[audjree]

So, I've noticed my female, Pearl, has developed a case of floaty butt, which I fear may turn into SBD.

Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 82*
Does your tank have a filter? No.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No.
Is your tank heated? Yes.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon Betta Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 4 pellets a day - 2 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon/evening. I've ran out of frozen bloodworms, but when I have some, usually 2 bloodworms once or twice a week.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Twice a week.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 1 50% and 1 100% with gravel siphoning.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Seachem Prime Water Conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? No. If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Her appearance hasn't changed.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? She's still her spunky little self. She's making bubblenests as we speak. She's still able to get down from the water's surface but she has a little trouble staying down, and her butt floats up first then her whole body. I'm afraid this may evolve into SBD.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Today, in the afternoon.
Have you started treating your fish? No. If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Don't think so. I've had her for about 3 and a half months.
How old is your fish (approximately)? A year?

Should I start with epsom salt? Is any kind fine as long as it's unscented? What's the ratio of salt to water? I don't have any ES on hand right now, the soonest I can get it may be tomorrow or Saturday.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Pataflafla]

try fasting her for 1 day completely to see if that helps her any. In the mean time, do go out and buy unscented, uncolored epsom salt. It should be relatively cheap. Scents or colors could harm her, so it's best to go with plain.

If 1 day of fasting yields no improvement, then start her on 1 tsp/gal (Dissolved in treated water) epsom salt. You'll want to do 100% daily changes on both water and epsom salt. Recommendation for treatment length varies, but I think a full 7-10 days would be in the best interest to make sure everything is sorted out.

 

[Sakura8]

Is she eggy? Floaty butt often occurs when they are eggy and disappears after they have released or reabsorbed the eggs. Epsom salts, like Pata said, will definitely help, especially if she ate the eggs. It'll help her pass them.

 

[audjree]

So, it appears that it went away overnight, and now she's completely fine. I fasted her for today, just in case. I guess she must've been eggy. All that worrying for nothing. For future references, how would I be able to tell if she's eggy?

Thanks for your help, the both of you!

 

[Pataflafla]

From my experience they start to look plumper and their sides around their stomachs get a little paler. Thick, white poop might happen too if they're expelling them instead of absorbing.

 

[audjree]

Okay, I guess I'll be on the look out for that from now on.