What is wrong with my female betta?

[Woody781]

What is wrong with my female betta? I have been doing weekly water changes and have stopped feeding the tank for a few days even though there are other bettas in the tank but she still seems bloated. Seems to be swimming around fine but yeah!!

I just took her out and put her in a little bowl just to keep a closer eye on with 1/2 tank water and 1/2 new water with a little prime in it. Help please

 

[Colin_T]

How long has she been fat like that for?

Did she get fat overnight, or over a few months?
If she became fat overnight then she has an internal bacterial infection. There's not normally any cure for that.

If she got fat over a month or more, then she probably has an internal tumour or cyst. Again there's not much you can do to treat it.

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Is she still eating?
Fish with internal bacterial infections usually stop eating. If it's a tumour or cyst they normally continue to eat until just before they die.

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She has clamped fins and tail. Do any of the other fish have clamped fins?

 

[Woody781]

How long has she been fat like that for?

Did she get fat overnight, or over a few months?
If she became fat overnight then she has an internal bacterial infection. There's not normally any cure for that.

If she got fat over a month or more, then she probably has an internal tumour or cyst. Again there's not much you can do to treat it.

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Is she still eating?
Fish with internal bacterial infections usually stop eating. If it's a tumour or cyst they normally continue to eat until just before they die.

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She has clamped fins and tail. Do any of the other fish have clamped fins?

She’s been fat for about a week. None of the others seem fat. No so sure about clamped fins but I don’t think so. What am I looking for? They all seem to be swimming around ok but that fish. Um well just tried to feed her again and yeah no not interested

Could it be connected to my algae problem on the glass? I keep having to clean it off and I’ve reduced the amount of light. The light used to go on for 4 hours between 4-8pm now I have reduce it to 5:30-8

 

[Colin_T]

This has nothing to do with light.

If you have algae you can reduce the lighting times or add more live plants. Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) is a good floating plant that helps stop algae and provides lots of hiding places for Bettas.

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If the fish ballooned up recently and has stopped feeding, she is probably dying and I would euthanise her.

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Clamped fins are where the fins no longer sit open and look full. They tend to squish up together and sometimes lay against the body. The tail should be open and look like a normal tail.

If you look at the sick fish in the picture, her tail is not fully open and her dorsal (top) fin looks narrow and it tapers to a point. It should be more open than that.

 

[Woody781]

Now that I say she’s not eating, she is! I put in a few pellets at first and nothing. But I put a little bit of brine shrimp in and she came up straight away and ate some then a bit more.

 

[FishGuest5123]

She could be full of unfertilized eggs. If that’s the case, she may absorb them. If not, then I agree with Colin on his theory.

 

[Woody781]

She could be full of unfertilized eggs. If that’s the case, she may absorb them. If not, then I agree with Colin on his theory.

If it is eggs anyway to help that?

 

[FishGuest5123]

Eggs can be expressed by hand but I wouldn’t try it. Only experienced breeders should do that. If it is eggs, let Mother Nature take her course. They should be re-absorbed and all will be fine. I have a female goldfish full of eggs right now and she is in an all female tank. I’m just watching her. As long as she is eating and acting fine I won’t intervene. I’ve never had to. Keep in mind, this is only a possibility. She could be bloated for other reasons. I never have luck with my bettas when they get swollen bellies. It’s always the females. If fasting doesn’t help, you can try a med for bacterial problems but it may not help. You can try Epsom salt baths to reduce swelling too. It’s just so difficult when they get like that. It gets painful too as the swelling presses on their organs. That’s why euthanasia is sometimes the most humane thing to do. Use Clove oil though...don’t hit them or freeze them. I do wish you the best of luck.