bloated betta due to live frozen bloodworm feedings

[gkryptonit3]

My boy Pisces was having trouble eating this past 10 days because he wasn’t feeling well. Now he’s back to his old self but now after feeding him live frozen bloodworms his belly is bloated but I do see tiny feces coming out. The people at the petsmart store said that I can cut the block in half and the block would unfroze with the temperature of his tank, the problem now today is that when I was trying to feed him I did as they told me but now his belly is swollen and I tried cleaning as much as I could the rest that fell in the water but it is a bit difficult because the turkey baster I bought didn’t helped me much and the worms ended up spreading everywhere.

My question is..is it normal that his belly is a bit bloated after eating bloodworms?

Thanks

ps..sorry i tried capturing as much his belly but currently he is sleeping

 

[Byron]

Gorging on bloodworms could cause distension, but so could other things.

Bloodworms are not a particulary healthy food, and should only be fed once a week. The can cause internal problems, which may or may not be what is the case here.

Second point is that frozen fish food should not be fed until it has thawed out. Place the frozen food in a small dish of tank water (I just use warm tap water, it does not matter) until it thaws completely, then feed.

 

[gkryptonit3]

Gorging on bloodworms could cause distension, but so could other things.

Bloodworms are not a particulary healthy food, and should only be fed once a week. The can cause internal problems, which may or may not be what is the case here.

Second point is that frozen fish food should not be fed until it has thawed out. Place the frozen food in a small dish of tank water (I just use warm tap water, it does not matter) until it thaws completely, then feed.

I sorta did that but once i put in the tank..they spread everywhere and he started eating them. But I think he ate just a bit much..lol

 

[FishGuest5123]

A betta should only eat about 3 bloodworms at a feeding. Cut off a small piece of the frozen bloodworms and soak in a little tank water on plate. Then pull a few good ones off and feed with tweezers to fish. By the way... if bloodworms are frozen they are no longer “live”. Perhaps skip a feeding on him.

 

[Back in the fold]

A betta should only eat about 3 bloodworms at a feeding. Cut off a small piece of the frozen bloodworms and soak in a little tank water on plate. Then pull a few good ones off and feed with tweezers to fish. By the way... if bloodworms are frozen they are no longer “live”. Perhaps skip a feeding on him.

Yeah . . . do that.

 

[grayRavenn]

My boy Pisces was having trouble eating this past 10 days because he wasn’t feeling well. Now he’s back to his old self but now after feeding him live frozen bloodworms his belly is bloated but I do see tiny feces coming out. The people at the petsmart store said that I can cut the block in half and the block would unfroze with the temperature of his tank, the problem now today is that when I was trying to feed him I did as they told me but now his belly is swollen and I tried cleaning as much as I could the rest that fell in the water but it is a bit difficult because the turkey baster I bought didn’t helped me much and the worms ended up spreading everywhere.

My question is..is it normal that his belly is a bit bloated after eating bloodworms?

Thanks

ps..sorry i tried capturing as much his belly but currently he is sleeping

hi, I have 9 bettas, and they do get pretty fat after feeding blood worms. instead of a turkey baster I use a 1oz plastic squirt bottle. now, I have a lot of fish to feed, so I have to make up a lot of food, but I fill a plastic measuring cup with tank water, and put it into a hot water tub (microwaved) for 15-30 minutes. melts and warms up food. then I transfer from measuring cup to 1oz plastic squirt bottle. I find this easier to control. maybe you can quarter the frozen worms then only warm up 1/4 at a time. I feed them flake food, pelleted food, frozen brine shrimp, frozen beefheart. with all of the tanks and fish I have it is a lot easier to do this, but try and vary his food.

 

[FishGuest5123]

hi, I have 9 bettas, and they do get pretty fat after feeding blood worms. instead of a turkey baster I use a 1oz plastic squirt bottle. now, I have a lot of fish to feed, so I have to make up a lot of food, but I fill a plastic measuring cup with tank water, and put it into a hot water tub (microwaved) for 15-30 minutes. melts and warms up food. then I transfer from measuring cup to 1oz plastic squirt bottle. I find this easier to control. maybe you can quarter the frozen worms then only warm up 1/4 at a time. I feed them flake food, pelleted food, frozen brine shrimp, frozen beefheart. with all of the tanks and fish I have it is a lot easier to do this, but try and vary his food.

Do you take the squirt nozzle off the bottle? I’m confused.

 

[grayRavenn]

Do you take the squirt nozzle off the bottle? I’m confused.

no. was going to take pics of me doing this for my tanks tonight but I forgot my squirt bottle at work...I have 4 bettas there. will remember to do this.
no. I have tank water in measuring cup with the frozen food. put the cup in a hot water bath ( I microwave my heating water). after 10 minutes or so, and with the worms it is a real pain...but I pour them from the measuring cup into the squirt bottle. the top of my bottle is cut down pretty far because I really don't want the food squished when it comes out, but I swirl the food around so the worms don't bunch up. ugh, they stink!

 

[FishGuest5123]

Would love to see pics!

 

[grayRavenn]

Would love to see pics!

will do. I lost several lovely powder blue gourami's to a kind of constipation/bloat. they were eating too many blood worms and they stopped producing any feces...they loved their blood worms. pulled 4 out of 6 through by feeding them cooked, deshelled peas. learned to rotate foods, feed more flakes. as a fellow betta lover, have you ever tried the live wingless flies they sell at Petco? tried them, all of my fish adore them! that is the only live food I ever feed them though. This is Phobos….he always looks like this after he eats.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Oh, he looks like Thanksgiving dinner was good! Lol. I haven’t tried the flies. Are they actually live or frozen?

 

[grayRavenn]

he's a pig, but personality plus. no the flies are live. my bettas and angels love them. p.s. they say that they are wingless but my cats knocked one container over...boy was my hubby mad. he's not much of a "fish" person. they don't always have them and I kinda have to go to a store out of my way to get it, but this particular store has better choice of frozen and flaked food so when I go to stock up I get 2 bottles, they last about 6 weeks, and there is a learning curve to using them.