Huge Belly!

[Rediahs]

So this morning I fed my fish and left. I dropped in part of a wafer for my corys like normal.

Now, normally I have my betta in a separate tank but it started leaking so I put him in the 29 gallon with my 8 rasboras and 6 corys. He does nip the rasboras now and then but other than that they seem to get along fine.

I just now took a look at the tank and OH MY GOD my betta's belly is HUGE!!! I didn't know it could get that big... it is literally the size of a small marble. I'm suspecting that he gobbled up the wafer while I wasn't looking before the corys could get it? It's an algae wafer, but the ingredients seem to be mostly fish meal with small bits of plant matter - it's Hikari brand.

Anyway... is it likely that he gobbled up the wafer, or do you think something else happened? I am just in shock. I didn't ever think that he'd try to eat the wafer, and while I didn't actually see it happen, it seems likely....

 

[t1tanrush]

I've had bettas eat at wafers, along with convicts.

 

[Rediahs]

But he must've eaten the whole thing before the corys got a chance because he is HUGE and there is no trace left of the wafer...

Arrgghhhhhhh.

 

[xFlx]

My betta does this. He seems to be 10xs more efficient at finding the wafer than the cories, and when he does find it he drags it away and eats till he looks on the verge of bursting. I have to put him in a container now when my cories eat.

 

[Forestpisces]

Sadly yes one of mine does this too, they will pig themselves on almost anything

Give him a starve day and then feed him part of a cooked de shelled mushed pea to clear him out, repeat the pea once a day until he is a normall size again.

 

[three-fingers]

Yet betta turns his nose up at anything except live food and frozen bloodworms/brine shrimp/mosquito larvae .

 

[Rediahs]

Argh... so I'm not really sure anymore if it was the wafer. Could just be a co-incidence, but now my betta has white rings around his eyes? It's hard to explain. I'm not sure if it's popeye really... it's just his eyes look like raccoon eyes but in reverse - white rings instead of black, and they are VERY well defined, there's no mistaking the white rings. His tummy has gone down a little bit, but still fairly large.

I was so startled to see it this morning. Water stats are still 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite. I went ahead and pulled out the emergency 10 gallon and put him in there... I didn't bother setting up the filter (just the heater) but I think 1 betta in 10g temporarily is not really going to produce enough waste to matter... and maybe the still water will calm him...

 

[lilacamy931]

Get us a pic if you can?

 

[Rediahs]

Get us a pic if you can?

I could get you a pic but it would be worthless. I don't have a camera good enough to pick that up.

However, it does look a lot like this picture I found:

 

[Forestpisces]

Are the circles a milky colour or just blue like the picture?

 

[Rediahs]

Are the circles a milky colour or just blue like the picture?

They are pretty much white.

 

[lilacamy931]

That is really...odd. And these have appeared suddenly? Try posting in emergencies as we dont want this underlying issue to go bad suddenly... How is his behaviour?

 

[Rediahs]

That is really...odd. And these have appeared suddenly? Try posting in emergencies as we dont want this underlying issue to go bad suddenly... How is his behaviour?

It was sudden, as far as I saw, just this morning. But I will post in emergencies.

 

[Keithoms]

Hehe, my betta wouldn't eat any of my current foods. I managed to get some bloodworm and krill flakes and he absolutely LOVED them!

 

[Rediahs]

I didn't have time to post in emergencies before I left but now I just got back and checked on my betta, and his eye-circles are less white and his belly is going down.

I wonder what made him do this. Maybe it was just that he ate so much that his eyes bugged out (well not really bugging out but you know what I mean)

I think he is getting better on his own