Hello, I'm seeking help to figure out what is happening to my betta fish Rainbow. I got him about 10 months ago. He was being kept in very poor and inadequate conditions and was roughly already a year old. Since the beginning, I've always noticed he had a whiter and slightly larger belly then other bettas I've seen but at the time I thought it was from being in a tiny 'betta cube' and thought with better conditions it would go away. But it never has but has never seemed to cause him any troubles. I should also mention he's always seemed a bit bigger then other bettas. It's really hard to explain or show but when I look at other bettas at the pet shops he's always seemed physically larger then them but it could be nothing.
Anyway, a few weeks ago his swelling was becoming bigger. I don't have any photos of it then but after a few days of salt baths it went down and I found some larger poops in the tank so I assume that was just constipation. Afterwards I started feeding him less pellets (he is very picky and hard to feed so he mostly has Hikari Betta Bio-Gold pellets which are tiny). He went from having roughly 9 of these pellets a day (I wasn't sure how much to feed and since he always seemed bigger I though he might need more) to about 4 or 5.
But in the last week, his belly has begun to swell even more but I don't think its constipation this time. For one, he is regularly pooping and they look healthy as far as I can tell. Also he seemed to slim down a bit along his body when viewed from above which I'm guessing is from the lower food amount. I've given him 3 salt baths in the last few days but there has been no visible change to his stomach. He is behaving normally - he still eagerly eats and comes up for food, he is still decently active (although he has been gradually slowing down the last few months from what I've assumed is age), he is curious. He seems a little stilted when swimming (almost like bending his belly is hard for him) but doesn't appear to have any bouyancy issues and doesn't have any trouble reaching the surface. He's not pineconing either - I had a betta pinecone before and while he def looks bloated from above I dont see any pineconing. His breathing seems fine, he handles the salt baths well and hasn't passed out but does seem a little agitated at times. The swelling seems equal on both sides but it is very hard to tell and my partner thinks the swelling looks slightly larger on his right side but I can't tell. Also, when he swims up near a light his belly is slightly see-through and a light pink if that makes sense - it's not literally see-though but the light helps you see through it a bit.
I tested the water parameters and they are -
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 10.0 ppm
pH: 7.4
He's kept in a 10 gallon heated, filtered tank. The temperature has been fluctuating a bit lately because of the climate and can be between 25 - 26.3 C (77 - 79.34 F). He is fed twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. 2 - 3 pellets each feeding, he was previously fed 3 times a day and fed more but I thought it might've been too much so I recently changed. He has Hikari Bio-Gold pellets, Hikari Vibra Bites and very rarely Tetra freeze-dried bloodworms. I clean his tank once a week with a 30-40% water change. I've recently had brown algae issues but with increased cleaning its been settling down.
In the past few days I've taken as many photos as I can when he's in the recovery tank, I apologise if theyre not the best but he gets very anxious when I try to get photos as he doesn't like my phone. Also the photos might have a slight brown or yellow tint to them, that from his tank water having tannins from Indian Almond Leaves. I only started adding these in recently - could they be causing this? Please let me know what this could be, I'm suspecting a tumour but I don't know. I'm not the most experienced betta fishkeeper but I love Rainbow very much and I want to help him. I don't think he's in pain but I am worried from not knowing what is going on or what to do. Also please feel free to ask any questions, I hope I can sort out what's happening to him.
Anyway, a few weeks ago his swelling was becoming bigger. I don't have any photos of it then but after a few days of salt baths it went down and I found some larger poops in the tank so I assume that was just constipation. Afterwards I started feeding him less pellets (he is very picky and hard to feed so he mostly has Hikari Betta Bio-Gold pellets which are tiny). He went from having roughly 9 of these pellets a day (I wasn't sure how much to feed and since he always seemed bigger I though he might need more) to about 4 or 5.
But in the last week, his belly has begun to swell even more but I don't think its constipation this time. For one, he is regularly pooping and they look healthy as far as I can tell. Also he seemed to slim down a bit along his body when viewed from above which I'm guessing is from the lower food amount. I've given him 3 salt baths in the last few days but there has been no visible change to his stomach. He is behaving normally - he still eagerly eats and comes up for food, he is still decently active (although he has been gradually slowing down the last few months from what I've assumed is age), he is curious. He seems a little stilted when swimming (almost like bending his belly is hard for him) but doesn't appear to have any bouyancy issues and doesn't have any trouble reaching the surface. He's not pineconing either - I had a betta pinecone before and while he def looks bloated from above I dont see any pineconing. His breathing seems fine, he handles the salt baths well and hasn't passed out but does seem a little agitated at times. The swelling seems equal on both sides but it is very hard to tell and my partner thinks the swelling looks slightly larger on his right side but I can't tell. Also, when he swims up near a light his belly is slightly see-through and a light pink if that makes sense - it's not literally see-though but the light helps you see through it a bit.
I tested the water parameters and they are -
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 10.0 ppm
pH: 7.4
He's kept in a 10 gallon heated, filtered tank. The temperature has been fluctuating a bit lately because of the climate and can be between 25 - 26.3 C (77 - 79.34 F). He is fed twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. 2 - 3 pellets each feeding, he was previously fed 3 times a day and fed more but I thought it might've been too much so I recently changed. He has Hikari Bio-Gold pellets, Hikari Vibra Bites and very rarely Tetra freeze-dried bloodworms. I clean his tank once a week with a 30-40% water change. I've recently had brown algae issues but with increased cleaning its been settling down.
In the past few days I've taken as many photos as I can when he's in the recovery tank, I apologise if theyre not the best but he gets very anxious when I try to get photos as he doesn't like my phone. Also the photos might have a slight brown or yellow tint to them, that from his tank water having tannins from Indian Almond Leaves. I only started adding these in recently - could they be causing this? Please let me know what this could be, I'm suspecting a tumour but I don't know. I'm not the most experienced betta fishkeeper but I love Rainbow very much and I want to help him. I don't think he's in pain but I am worried from not knowing what is going on or what to do. Also please feel free to ask any questions, I hope I can sort out what's happening to him.
