Floating Betta?

[DoctorWhoLuver]

I just got a new female veiltail betta from PetCo about two days ago. She was put in a community tank with four other females and was fine until today... I came home and saw that she was floating at the top of the tank, and panicked thinking she was dead :O. Once I got a closer look I noticed that she was still alive, and she darted away. However, when I took a closer look I saw that her swimming pattern was a little "off". Whenever Amelia, that's her name :), swam down, she floated back up with her tail first. I think she may have a problem with her swim bladder... She also quite skinny, and she may be bloated? But I just want to make sure. I also do not have any peas at my house, is there another way? Thanks I appreciated any fast answers!
Housing
What size is your tank? 10 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 78 to 80
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? Four other female bettas (all fine)

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? One pellet twice a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Every week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25%-50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? No

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Strange swimming pattern
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? No behavior changes
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Today
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No not yet
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? About 10 months to a year? She's quite small

[DoctorWhoLuver]

[DoctorWhoLuver]

In addition, her body shape seems "stuck" in that snake shape in the picture above

[freemike]

Sounds like SBD as it can cause a fish to have a curved spine and tail floating higher than their head. Separate her from the other girls in a separate tank with fresh conditioned water and dose it with 1.5 tsp of epsom salt and fast for two days. This is usually caused by constipation so a tank with a bare bottom would be good so you could monitor her waste as well.

If she recovers at that point do a water change without the salt. I'd keep her in that tank a few more days and feed her again. As the food may be incompatible with her and this may arise again. If the food is causing it you may want to find a different pellet/food or try soaking the current pellets in water to pre-soften them.

[CarmanDirda]

Originally Posted by freemike

Sounds like SBD as it can cause a fish to have a curved spine and tail floating higher than their head. Separate her from the other girls in a separate tank with fresh conditioned water and dose it with 1.5 tsp of epsom salt and fast for two days. This is usually caused by constipation so a tank with a bare bottom would be good so you could monitor her waste as well.

If she recovers at that point do a water change without the salt. I'd keep her in that tank a few more days and feed her again. As the food may be incompatible with her and this may arise again. If the food is causing it you may want to find a different pellet/food or try soaking the current pellets in water to pre-soften them.

I agree. The only other thing I can think of is natural deformities from malnutrition or bad breeding, but it probably would have been apparent before you bought her.

[freemike]

That was supposed to say dose with 1.5 tsp of epsom salt per gallon of water.

[DoctorWhoLuver]

Thank you all so much! :) She's already much better and lost the "snake" shape, and can swim freely without floating to the top, i'm so relieved! Thanks again!

[CarmanDirda]

Very glad she made a full recovery!