Difference between bloated female and pregnant female betta.

[StarBetta]

Hi everyone! Ever since I got my female betta Rose she has fattened up a bit and I wondered "How can I tell if she's bloated or is pregnant?" Just a random question

[ldoerr]

This is a good question. All of my female bettas are supper fat and I was wondering about it myself.

[Sakura8]

Haha, technically, your female isn't pregnant because she doesn't have any babies in her. She's "eggy." That just means she's carrying unripe eggs. She'll periodically drop them and eat them or absorb them so being eggy isn't a problem.

Now telling a sick bloated female from a healthy eggy female . . . that's a lot harder to do. Basically, if your female looks fat and bloated but is eating, pooping, and acting normally, she is most likely eggy. If she looks fat and bloated and her behavior has changed - doesn't eat, poop, is lethargic or droopy - then she is probably bloated and sick.

[indjo]

+1 Sakura

Would like to add; if your female looks as if she swallowed a marble (before eating anything) the she is most likely bloated. But if she is fat but proportional (viewed from above) - fat belly then slims down til the tail, she should be eggy.

IME bloating does not necessarily make a female lethargic unless she is infected with some sort of parasite. If she is bloated, it would be best to reduce her feeding regardless whether she is lethargic or not. If the bloating is severe (like a big marble) it would be best to fast her ...... an expert on diseases would explain this better.

[StarBetta]

Originally Posted by Sakura8

Haha, technically, your female isn't pregnant because she doesn't have any babies in her. She's "eggy." That just means she's carrying unripe eggs. She'll periodically drop them and eat them or absorb them so being eggy isn't a problem.

Now telling a sick bloated female from a healthy eggy female . . . that's a lot harder to do. Basically, if your female looks fat and bloated but is eating, pooping, and acting normally, she is most likely eggy. If she looks fat and bloated and her behavior has changed - doesn't eat, poop, is lethargic or droopy - then she is probably bloated and sick.

Woops sorry I keep on thinking it's pregnant Lol Thanks for the info!

[StarBetta]

Originally Posted by indjo

+1 Sakura

Would like to add; if your female looks as if she swallowed a marble (before eating anything) the she is most likely bloated. But if she is fat but proportional (viewed from above) - fat belly then slims down til the tail, she should be eggy.

IME bloating does not necessarily make a female lethargic unless she is infected with some sort of parasite. If she is bloated, it would be best to reduce her feeding regardless whether she is lethargic or not. If the bloating is severe (like a big marble) it would be best to fast her ...... an expert on diseases would explain this better.

Thanks! This helped a lot!