opinion please

[sh29]

my name is shannon, i just got my 3rd betta 2 weeks ago. the first one i shocked but i have upgraded to a 5 gallon tank.the next one was very healthy and i was away and my mom said when she went to shut off the light his belly was whitish and looked like his throat was thin,like see through but i wasnt home. he was red,awesome and had his gil flap on one side detached when i got him.i tried some other types but then i didnt like them so i bought nuge.he is swimming around well ,i'm not over feeding him but not as energetic as the other one but is active. he looks like he is putting on wieght fast.i attached pics and i hope its not dropsy. take a look and give me opinions but he is very mobile and staying all over the place and not the bottom.i have a apple snail and albino placo as well. thanks

[Mo]

It just looks like slight bloating to me, as long as he isn't struggling to swim, there s hood be no problems. You should ideally cut down on feeding, don't feed for 2 days, and you could feed daphnia, also you should ideally rehome the albio Pleco as its most likely an albino Bristlenose.

In My Opinion Bristlenose Plecos (Ancistrus temminckii) aren't suitable for any tank under 20 gallons long term for a few reasons. They get to be 6 inches long which is very large, they have a very high bio load when fully grown and would have a major impact on all fish within the habitat due to ammonia, males might harras other fish during breeding season that enter his territory, and fully grown adults are known to eat smaller tank mates such as the ones the sizes of neons

[sh29]

thanks,it looks abit worse side on but no,he is just sauntering all over the place. i feed him twice a day mostly flakes then i just got pellets so i give him a pellet and some flakes

[sh29]

also he sticks close to turbo,the snail lol

[Mo]

Giving 4-6 pellets due to the size of the pellets themselves should suffice for one Betta along with fasting him weekly

[sh29]

4-6 a day? then go a day with no food?

[sh29]

what about the color enhancing flakes Mo?

[Mo]

What type of pellets a you feeding? This will determine the amount that you should be feeding daily. And yes. Not feeding a day weekly will help prevent bloating, and swim bladder disease. Color enhancing flakes have little differences between the other types of flakes. While on a trip I examined the given ingredients and noticed little differences between the tetra flakes, color enhancing, and the other type that was avalible

[sh29]

Nutrafin max pellets and flakes,i was told 1 pellet a day plus he does sometime spit out the flakes then eat them again.i was told the flakes are important to maintain color.i think i'll fast him for 2 days and then see maybe

[Mo]

Color mainly comes from a varied diet, optimal habitat, optimal temperature, little stress, etc. not just fr the food. While it is a factor, it is has a very little percentage and most of the color comes from a varied diet with nutritional foods such as the ones you are using. With nutrafin max pellets, I would go with 4 a day, you can feed 2 in the morning, along with 2 at night, or you an feed all in one time period. Good luck!