Extreme bloat

[newarkhiphop]

my baby betta has extreme bloat, he tries to swim to to the bottom of his 1 gallon unfiltered tank, but floats right back up, think i may have overfed him? i have had him for 5 days now i have been giving him about 8- 10 NLS pellets a day over the course of 11 hours per day , and the past two days i gave him 1 SMALL freeze dried blood worm, reason i fed him this much is because ive read that baby bettas need more food, and i feed my adults 3 pellets twice a day

today he has ate 5 pellets, but soon i noticed his floating problem i stopped feeding him, although when i go close to the tank he swims around for more food

is my safest bet at this point just not to feed him until tommroow afternoon/night? and should i reduce his food and just go with 4 or 5 pellets a day?

and can he die from this?

[Pataflafla]

Sounds like you did over feed him a bit.

Don't feed him for at least a full 24 hours. that should give him time to work things through. I know it seems lie a long time, but it'll help him a lot. If you keep feeding him while he's having swim bladder issues, it'll just make it worse.

Maybe try feeding only 5 pellets total of the NLS formula afterwords for a little bit to let him get back on track. Smaller meals throughout the day help out a lot too. so maybe feed 4 or 5 times a day, 1 pellet each time.

If he's still having problems after that 24 hours, then I would start him on 1 tsp/gal of unscented, uncolored epsom salt (Dissolve it in treated water first and add slowly to let him get used to the salt).

If your temperature is below 78, you might want to consider feeding a little less overall or raising the temp. Colder temps lead to slower systems to constipation becomes an issue.

[Tikibirds]

Freeze dried blood worms can cause bloating. You should soak them in water first because they expand, and then feed them. Frozen is better if you can get them.
Normally Espsom salt is recommended but not sure if thats good for babies. Swim Bladder disease usually isn't fatal - it just makes them look pretty pathetic.

[Pataflafla]

Perhaps half a dose of epsom would be safer if it comes to it. I don't think it would be too horrible on them however. It seems to be pretty gentle on my bettas, even the very sickly ones.

Fasting first though.

[newarkhiphop]

so i havent fed him for about 22 hours or so, and now not only does he float straight to the surface but also he lays on his side , every once in a while he gets a burst of engery and swims around and try to swim down but pops right back up

is this still bloat? the floating on side thing?

[Pataflafla]

That's sbd, swim bladder disorder. Has he pooped at all yet?

I know it seems like a strange question to ask, but if he hasn't pooped, then he's still having pressure on his swim bladder, which causes the issue.

Fast him until he poops. He'll be fine.

Also, what temperature is your water at right now?

[newarkhiphop]

Originally Posted by Pataflafla

That's sbd, swim bladder disorder. Has he pooped at all yet?

I know it seems like a strange question to ask, but if he hasn't pooped, then he's still having pressure on his swim bladder, which causes the issue.

Fast him until he poops. He'll be fine.

Also, what temperature is your water at right now?

all he does is poop to be honest, well prior to the bloating/sideways issue

i just did a 100% water change today so ill be able to see if he is poopin normal

right now his water is @ 81 degrees, and it probably between 78-81 throughout the day

[Pataflafla]

Alright. That is a good temp range, but be careful of the swings. Even though it's only 3 degrees, if it's done too quickly it can be quite harmful.