Is My Betta Dying?

[mjnisk142]

So I've had a betta fish for over 2 years now, and recently (within the past month) I have put it into a tank with another betta (it has a class divider of course) for a while both fish were doing great, flaring their gills and making bubbles and what not. Recently I realized I started feeding the fish too much and I thought I was over feeding then when I noticed the older one was starting to swim to it's side. I do know that's what fish do when they are constipated and are fed too much but it's getting worse. I noticed about 3 days ago it was starting to swim on it's side and so I stopped feeding it. This morning it looked better so I fed it again and when I returned to my dorm after class it's a million times worse. It's literally lying on it's side at a 90 degree angle and only swims when the other fish goes to flare it's gills. I removed the "sick" fish from the double tank figuring the healthy fish might be either aggrevating it or scaring it. Do you think it's dying? I mean I've had it for over 2 years and this is the first time it's ever seemed remotely sick, is it just old age or overfeeding??

 

[sparklefuzz]

I'm not sure, but I would suggest not feeding it for a couple of days to see if that helps. If it is constipation, he may need some time to clear himself out. Also, flaring all the time might be tiring him out, maybe put something along the divide if it clear plastic, so the other betta isn't in full view all of the time. Some bettas seem to learn to ignore the other fish, but others get exhausted trying to scare the other one off.