Betta is bloated, Please help!

[LilMitsuko]

HOUSING
What size is your tank?
1.5 Gal

What temperature is your tank?
80 degrees Fahrenheit

Does your tank have a filter?
No

Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
No

Is your tank heated?
No

What tank mates does your betta fish live with?
No one

FOOD
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
Pellets and Freeze-Dried Bloodworms (to vary his diet)

How often do you feed your betta fish?
Twice a day, 2 pellets each time

MAINTENANCE
How often do you perform a water change?
Every other day

What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
100%

What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?
Water conditioner. I clean everything in the tank with warm/hot water

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
No
I do have an ammonia checker floating in the tank. The ammonia level reads at <.02 ppm (SAFE)



SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
Slightly swollen stomach

How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
It hasn't changed too much; he is very active and attentive. I have seen him swimming a little odd (using his entire body to swim) and he's floated a bit strangely, but then he perks right back up.

When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Yesterday evening.

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
At first I thought it was Swim Bladder Disease because he was bloated and ceased to be bloated after using the bathroom (I thought it might be overfeeding, which I found odd since I was feeding him a total of 4 pellets a day, which is the minimum amount, no?). I made him fast today, and I noticed him using the restroom. So I thought perhaps it was constipation. He was back to normal throughout the day, but I just noticed he's a bit swollen again. I have not fed him anything, so I am a bit worried.

Does your fish have any history of being ill?
This is the first illness I've seen. He might have ick (which I also noticed today), so I went and bought some Super Ick Cure and sprinkled the appropriate amount into his water to treat it.

How old is your fish (approximately)?
I bought him at Petsmart about a week ago. I've read they normally sell them at 6 months or later, so older than 6 months?

COMMENTS
I'm really worried about my little guy (Finneus). I've been feeding him the recommended amount of food (2 pellets twice a day) and have spiced up his diet with one Freeze-Dried Bloodworm every other day (or whenever he decides he will not eat his pellets, which hasn't happened in awhile). I change his water every other day as well. I read that Epsom salt can help bettas if they have SBD/Bloat, but I'm not sure if that's what he has? I don't want to treat him for something he may not have.

Any and all suggestions are much appreciated. >__<||| Thank you!

[Pataflafla]

Is his poop white/stringy? If it is, this might be indicative of parasites.

For now, fast him for 2 days and try to get him to flare. flaring usually helps them to poop since they flex their muscles.

change his water 1 50% and 1 100% weekly so as to not stress him out with all of the water changes.

If the fasting does not work for his bloating, put him on 1 tsp/gal epsom salt premixed in tank water (Change 100% daily and redose every day until 3 days after his bloating has gone away or a max of 14 days). If in 5 days, his bloating has not gone down, up the dose to 2 tsp/gal.

You said he might have ick too. Does it look like someone sprinkled salt on him?
http://ebetta.com/wp-content/uploads...sh_has_ick.jpg

[LilMitsuko]

Originally Posted by Pataflafla

Is his poop white/stringy? If it is, this might be indicative of parasites.

For now, fast him for 2 days and try to get him to flare. flaring usually helps them to poop since they flex their muscles.

change his water 1 50% and 1 100% weekly so as to not stress him out with all of the water changes.

If the fasting does not work for his bloating, put him on 1 tsp/gal epsom salt premixed in tank water (Change 100% daily and redose every day until 3 days after his bloating has gone away or a max of 14 days). If in 5 days, his bloating has not gone down, up the dose to 2 tsp/gal.

You said he might have ick too. Does it look like someone sprinkled salt on him?
http://ebetta.com/wp-content/uploads...sh_has_ick.jpg

I got him to flare yesterday which is what made the bloating go down, so I immediately assumed it was him being constipated or being overfed. If it's the latter option, it's just shocking to see that 2 pellets is too much for him.

His poop is red/brown and comes out in a clump with a bit of stringyness attached to it. But they're definite brown clumps.

I was shocked to see him bloat up again after an entire day of fasting, and an entire day of not being bloated. I will try your suggestions.

As for the potential Ick, I noticed super small white dots (three to be exact) on his mouth/top of his body, and he's been rubbing his mouth against the walls/stones at the bottom of his tank. =/

Thank you for replying. I really appreciate it.

[Pataflafla]

Definitely keep a close eye on his rubbing and use the ick medication.

If he's bloating despite being fasted, I'd start the epsom salt as soon as possible to make sure there isn't something wrong with him.

As far as feeding, some bettas are prone to bloating up more than others. Is your boy short bodied? They tend to have that issues the most.

Maybe try presoaking his pellets in some tank water before feeding. That way they'll expand before getting into his stomach and all the air will be out before he eats them.

[LilMitsuko]

Okay, so new update. He's been doing this since yesterday, and it's freaked me out. I'll notice he'll start to daze off and won't pay attention to anything. Then he'll clamp his fins to his side and swim with his entire body rather than using his fins to propel him through the water. Then, he'll stop, and just float to the bottom/wherever like he's dead. A second later, he'll perk right back up and swim around normally, and the bulge in his stomach will be gone. T___T Do you know what causes this?

[Pataflafla]

I don't know what would cause this, but getting him on epsom salt might help determine if this pattern is food related, parasite related, or bacterial related. It'll take a little while on the epsom salt, so try not to worry too much.

You should start to see it taking effect in as little as a few hours. Sometimes it's quick, sometimes it's slow.

Another preemptive measure you can take is soaking his food in garlic juice. He may not want to eat it the first go, but usually bettas find garlic soaked food delicious. The garlic has natural anti-parasitic properties so if it is parasites, it will start to affect them a little bit.

The garlic juice will also help strengthen his immune response.

[LilMitsuko]

Originally Posted by Pataflafla

I don't know what would cause this, but getting him on epsom salt might help determine if this pattern is food related, parasite related, or bacterial related. It'll take a little while on the epsom salt, so try not to worry too much.

You should start to see it taking effect in as little as a few hours. Sometimes it's quick, sometimes it's slow.

Another preemptive measure you can take is soaking his food in garlic juice. He may not want to eat it the first go, but usually bettas find garlic soaked food delicious. The garlic has natural anti-parasitic properties so if it is parasites, it will start to affect them a little bit.

The garlic juice will also help strengthen his immune response.

Garlic Juice. I will try that. And I'll be adding Epsom salt tomorrow (have to go get some). He's back to normal, now - not bloated. It just looks like he's dying when he floats about unresponsive. Again, thank you for your replies/help.