Fish Constipation/swim bladder

[Elisabeth83]

Darn it I put in wafers last night and it seems my swordtail ate way too much and is bloated up and floating on the surface looking terrible

What can I do?

Gosh I feel horrible....

 

[phil]

Hi Elisabeth83

Try feeding him a cooked de skinned pea which has been mashed up.

I had similar problems a few weeks ago and now vary my fishes diet from live bloodworms, flake, and once a week peas.

Hope this helps

Phil

 

[Elisabeth83]

Hi phil, How did you get your fish to eat the pea? My girl is just floating on the surface and isn't taking any interest in the pea

This hasn't ever happened to me before because I vary my feeding just like you. I feed them bloodworm/veggies/wafer and flake but I overfed on the wafers last night

edit : I am so mad at myself right now

 

[Polardbear]

Oh no, I'm afraid to ask which one of your girls. You could try giving her a couple of bloodworms. Not a whole bunch, just a few. They help sometimes with constipation and might appeal to her a little more than the pea. Peas are much better but not if you can't get them to eat them.

 

[rdd1952]

Stay away from the bloodworms. They are actually very high in protein and are difficult to digest. They will only make your problem worse. Try using a breeder box or net to isolate the fish and then give the pea.

Below is a link about the bloodworms (actually about feeding bettas but does explain about food) and 2 about constipation.

http/www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/fishbertspage/feeding.html

http/petplace.netscape.com/Articles/artShow.asp?artID=2551
http/bettas.fishjunkies.com/Disorders/constipation.php

 

[Elisabeth83]

I'm so upset with myself She is such a hog!! Even though the others got quite fat bellies she had the biggest. Don't fish have something in their minds to say "hey your full stop eating"

Well I just got back from a little birthday party and she's still alive. Still floating but when I came near the tank she tried her hardest to get to the bottom and stay there. I put her in a breeding net straight away just so the other fish wouldn't bug her and also so she's have an easier time eating the pea I put in there. Doesn't look like she's touched it though

I read not to feed them for 3 days and sometimes they will sort themselves out. How long does it take a fish to die when they are like this? Do most recover?? I've only ever had a goldfish do this when I was younger but it came around after a day.

Yes polardbear it's my big black girl..I'm crushed I've had her the longest and she's my fav fish out of the bunch. I'm going to kill myself if she dies on me and I'm the one who caused it

What's kinda cute it theres a small hole in the breeder net and 2 of her older fry found their way in there. So they are keeping her company They can get out anytime they want.

Whats the chances she'll survive I wonder?? If she's alive by the morning are her chances high?

 

[a.i.m]

Are any of her scales slightly raised, is one side of her belly more swollen than the other side.

 

[BettaMomma]

Hi!
My betta ate so much I thought he'd burst - I even saw slight splits in his under belly. BUT - I stopped feeding him for 3 days and he went back to normal. I now feed him much less.

Anyway, you should start to see results pretty soon - by tomorrow the belly should start to go down, noticably. Within a few days she should be well on her way back to normal.

And no, fish don't have the "I'm full, I should stop eating" instinct. They'd eat til, well their bellies LITERALLY exploded. Unfortunately.

Best of luck with your girly. I think she'll pull thru just fine.

 

[Polardbear]

Oh no, I was afraid you were going to say it was the black girl. I've got my fingers crossed for her, I hope she pulls through.

 

[Elisabeth83]

Are any of her scales slightly raised, is one side of her belly more swollen than the other side.

I haven't gotten the greatest look at her as I've kept her in the breeding net and kept the lights off all day but from what I saw early this morning her scales dont look raised and the bloat is the same on both sides.

For most of the time she was floating on her sides (switching) but once she was actually floating belly up

She does try to swim down to the bottom of the breeding net when she sees me and when I caught her to put her in the net she gave a good fight swimming at the bottom of the tank. Then she tired though and came rocketing towards the surface like a torpedo

I will definately not feed her for a few days....gosh I hope she pulls through too

Off to bed..will let everyone know tomorrow how she is...

 

[rdd1952]

We feed our bettas 2 or 3 Hikari Betta Bio Gold pellets twice a day. Some people say that much once a day is enough. I know that they would eat the entire pack if you dumped it in the tank. I also give them some brine shrimp, bloodworms or daphnia about every other day. If they are hid, all I have to do is touch the water and they come to the top. They know that means it's chow time. Two of them will eat them off my finger but the 3rd one won't yet. Since they eat the pellets as soon as they hit the water, I don't worry about overfeeding and having food laying around on the bottom decomposing.

 

[Elisabeth83]

Thank Goodness!! I woke up to find her swimming like normal in the breeding net She still has a biggish belly but she seems back to normal

Boy I was so worried about her...never again will I put so many wafers in. I was thinking of buying Brine Shrimp and some Tubifex but I thought they had higher chances of parasites in them? How do I ensure I kill them before I give them to my fish??

 

[Polardbear]

I'm so happy to hear she's doing better!

 

[rdd1952]

I'm not sure about live ones but I have had no problems with the frozen. I'm not too fond of the tubiflex worms. They look like tiny hairs in the water. I guess they find and eat them all though.

 

[rich]

I've had it a few times with my goldfish so I now hold the flakes under the surface for a couple of seconds.

It's strange that this one got more and more excited at feeding time that he was almost sticking half his head out of the water. Not any more.