't eat for about 5 days, and eventually it all cleared, and he has been fine for the 2 months since on a diet of Hikari Bio gold mostly, with occasional pea, frozen daphnia, brine shrimp and bloodworm (bloodworm no more than once a week).

So, this last saturday it was his bloodworm day, and I gave him 3 bloodworms, with apparently no problems. The next day, on sunday, he had a small piece of pea (no shell) and a couple of pellets.
A few hours later he developed what I'm assuming was a swim bladder problem caused by gut blockage. His abdomen was clearly bloated and he was much too buoyant, and strugglinig to swim downwards at all.
So, today, about 18 hours later, his swim bladder function seems back to normal and he seems fine.

My initial thoughts are that it was the bloodworm on saturday that caused the blockage which manifested on sunday. Or was it the pea on sunday that caused the problem ? What are your thoughts ?

On my current hunch, I will drop the bloodworm completely, and still give him pea once a week. However, if I'm wrong, and it was the pea that was the problem then I could cause him further problems by doing that. Would like a little moral support in my decision-making on this one.

[Romad]

Hello and welcome.

What kind of bloodworms are you feeding? If they're the freeze dried kind, they need to be rehydrated for a good 15 or 20 mins. in some of the tank water before you feed them. Completely dry can cause issues especially if they eat them fast.

I haven't had any side effects with the frozen bloodworms. They get them as a treat once a week. Maybe 3 or 4 each as a meal and not in addition to their regular pellets.

[kuklachica]

Be careful of the Bio Gold. They have a new formula and it has caused MANY problems for people on another forum (including poor health overall, poor color, and in some cases death). They are now putting MSG and more "filler" in their recipe. I am currently dealing with bloat in one of my boys, and I have been feeding him bio gold for the past month or so. I am not 100% sure if this is the problem, but I am no longer going to be feeding him this.

[hamfist]

Originally Posted by Romad

Hello and welcome.

What kind of bloodworms are you feeding? If they're the freeze dried kind, they need to be rehydrated for a good 15 or 20 mins. in some of the tank water before you feed them. Completely dry can cause issues especially if they eat them fast.

I haven't had any side effects with the frozen bloodworms. They get them as a treat once a week. Maybe 3 or 4 each as a meal and not in addition to their regular pellets.

It was frozen, and I was feeding exactly as you were, 3 per meal, instead of the usual pellets.

[hamfist]

Originally Posted by kuklachica

Be careful of the Bio Gold. They have a new formula and it has caused MANY problems for people on another forum (including poor health overall, poor color, and in some cases death). They are now putting MSG and more "filler" in their recipe. I am currently dealing with bloat in one of my boys, and I have been feeding him bio gold for the past month or so. I am not 100% sure if this is the problem, but I am no longer going to be feeding him this.

THat is bad, bad news to hear. When Andrew first came and would only eat frozen bloodworm, the only other thing I could get him to eat at first was Hikari Betta Bio Gold.

Out of interest, what sort of deaths would they be, these problems you have heard about on another forum ?

I will definately reduce the amount of Hikari that I give him though, as he gobbles down pretty much anything these days, flake, Tetra Prima pellets, pea, frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp and daphnia.

I had been giving a lot of Hikari as I was under the impression that it really was the best staple diet for him.