Need advise-betta's intestine protruding

[comet]

Hi. I'm new to this forum, and I hope someone can give me information on how to treat my Betta.

It's a crowntail. Had him for 5 days. All was fine until today.

Gave him some Hikari micro wafers for breakfast and noticed this evening that his intestine is protruding. He did eat some Spirulina flakes when I had noticed it this evening. He is swimming and looking fine.

Water parameters are; Ammon-0 Nitrite-0 Nitrate-5 Temp 81F
Established 6 gallon long tank.

Need suggestions on what to do for him. Thanks in advance!

[BettaxFishxCrazy]

It sounds like he's bloating aka he's constipated. How often do you feed him? I don't think wafers are good for them, but I could be wrong. Bettas stomachs are the size of ONE of their eyes, so it's VERY small. I feed mine 4 pellets a day (2 in the morning and 2 at night), one day I feed flakes and the other days I feed another kind of pellet. They need to have variety in their diet.

[comet]

Hi. The Hikari micro wafers are extremely small and round like a pellet. Very similar the betta bio gold but designed for tropical fish.
I was feeding him morning and night. Usually either brine shrimp flakes, spirulina, or Nutrafin Max complete flakes.
I was surprised to see him eat flakes as my previous betta (for 4 yrs) would not eat anything except the bio gold for a dry food.
Perhaps, and I feel that he was used to flake food and the dry pellets did not agree with his digestive system.

Again, I've only had him for less than a week so I was trying to see what he liked.
Just did some searching for prolapsed anus/intestine in fish and the prognosis doesn't seem good.
I'll keep his water pristine and fast him for a couple of days, then start him on some shelled peas.

Any other suggestions? I do have frozen baby and regular brine shrimp on hand if that could possibly help.
Is flake food not the best to feed a betta?

[BettaxFishxCrazy]

Well you seem like you have a good wrap on things. I've heard the flakes have no nutritional value for bettas so I only feed it once a day per week. It could be that trying to figure out what foods he would like caused him to bloat. Just make sure that you stretch out the feedings and be careful not to overfeed him. Good luck and keep us informed on how he's doing. Fasting him for a couple days should help the swelling go down.

[comet]

This morning the protrusion has receded. There is a small whitish area there now. Don't know what that is. Does not look like fungus at all. Again, will keep his water very clean for healing.
Still not sure exactly what to feed him now. I'm afraid that if I start him on Betta bio gold that it will happen again as it is a pellet. Will do some more research on what to feed betta fish for nutrition.
He readily eats the shrimp flakes and spirulina flakes.
Guess I'll just have to limit foods and see what happens.
Thank you for all your help in this matter!

[comet]

I called the store where I bought him. They said they feed the Betta fish
Top Fin Betta bits which is a pellet.
Now I'm wondering if the flake foods I gave him were too "soft" for his digestive system. Or if the Hikari tropical wafer pellets were somehow the culprit.

Will try the Betta bio gold in a couple of days (after fasting) and see how they work with him.
If all is ok with that, then I'll supplement a frozen blood worm or two, and some frozen brine shrimp once in awhile.
Again, thank you for the replies.

[Adastra]

Hikari is not a very high quality pellet. Better options are OmegaOne Betta Buffet Pellets, Atison's Betta Pellets, Ken's Betta Crumbles, and New Life Spectrum. These offer a variety of whole meats and a higher protein content than Hikari.

You should always pre-soak any dry food you give to your betta prior to feeding in a little bit of tank water. If you think about it, fish were not designed to eat dry, bready, air-filled foods. Similar to the discomfort we feel when we eat uncooked rice, the pellet/flake/freeze dried food absorbs water in the gut and expands--causing bloating, constipation, and sometimes swim bladder issues.

Heat is also a key component--fish rely on warm temperatures to drive their entire metabolism. When they are cold, digestion slows down, leading to bloating and constipation. This is why bettas should be kept at 78-83 degrees at all times.

Frozen blood worms and brine shrimp are great supplements for your betta--blood worms offer a lot of protein and brine shrimp are an excellent source of fiber that will help keep your fish regular. It's a good idea to give your fish a little bit of frozen daphnia or brine shrimp after a bloat because it will help push everything along. Encouraging your fish to flare will also help oust the poo.

[comet]

Thank you for the replies and food suggestions! But I found out he's overeating like he's never seen food!

OK. His rectum receded, and was great for the last few days. Minimal feedings and water changes.

But after feeding him, I put an algae wafer in the tank today for the ramshorn snails and when I checked on him his belly is HUGE! Rectum is not protruding (yet), but I can't believe how he is constantly eating whatever he can find even though his gut is FAT and FULL.

I was hoping to be able to add him to a community tank eventually, but if he can't control his appetite I don't see how this would be possible for him as he'd constantly be eating the other fishes food.

Anyone ever have a Betta eat like this??? Is he destined to be a lone fish in a tank with a strict diet?