Is She Pregnant?

[megaggie2002]

I got a female crowntail betta a week and a half ago. It seems like her belly area is rounder than it was. Is she pregnant?

Sorry for the camera phone pics, but the good camera is charging.

 

[Lyra0727]

It's been a while since Ive actually taken care of bettas.. 3 years since ive tried to breed them.. I'm not sure many consider female bettas to be pregnant since they lay eggs not give live birth. But usually when the female is ready to mate they will have a white bump sort of type right in the area youd expect the eggs to come out of. I never remembered them having a belly like that though..

But wait until you get other peoples opinions first just in case. Like I said its been a while for me.

 

[AstonN24vantage]

im not beta expert either, but bettas are very prone to bloat... i think thats what it is, but i would get more replies and not listen to my judgement.

im not beta expert either, but bettas are very prone to bloat... i think thats what it is, but i would get more replies and not listen to my judgement.

 

[Ostara]

im not beta expert either, but bettas are very prone to bloat... i think thats what it is, but i would get more replies and not listen to my judgement.

If not that (yet), then definitely a severe case of overfeeding. What kind of food are you giving her, and how much? I'd stop feeding for several days at least to see if it helps. Bettas can and will eat themselves to death; I've had to take a couple out of community tanks because they would gorge until their bellies distended like that.

 

[Better is Betta]

I kinda agree with the bloating I have a female CT and she is a pig when it comes to food. She looks on the bloated side so I decided to decrease her feeding until she slims down a bit. Usually if a male is present she may roe up and you can see a little white tube sticking out under her belly and white shades on each side of her belly which indicates roe. But judging by the photo yeh! she must love her food too much.....time to diet

 

[mmjisawesome]

no it is just bloat .Give her some frozen de-shelled peas into bite size pieces that would fit her mouth it really helped my betta get over bloat.

 

[bettabits]

That definitely looks like overfeeding to me. But it could also be an internal parasite, or even dropsy.

Do a 50% water change today, because if she is being over fed, there is a good chance her water perameters are off. I definitely don't think this girl is preggers as she isnt exhibiting an egg spot. I would also change her water again with a 50% change tomorrow and perhaps the next day as well. Then I would do 25% water changes every day until the problem fixes itself.

Feed a very tiny piece of blanched frozen pea and then stop her feed until at least 4 days from now to see if it's just constipation. Also please make sure if you are feeding pellets to soak them first in the future!

If that doesnt fix it you may be looking at an internal parasite, sorry to be icky but is her poo normal or stringy? Is she pooing at all? I am always hesitant to medicate until after trying water changes. Many problems do get better with simple water changes and taking them off their feed for a few days. Best medication for intestinal parasites is Jungle’s Parasite Clear.

I have a bad feeling though, that this is dropsy. Mostly because I see a small patch of white behind her gill, which looks like ich. Ich and dropsy sometimes come together in new Bettas that have been too long in those icky little store cups without a water change. Is she swimming normally? Is she rubbing against substrate or any decorations or filter intakes? There is no known cure for dropsy that has been proven, it is best to just do lots of water changes while waiting to see if it's constipation. If she doesnt get better within 3-4 days I would pick up some Jungle's Parasite Clear.

I hope your little girl feels better soon and feel free to PM if you have any other questions.