Severe Constipation

[Wed]

My betta has been having trouble with digesting his food and developed a bluge on his stomach. I took him to a fish store where I know the owner is knowledgable and he told me he had dropsy and wouldn't live long.

I knew it wasn't because I did my research and his only symptom he had in common with dropsy was the bulge. So I went home and bought a heater because I realized his water was too cold. That fixed the problem and he pooped a large amount but now he has it again, and worse!

I think I figured out that these flakes I bought were the problem and I was feeding him those because he didn't want the pellets.

I have him in a 5 gallon I believe. I do 100% water changes maybe every 3 weeks, with 25%-50% in between. His water temp stays at 78-80. I stopped feeding him and tried the pea trick and nothing.

Last night I started with the espom salt baths and he still hasn't pooped. Should I continue? I also tried to get him to flare and poor guy is so bloated he just doesn't want to.

[Canuck Fins]

Something else that may help you in the future with your fish is to feed him six days a week and fast him one day per week.

Is your tank cycled? How often is he fed?

Do you have any pics of him in his bloated state?

[Wed]

My mom had control over this fish for a while and she meant no harm but just felt bad that he was "always hungry". I tried to tell her over and over again that she was over feeding but she didn't listen. I do what you recommended with my other bettas.

I noticed it was the flakes because that's all I was feeding my new female betta because she was suuuper tiny and couldn't eat the pellets..they were too big for her but luckily I noticed her getting a tiny bulge, tried the pellets again and now she can eat them and she pooped too before the problem got worse.

The tank isn't cycled. I don't have pics but I could get one but it would take a while. It's his under belly, it has turned really white. None of his scales are poking out like dopsy would do though. The bulge is big though :/ It hardly lets him swim

[roadrunner]

I'm sorry to hear your betta isn't doing good.
If you fish has dropsy, his scales would look like pinecone. If not, then you can try to save your fish. Unfortunately dropsy can not be treated.
Let him fast for few days and see if he gets better. I was wondering how much you feed him. Fish can be like little "piglets" and will eat as much as you will give them. I feed my bettas Hikari micro wafers (2 in the morning, 2 at night, one day a week - no food at all) and I switch wafers with daphnia or blood worms once every few days as a treat and I haven't had any problems with constipation for a very long time (I used to before with other types of food)
Daphia food work as a natural laxative, so you may try those instead of pea.
Also I would recommend to do smaller water changes more often and skip large water change.

Please can you answer the questions from the sticky post. It's always easier to try to help.

[Wed]

Well, he was being fed everyday until this problem came about. He was eating flakes and when I noticed he wasn't going to the restroom I stopped feeding and like I said the heater solved the problem and after that I went back to the flakes and the problem came back. It was just a pinch of flakes.

I don't think it's dropsy because his scales are not like pinecones

[roadrunner]

Glad to hear his scales are not looking like pinecones.
Stop feeding him for few days. I would try different type of food if flakes cause constipation, otherwise you may have more problems even SBD in the future. To have your tank cycled would also help with his overall health. Clean stable water conditions are the key if you want to keep your betta happy and healthy.

[LolaQuigs]

Fast him for three days. If you can get any daphnia, this is a great natural laxative for fish. You can do an epsom salt treatment to help with the bloating/swelling.

1 tsp per gallon epsom salt for two days, then up it to two tsp per gallon for eight days, doing daily 100% water changes throughout treatment. It's helpful to put him in a smaller qt container (one you can place or float in the main tank so that you can maintain a good temperature) since you'll be doing so many water changes.

Do you have a filter? If so, you should do a 50% water change each week, and if not you should do a 100% water change, plus a smaller one (25-50%) each week. Just some tips for once he's out of qt. Maintaining good water quality is the best thing you can do to prevent illness. Since he's having bloating issues, definitely switch to pellets (2 or 3 twice a day) and fast him one day every week. It's easier to do portion control with pellets, and they aren't as messy.

[Wed]

thank you for the help. I am going to pick up some daphnia today.

If he poops before the 10 days of baths do I just stop giving him the baths or continue for the whole 10?

[LolaQuigs]

I would continue with the entire ten day treatment, it will help with the swelling/bloating in addition to the constipation, and it will prevent any possible swim bladder issues that could arise from bloating. It's a pain, I know, my female is in qt for the same reason right now. But it's best just to do the whole treatment and get it over with so you don't have to worry about buoyancy issues.

[Wed]

One more question..I bought the daphnia and its the Hikari frozen cubes kind and any advice on how to feed it to him? I know im suppose to thaw it in tank temperature water right? What do I do with the rest? Store in the freezer?