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Constipation
Common Name: Constipation
Scientific Name: none
Description: Digestive Blockage
Symptoms: bloating around stomach,
lack of defecation
Cause: overfeeding, feeding dry
foods, lack of fiber in high protein diet
Medications: none
Ingredients: none
Notes: Can be mild or severe, can
be fixed by dietary changes
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More Information
Constipation is very
common in bettas and in most cases can be fixed by
a few simple changes in diet. The most obvious sign of constipation is
a bloated stomach. When a betta is bloated due to blockage he will only
be swollen in the digestive area. This is easily viewable from the side
and not the top. Full body swelling or scales sticking out like a
pinecone could indicate a more serious problem like Dropsy. Obviously,
when your betta is constipated he won’t be passing food so a lack of
defecation is another sign to look for. In severe cases the bloating
associated with constipation can put pressure on the internal system
that controls the betta’s swim bladder leading to the appropriately
named “Swim Bladder Disorder” or SBD. The obvious symptom of this is
the inability for the fish to right itself in the water. In many cases
the betta will be swimming on it’s side or even upside down. Once the
pressure is taken off of the organ, the fish will often return to
normal.
The most common cause of constipation is overfeeding. Whatever you are
feeding your betta too much of it can be a problem. Unlike many other
fish, bettas are quite sensitive to overfeeding and cannot be fed
according to the directions on most tropical fish food packages. Many
flake and pellet foods for tropicals recommend feeding what your fish
can eat in 2 – 5 minutes. This may prove to be too much for your betta.
Instead, it’s common practice to feed according your betta’s stomach
size. A general rule of thumb is your betta’s stomach is about as big
as one of his eyeballs and should be fed that amount at a time. This
equates to about 2 – 3 pellets or 3 – 4 bloodworms for a full-grown
adult male betta. Feeding this one to two times a day will insure your
betta is getting enough to eat.
The
types of foods you feed your betta can also lead to blockages. Many
manufactured dry foods like flakes, pellets and freeze dried foods
contain very little moisture and swell once water is introduced in the
betta’s digestive track. Since these foods contain less then 10%
moisture they can grow considerably inside your betta making it
difficult to pass. To worsen the situation, most pellets and flakes
contain mostly protein fillers like wheat meal, soybean meal, oatmeal,
and brown rice. Because bettas are carnivores much of this food goes
undigested and ends up constipating the betta or back in the tank where
it turns to ammonia. If you have to feed pellet or flake food check the
ingredients to be sure it contains mostly fishmeal or shrimp meal. Once
you have chosen the best dry food you can find it’s strongly recommend
that you soak the pellets in a glass of tank water [conditioned] for
about 10 minutes before feeding. This will allow the pellets to swell
to their full size before entering the betta’s digestive track. It’ll
also allow you to better gauge just how many pellets you should feed at
a time. The amount of swelling among pellets differs from brand to
brand.
You may hear people refer to live and frozen foods as being “too rich
for bettas” and thus causing constipation. These comments are made from
lack of understanding. Bettas naturally eat live insects and insect
larvae in the wild but mixed into that comes exoskeletons, fly wings,
etc which act as roughage keeping the fish regular. If you offer your
fish live or frozen foods everyday and never any form of fiber it is
possible to cause constipation. This is easily avoided by giving your
betta a small piece of blanched pea once a week or giving him foods
like mysis shrimp that contain an exoskeleton or flightless fruit flies
that sill have wings attached. A diet of various live and frozen foods
is far superior to pellets and flakes and shouldn’t be avoided out of
fear of constipation. Just be sure to introduce fiber into the diet on
occasion. To read more about the Rich Food
Myth see our article from
November 2004.
One
of the easiest things you can do to avoid constipation is to fast
your fish one day a week. A day off will not hurt your betta; in fact
it will allow him the chance to clean out his digestive track
naturally.
If you find your betta is constipated first give him a day or two
without any food. Simply not feeding will often cure the problem. If
after two days he is still constipated, feed him the inside of a pea. I
buy a box from the freezer section at the grocery store and let one
thaw out each week, remove the skin and offer him a small portion about
the size of one of his eyeballs. This isn’t as unusual as it may sound.
It’s actually a trick-of-the-trade and is used by betta keepers all
over the world.
For severe constipation, a tiny portion of daphnia can be served your
betta. Daphnia is known to act as a mild laxative.
Keep a close eye on your fish and constipation should cure itself so
long as you are not overfeeding and are offering a proper diet. You may
find it helps to remove any gravel or décor in the tank while
your fish is blocked up. It will make it easier to tell when he has
returned to normal. If your tank is cycled, you may find it easier to
remove the betta and keep him in a hospital tank until he is well
again.
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