[agloriouscomeback]

My double tail Shay is freakishly sensitive to constipation.
He used to eat and not have this problem, but now even after a tiny meal [1-2 pellets] once a day, he gets constipated. Even if the food is pre soaked.

he used to eat aqueon pellets, but now eats omega one and NLS pellets.

I have a very limited budget, but im going to try and get some cash via art commissions to get what he needs.

he is not being neglected in any way, do not accuse me of doing such a thing.
I am merely asking for advice, and i would like to know what i can do for my baby to ease his sensitivity.

 

[lilnaugrim]

How do you know he's constipated? How large does his stomach get? See any poop daily or no poo?

Sorry for all the questions, the more you tell me the easier it is to help out ^_^ But it's normal for betta's to not poop daily, some only poo every other day or less. I had one DT who only went twice a month and it was gigantic poo, I could only feed him 1-2 pellets every four day's. He was totally fine with it but it just wouldn't pass through his system even on highly digestible foods. So I'll wait for you to respond to ask more questions.

 

[agloriouscomeback]

How do you know he's constipated? How large does his stomach get? See any poop daily or no poo?

Sorry for all the questions, the more you tell me the easier it is to help out ^_^ But it's normal for betta's to not poop daily, some only poo every other day or less. I had one DT who only went twice a month and it was gigantic poo, I could only feed him 1-2 pellets every four day's. He was totally fine with it but it just wouldn't pass through his system even on highly digestible foods. So I'll wait for you to respond to ask more questions.

His belly gets pretty big... It's very noticeable.
And when he gets like that, there's no poops, and he has troubles swimming when his belly gets like that. I don't feed him when he's like that, I wait for it to pass. When it does, it's this massive poop. Then he's all happy and active again, acting like nothing ever happened.

 

[lilnaugrim]

Alright, yeah, that sounds like my old boy as well. Unfortunately it's just a DT trait, I'm sure you've read about it or if you haven't; DT is a deformation of the body which causes the double lobes and a shorter body which can potentially cause the spine to bend and push against the organs which causes the sensitivity and inability to digest food properly.

One thing you can try is using more live foods and frozen foods versus pellets, even though NLS and Omega One are fantastic, the live and frozen foods tend to be easier to digest. I suggest Mysis Shrimp, Blood worms, and Daphnia for frozen foods (Brine Shrimp promotes SBD and digestive issues if he eats too many so best to just stay away). Black worms, blood worms, and daphnia are all good live foods as well if you are able to find them around your home Granted, I realize we're not all made of money and may not have the resources around us, so it's alright if you can't find anything; this is just a suggestion to try. It may or may not work/be better for him.

You can also culture live mosquito larvae outside during the summer. Just be sure to dump the water bucket you leave outside every few days so you don't get an infestation of mosquitoes! Though, be careful if your area sprays the crops with pesticides and insecticides; those can be passed through the mosquitoes and to the fish :-/ but if there's no spraying and you live in a rural area, then you can do this and feed him only a few at a time in case he doesn't find them right away

 

[DangerousAngel]

I'd recommend the freeze-dried Daphnia, It has helped for Oscar who seemed a bit constipated when I got him. You can (hopefully) find a 'Treat Wheel' at Pet Smart.

It has the Bloodworms and the Daphnia.

 

[lilnaugrim]

Actually steer clear from freeze-dried. It's dehydrated food and cause more bloating/constipation issues. Either go with frozen or live. If you ever use freeze-dried anything, always soak it before you have the fish eat it, I never feed my DT's FD. Some DT's can handle it if they aren't as deformed or compressed, but yeah...I wouldn't normally recommend it. Sorry to contradict you Dangerous

 

[agloriouscomeback]

Sadly I can't do live food, my grandmother won't allow me to raise mosquito larvae, we have thousands of them already and they eat us alive...
Frozen is my only option, I plan on getting some when I make some cash.
How do you feed it to them? Could you give me some advice on that?

Also, I have read about those poor babies. My other dt Sokka, he doesn't have those problems at all.
Shay has a really tiny body, and his find have grown quite a bit since I brought him home. I guess he was dealt a bad hand by Poseidon or something, poor guy.

