Q: SK wrote: I came across your website by the recommendation of a few people. My betta seems to be having a pseudo-unique health problem. He seems constipated but really grossly, but he swims as energetically as always and his appetite hasn’t waned in the slightest. He is however, grotesquely swollen. For the past week, I’ve reduced his regular diet and given him greens like bits of green peas. He is defecating normally. His fins aren’t protruding like with
dropsy. I’ve attached a few pictures of him. Keep in mind, he is still swelling. Any help or advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.
Betta with Bloated Abdomen
A: Thanks for writing in and providing those images. Though they are difficult to look at, they do illustrate, quite clearly, the severity of the situation. Dropsy is often characterized by full body swelling with protruding scales but very often it will materialize as an immensely bloated abdomen. I’m not certain why in some fish, the swelling is spread and in others it is centralized but fish hobbyists consider both to be Dropsy. I suspect the difference has to do with regulating osmotic pressure but I will have to do further research to see if there are theories.
The swelling you are seeing is not caused by a solid blockage (food) but rather a fluid build up caused when the internal organs begin to fail. Sadly, the survival rate in tropical fish is quite low and even more so when it gets to this level.
To make your fish more comfortable, I suggest either an epsom salt dip (1/2 tsp / gal for 15 minutes in a separate container) or you can add 1/8 tsp per 5 gal of epsom salt to his tank directly. Epsom salts are traditionally used to regulate the osmotic pressure and to relieve some of the swelling but some folks us aquarium salt instead at a dose of 1/2 tsp per gallon for a 15 min dip or a 1/2 tsp per 5 gal directly into the tank. (Don’t use aquarium salt in your tank if you have live plants).
Just as a side note, salt does not evaporate. If you are adding it directly to the tank for the first time, it will remain after a water change. Don’t redose the entire aquarium with salt again and again so that it accumulates. Instead, treat just the new water. While your fish is sick, it’s important to keep his water clean and free from toxins. Frequent
It’s important to understand epsom or aquarium salt isn’t a cure. It’s just intended to help bring some of the swelling down. Unfortunately, there is no cure for Dropsy.
I wish there was more I could offer. I hope he continues to feel good as long as
possible. Please let me know how he progresses.
Bloated Betta Fish
View Comments (95)
Aw! :( This is exactly what my poor baby looks like. I took him to my local fish doctor a few days after I first noticed the swelling and he pretty much told me to prepare for the worst. Even though I knew it was coming, it brought me to tears. My fishy and I have been through a lot together.
My little guy’s been this way for about four weeks now and still acting like everything’s fine. Still eating, still flaring up when he sees his neighbour and still cheerfully swimming around his tank like nothing’s wrong… I’m hoping he’s not in any pain. I just do a 30% water change every second/third day and pop epsom salts in. This hasn’t reduced the swelling but he hasn’t grown any bigger, either.
I know there’s no cure for dropsy so hopefully I can just manage it and keep him happy for as long as possible. When I saw your post and saw how similar the conditions were, I was really, really hoping it was some other (treatable) illness — I got so excited. Alas. All the best for your little fella too.
- Laura
my male beta fish is like that now im not sure how long it has been like that but i really hope he gets better and i am not sure how they get it but i really hope he is going to be ok :(
Tova kakvo znachi kakvo triabva da napravia
Aww :(
My Bob has been like that too and I thought it was because he’s such a fatty…but it began to worry me so I found this page. My little brothers are devastated. We just lost our puppy to a hit and run, so you can imagine how we all feel losing another member of the family. Bob has been with us for almost a year now…and its so sad to think him gone.
Best of luck to you guys!
My fish is a fat fish i keep the tank clean and everything dont worry if you are a good pet owner and keep it clean then your condition may be that your fish likes to eat like mine
My Betta is also suffering from a swollen tummy. I took him out of my 45 G tank into a gallon hospital tank. I’m treating him daily with 95% water changes, 1 tsp of epsom salt, and 1/4 tsp of terramycin. I also put 2 live red shrimp to keep him company and a live food source. After 2 days, he finally started pooing a little. His stomach has gone down a tiny bit. Will update in a few days.
