[hubbley]

Hey peoples.

So the other day I noticed Norman floating around on the surface and tilting to the side. Quite odd for a fish, so I looked it up, discovered it could be a swim bladder thing or constipation. So we fasted him for a day. He was so much better, swimming like normal, hanging out at the bottom, doing his thing. We had been feeding him three pellets twice a day but I've now decided that was too much and was going to drop it down to two twice a day. Anyways, I fed him two pellets this morning since he was better, and now a few hours later he's stuck at the top again.

My question is since we have been feeding him so much for about a month now, would it be ok to fast him again for maybe two, three days? (read that on another site). That seemed to fix it until I fed him again. I know there is a treatment with some sort of salt, but I didn't want to buy that yet if I might not need it.

Also: peas. I've read a lot of things about giving them a thawed frozen pea that had been briefly cooked in tank water and skinned and quartered to help with constipation. I've also seen a lot of people on here hate the idea of peas. So my last question: to pea or not to pea?

 

[haveyouhadyourteayet]

Not to pea :3

What brand of pellet are you feeding? The quality and amount can make a huge difference.

 

[hubbley]

We are feeding him Aqueon Betta food. I've read the ingredients and it didn't seem like it had fillers.
I noticed it at 3 this afternoon when we came home, and it's now 7 and he's almost normal again. He's happily floating a few inches under the water with no problems, so this can't be anything serious at the koment.

 

[haveyouhadyourteayet]

Aqueon is one of the better alright foods... if you're willing, I'd run out and get either Omega One pellets (at Petsmart) or New Life Spectrum (co), for this fish I would gently suggest the NLS pellets, they make a small fish formula, the pellets are TEENY, and you could possibly spread his feeding out over the day to keep him from getting pressure on his swim bladder. Like 1 at 7, 7:30, and 8. Then another at 5, 5:30, 6, 6:30 and 7. Or something along those lines.

 

[hubbley]

If it keeps up with this food I'll definitely consider it. We have been feeding it to him for a month, so it may have been over feeding that finally caught up with him. I was going to fast him for another day, maybe two?And when I do start feeding him again, should I decrease the pellet amount to three a day maybe?

 

[haveyouhadyourteayet]

I would feed him about 4 a day, just spread it out as much as you can! Good luck!

 

[hubbley]

Alright, I will try that. thanks!

 

[hubbley]

I know it's only been a few days, but it still seems like the food is affecting him to some degree. He isn't a big fish, in fact he looks very thin but 6 pellets a day for a month can't allow him to starve. I'd be willing to fast him again if it looks like he's stuck floating as long as it's okay. I fed him so much yet he looks so tiny. x.x

Is there any possibility it could be a swim bladder thing? I only noticed it a few hours after feeding, and whenever he doesn't eat it goes away on it's own after a few hours. I started soaking them in water so they would start to sink and be softer for him. Just want to make sure it's suddenly a food thing and only a food thing.

 

[haveyouhadyourteayet]

Oh it's absolutely a swim bladder thing. What I assume is happening, is the food gets in there and presses up on his bladder, making him float/sink. Thus trying to minimize the amount of food in his stomach while maximizing food intake...