Charlie has been bloated for about 2weeks now...

[Hankbetta]

I'm not sure what I should be doing. Here's some information.

Housing
What size is your tank? 5 gallons.
What temperature is your tank? 79-80 degrees.
Does your tank have a filter? Yes.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No.
Is your tank heated? Yes.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
Normally, wardley's advanced nutrition and new life spectrum- small fish formula. Sometimes he also gets frozen blood worms and brine shrimp.

How often do you feed your betta fish?
Every day except monday(his fasting day) and then twice a day. I usually feed him 2-3 pellets of the wardley's in the morning and then a tiny pinch of the new life spectrum stuff in the evening.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Once, weekly.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? Usually about 50%.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? API stress zyme and stress coat.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
I have not.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Round, bloated stomach.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? It has not, he still eats and is still active, he even still blows bubble nests.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? About 2 weeks ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I tried fasting him for about 3-4days, and since then I've been feeding him frozen daphnia 1-2 times a day.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? He's a tail biter, but he's never been bloated.
How old is your fish (approximately)? A little over a year.

[Cutar]

Try cutting down his food a little bit and fast him for one more day for about two weeks. Just feed him 2 pellets once a day in the morning

[Oldfishlady]

By your post you are providing good care and housing and since the fast and daphnia have not been helpful I would try Epsom salt 1tsp/gal treatment-this can help with swelling and work as a laxative-hopefully it is not bacterial related dropsy symptom-good that he still has an appetite, no pine-cone body and no buoyancy problems-he may just be obese but this can affect the liver.

I would QT and use Epsom salt 1tsp/gal (not aquarium salt) along with 100% daily water changes for no longer than 10days.

I like to pre-mix the salt in a 1gal jug to make water changes and correct dosage easier

[Hankbetta]

Yeah, no pineconing, just bloated and round. I forgot to put in there that I also do 2-3 teaspoons of ground aquarium salt. I also did 100% change 2 weeks ago when I first noticed him bloated. Do I really need to do 100% every day, for a 5 gallon tank?

[Oldfishlady]

No, not in the 5gal-for treatment it is best to QT them in a smaller container-this make the needed water changes easier as well as observation during treatment, not to mention making dosage of the salt

Have you been using aquarium salt long term?

[Hankbetta]

Yes, is that bad? Also the bloatedness wasn't a gradual thing, just all of a sudden, one day he was bloated and then he got bigger because I was feeding him the daphnia.

[Hankbetta]

I had been using the aquarium salt after every water change because I was told it would help him heal better and faster when he bites his tail.

[Oldfishlady]

Yes, long term aquarium salt can cause kidney damage and you will see body edema-it can also cause resistant issues in pathogens/parasite and it will not work well for treatments.

I would start making some water changes to rid the tank of the aquarium salt while you have him in QT for the Epsom salt treatment.

I must have misunderstood your post-I thought you fed the daphnia because he was bloated and possible constipation...not the cause..in that case it may be related to overfeeding, enlarged liver and/or kidney damage........

[Hankbetta]

Ah, well I was feeding the daphnia to charlie because I thought he was bloated on constipated. As as said, he stomach did not get big gradually, one day he was normal size, the next he was bloated.
I ended up fasting him for about four days after I noticed him bloated, then I tried feeding him daphnia. I started out with once a day, then gave it to him twice for a couple of days, now I'm back to once.

I gave him two pellets of the wardley's today because I figured he's had the daphnia for long enough. But I haven't notice him getting any smaller.

Also I was unaware of long term aquarium salt use being bad, no one had ever told me. I thought because he's a tail biter, that it would better the condition of his water and him healing. As I said, no one had told me of this.

So now what should I do? I have a small 1 gallon tank, but what should I put in it? Also what specific kind of epsom salt should I get?

[Oldfishlady]

Only one kind of Epsom salt that I know of-you get in at most stores that have a pharmacy dept-I get mine at walmart for less than 4 bucks
If you have something like a small cup that some bettas come it they work great for temporary QT and you can float them in the tank to maintain temp too-be sure and attach the cup so it doesn't sink and the fish drown, however, when I treat I like to keep the water temp in the 76-77F area.
In the 1g-I would fill half full and use-bare bottom is best so you can watch for the poop and make sure that is okay...and something for them to hide in to feel safe
During treatment I would hold all food for the first 3 days and then offer half feedings every other day during the treatment. You will know if the Epsom salt is working by the 3rd day and if the swelling has not decrease by then it may be internal damage but I would still continue the treatment for the full 10 days regardless.

Don't feel bad about the aquarium salt-these things happen and not all fish are harmed it is all in the dosage and duration.
Keep us posted