How long has it been and is he bloated? It's best to fast them first before trying medications. Epsom salt is really meant for bloating or SBD.

 

I tried fasting him for almost a full 24 hours but I felt so bad not feeding him so I had to feed him before I went to bed, so I guess it was 24 hours between feeding. His belly just keeps getting bigger. I'll do a water change tomorrow and fast him.

 

You should fast him for 2 -3 days, or until you see him poop. Epsom salt is 1/2 tsp per gallon - dissolve it before putting it into the tank. You can do an Epsom salt bath in a separate container, or if you don't have one, you can do it directly in the tank.

 

Okay thanks for the help guys.

Aquarium salt is for ick and that is 1tsp per 1 gal? (Not to be treated at the same time as any other salts)

 

Some questions:

1) What's the water temperature?
If they're cold, their metabolism slows down. Bettas are tropical fish, and prefer water temps around 77-84F.

2) What brand of food do you feed him?
Foods that contains a lot of grains/fillers can be constipating to some bettas. Look at the label on the container and see if contains a lot of things like wheat, corn, soybean, gluten, etc. If it does, consider switching to a higher-protein pellet.

The two most frequently recommended foods on this forum are: New Life Spectrum Betta pellets and Omega One Betta Buffet. Both contains lots of proteins, that bettas can digest easily.

Next.... ich:

The easiest way to treat ich is to raise the water temp to at least 86F. The higher water temp prevents the parasite from reproducing.

 

Next.... ich:

The easiest way to treat ich is to raise the water temp to at least 86F. The higher water temp prevents the parasite from reproducing.

A friend asked: What if you start spawning algae at that temp. ??

 

78-80 degrees
Aqueon Betta Food 38% Protein, Fat 7%, Fiber 7%, Moisture 8%, Phosphorus 1%

I was feeding him them because he is a smaller Betta and wasn't eating much for a while.The pellets are smaller than my OmegaOne pellets. Since he is eating pretty steadily now, should I swithc him to OmegaOne?

 

I would fast him for a day or two, as sainthogan suggested..... He will act like he's starving. Ignore it. Then give him one or two pellets of Omega One.

If the Omega One pellets are too large, use a fingernail to cut them in half.

Your water temp is great. Hopefully, it's just the grains/fillers in his current food that's causing the problem. I'd try the Omega One and see if it helps. I have a betta that had constipation and bloating issues while on Aqueon. He's been fine every since I started giving him Omega One.

 

Despite all the fasting recommendations, I started him on a Epsom treatment. I checked on him just a minute ago and his back is arching and he has some poop hanging out. So I think its safe to say he is constipated.

I am still hoping he didn't eat that snail though. lol