 

[lilnaugrim]

Sure! So the frozen foods come in packs and there are individual cubes in them. If you have a small amount of fish then you're going to have to split up the cubes. I do this by putting a cube on a plate and by cutting it with a butter knife or serated knife (just a warning, if you are young, have your parents/grandparents do this for you!! This is a family forum so can never tell how old someone really is ;-) ) The larger part of the cube tends to go back into the freezer in a small freezer baggie so it stays fresh, just putting it back in the tray and not using it for a week or so tends to lead to freezer burn.

If you have enough fish, you can thaw out the whole cube. For my Betta's, I use my plant tweezers, some people use spoons or what have you, and feed the worms individually so I can control how much they eat as some can take more than others. I take out a bit of tank water in a small cup and put the frozen food in that to thaw out a few minutes, and feed from there. If you have some left over, it's alright to put them in the refrigerator for a couple days (I generally do only 3 day's if I do that, you can run into bacterial issues if it's left out too long as well) NEVER refreeze them! Again, bacterial issues come back into play after being thawed. Generally it's not a problem, but no sense in risking it anyways.

I think that covers everything, let me know if you've got more questions! I'll be happy to help you out ;-)

 

[Kim]

I've also found that frozen works better for SBD fish. It is very difficult to actually find the cause of the disease, but it does seem to have a genetic component for double tails. I was actually trying to investigate the etiology of SBD last summer/fall. One of my SBD fish (who had negative buoyancy when I rescued him) had what I believe to be some sort of protozoan parasites. He wouldn't poop for a month and would then pass this gigantic poop that was just filled with these odd ciliated microorganisms. Several rounds of metro and dewormer later and he is now fairly regular, but he still has some difficulty swimming and is definitely the least active betta I've ever owned (he basically just sits on his leaf hammock all day). But he is alive and seems happy and relatively healthy, so I consider him a successful rescue. Several others didn't fare so well and were definitely more confusing.

 

[agloriouscomeback]

Yeah i was gonna buy some at petsmart, but they didnt have any.
Was gonna get mysis and daphnia for sure....

I currently have three Bettas, Haytham [HMPK], Monsoon [delta] and Shay c:
http://sta.sh/278leyg2thh pictures here~
Maybe you could tell me things about my babies that i might not know?
I know more than your "average" betta keeper does where i live, but im sure theres stuff i still dont know, that id love to learn.


Theyre my little sass monsters and i love them a lot.

OH and great news--Shay passed his poop! He usually poops day 2 on being constipated, so hes all better now...until i feed him again, that is.

I heard that Peas help with that, would it be advisable to do that for him or nah?

 

[lilnaugrim]

You've got some beautiful boys!

No, don't feed pea's. It's only used in dire situations, his is not dire. Peas are indigestible which does help aid in cleaning out the digestive tract but it doesn't help if he can't pass the food in the first place. Betta's are insectivores and cannot naturally process raw veggie matter; they get it by secondary source from the bugs they eat ^_^

 

[agloriouscomeback]

thank you! I love them a lot, they mean the world to me<3

and okay, thanks for the info on that, i wasnt sure.
I did put some chopped pea in Haythams tank though, because my shrimps LOVE them.
Haytham was being a little **** and kept trying to eat it, so i had to take him out and put him in a plastic bowl so the shrimps could get their snack, pffff.

I had my suspicions about the pea, since i know they dont really eat that stuff, but i thought id ask you, since you seem to really know what youre talking about and stuff.

OH and great news, ive gotten some interest in my art commissions! Once i get enough money, Shay will have his mysis and daphnia! C:

i really appreciate your help and advice
I also appreciate that you didnt talk me down or attack me over my fish, like everyone else ive asked....

 

[Kim]

I agree - I use peas for very bad cases of constipation, but for chronic cases like your boy, I'd go with frozen daphnia first. I wish you lived closer to me since I'd love to get my hands on a fecal sample from your boy. An odd wish, I know, but he sounds very much like my rescue and I've been wanting to see if any other fish carry these odd potential parasites. Keep us updated with his response to the frozen food once you're able to get some. I'm always on the lookout for any more empirical evidence regarding dealing with SBD.

 

[lilnaugrim]

Lol Kim, yeah. I wish lots of times that I could get bacterial cultures from the fish so I can properly diagnose them >.< sometimes pictures just don't help :-/

But yeah! We're a pretty easy going forum here, we like our people and we like to help out as long as the OP is also willing to learn as well ;-) So thank you as well for listening too!