If it has raised scales its dropsy, but I would highly recommend going tot his webpage http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm. It gives a through description of betta diseases and how to cure them.
My little betta Anjelica is swelled like that too she wont eat and just floats to the surface and then back down to the bottom. She seems out of it. Semiconscious. I think she will go soon, but she has stayed longer than I thought. Im sure all of your fish have had a amazing life. Stay strong
Oh Laura, I’m so sorry to hear about your Betta. I hate Dropsy, as I too have lost beloved fishes to it. It’s a horrible disease.
Hi Laura,
My beta also got very swollen but his entire body. His scales stuck up like spikes!
I gave him regular baths of epsom salt, feed him peas and got him a heater and started feeding him Daphnia.
After four weeks of constant treatment the swelling started to go down and he became normal size within three days!
Charlie is a vey happy fish and he has a very happy Mama!
Bobbi
Laura how often do u apply the epsom salt?
Hi.. my betta Redman must have dropsy in the begining.. I immediately began treatment using only salt baths and melafix.. his poops are back to normal and isn’t swollen anymore.. all of this scales are back to normal.. So there is hope if you catch at its earliest stages… treatment may last for months… I am a veterinarian technician student so I think I learned something from my studies..
Poor fish! I have a young male Betta who looks exactly like this. He has been acting completely normally but gradually swelling for the past couple of weeks. At first I thought he was just eating too much as he is by far the greediest fish in my 200ltr tank. But when he just kept swelling despite being put on a diet I knew for sure something was wrong. No other fish in the tank have been showing any signs of illness.
I described the symptoms to a local expert over the phone who told me that my fish could possibly be suffering from Dropsy – but this was ruled out as the only symptom he has is the swelling and no pineconing or notable changes in behaviour.
Having established he was probably just constipated I was advised he should be fed live bloodworms and live brinshrimp That did not seem to help much.
So I took him in for an examination and have just been advised that it is in fact most likely a case of Malawi Bloat, not Dropsy – that is, he has been eating too much high protein food which his body cannot process properly so he has developed ‘fatty’ tissue and is severely constipated.
He is now in a little hospital tank and is being treated with Octozin and a 40% water change every day. I was also told to feed him only small amounts of live brineshrimp.
It is early days yet but he already seems more comfortable so here’s hoping for the best. I hope this can be of some help to others trying to treat the same horrible condition.
Chris
My fish Radcliffe is now going through the exact same thing! Its so sad because I got him when I moved into college and he has been with me in my dorm now for a few months.
I do have a question. Is Dropsy contagious to other fish? I also have a female betta in the bowl with him and Im hoping it wont affect her too.
Thank you!
:(
This condition is not contagious but a male and female betta should never be kept in the same bowl together. These are aggressive fish and even if they are not actively attacking each other, they are stressing each other out and are prone to random acts of violence (murder!) so I would seperate them anyway as soon as possible.
I’m not sure if I agree with this advise. We had a 29 gallon tank, a 10 gallon & a 1 gallon for breeding & babies. We separated our males but always left one male & our females in the same tank together. They never fought or even paid much attention unless they were breeding. We bred hundreds of betas successfully & sold them to the local fish store.
my betta sparky is showing exactly the same symptoms all of you guys are describing. i have taken him out of his 13L tank and popped him in a jar of melafix and not fed him for 3 days. hes still bubblenesting!!!! i am about to give him a quarter pea, and thoroughly clean his tank. i’mm gonna keep writing on here every few days on his progress….. wish us luck !
I got a Betta a week ago…And immediately after I started feeding him he's abdomen started swelling…He isn't constipated because he's eliminating normally…But is it dropsy?
I’m sorry to say but most likly so iwould prapare the worst
what kind of peas can you give beta, and can you use kosher salt for salt baths?