Tropical Fish Forums

[wigglegerbilsmum]

My male Betta has got increasingly, and in my opinion abnormally fat over the last couple of weeks - he looks like he has swallowed a radish! No obvious signs that anything is wrong with him, still active, feeding, etc. Don't think he can be eating too much as he is in with a small shoal of guppies which are pretty voracious at feeding time, and there are 5 cories to hoover up the food that sinks. Any ideas - is this normal?
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Moderation doesn't change the world!

[nikelodeon79]

Obesity and overeating is a huge issue with bettas. What is your feeding schedule? What are you feeding?

Bettas should get a good quality betta pellet (I like Hikari) as their staple. They should also have one day per week where you don't feed them at all.

When you look at him from the top, do any of his scales stick out (looking sort of like a pinecone)? What are your water parameters? What is your water change schedule?

It is entirely possible he's getting too much food, especially if it's flake food. Flake food just isn't good for bettas. Bettas are very aggressive eaters. Cories, IME, never really "hoover" food. They eat very casually and are quick to abandon the food if they feel threatened.

Your betta might also be constipated. I would give him some parboiled, deshelled peas or frozen daphnia and then don't feed him at all for at least a couple of days. Monitor him to make sure he's pooping all right.
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Dumpster Tank
Nano Fish
Mbuna

[wigglegerbilsmum]

Feeding twice a day but only small amount that gets eaten in less than a minute, and it never looks as if he's getting the lion's share. I keep a variety of foods, 2 different types of flake, spirulina sticks, granular food, frozen bloodworm and obviously food for the cories. I do give them peas and other veg fairly regularly, but again, I never see him eat it - it's always the guppies. I change about 15% weekly but haven't tested water for a few weeks. Normally ammonia & nitrite 0, nitrate up to about 30 and pH around 7.2. I've gone out and bought 2 other pellet foods today though my lfs didn't have any specific to bettas. I'll either need to put him in a breeding trap for a few days or keep him netted while I feed the others. Would that work do you think?
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Moderation doesn't change the world!

[nikelodeon79]

30 is a tad on the high side (not terrible, but a bit high, IMO) for nitrate. What size is the tank? You might have to up your water changes a bit... maybe change at least 25-30% weekly. Do you have live plants? They can help absorb nitrates and decrease the frequency and amount of water you need to change.

Getting a betta specific pellet is key. The pelleted foods you are buying are probably quite different, most notably in size. Betta pellets are positively TINY and float at the surface. This is helpful in that you can distract the guppies by feeding them their flake (take a pinch and release it underneath the water so it sinks quicker) while you give the betta a couple of pellets (since you do two feedings, you can give two the first feeding and two the second) at the surface.

Do you have a Wal-mart near you? They sell Hikari betta pellets. They don't come in a can; they're sold either on a card (small amount) or in a pouch. For a single betta I'd get the card, because it will take you a LONG time to go through the food.

IMO, flake foods are just no good for bettas. They tend to bloat up really easliy from them. I've also never had success keeping bettas with cories... they always seem to get the shrimp pellets.

Keeping the betta separate during feeding time might work, and it's probably a good idea so he gets to eat his pellets before anybody else does.

Bettas certainly can be kept in community settings... but it requires a lot more work on the fishkeeper's part. I've given up on keeping them in community tanks and keep all my males in their own private 5.5g tanks and my females in a 26g species only tank.
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Dumpster Tank
Nano Fish
Mbuna

[Heatherlye]

what are deshelled peas?