Is my beta ill?

Question

I think my beta fish may be ill. Her fins are clamped together, her stomach looks larger than my other female beta, she's either really still, or twitching all over the place in a beserk way, like she's trying to escape. Is she suffering from some diesease, or is she pregnant? (I recently got her from a store that was breeding some of their fish.) If so, please tell me what to do! I'm sending her off as a present for my friend in two days, and I'm worried that she might die.

Answer 1

This doesn't sound good. Betta are egg layers, and don't get much bigger than normal when carrying a full load of eggs. (Healthy females are generally always ready to breed.) The behavior sound like stress or illness. The swollen stomach like constipation, or dropsy.

I would keep her warm, and her water clean. Don't feed for a day or 2 then cook a pea, peel it, and feed her half of it. This will clean out her system. If it's dropsy she is likely a goner. (Dropsy ~= organ failure) You might try something like melafix, and/or primafix to deal with possible bacterial infection.

PS- Read the betta talk disease section, and take a closer look at her. Maybe she's suffering from velvet, or something more subtle.

Answer 2

My first thought is a water quality issue. Clamped fins often means high ammonia. The large belly could be from eggs or from a disease.

Try changing water in the container, about 50% the first time and about 25% 12 hours or so later. If the betta seems better within 24 hours, that's your answer. If not it could be any one of several diseases and I would need more information to help you figure that one out.

As for sending it off to a friend, I would pick a new fish to send and nurse this one a while. No matter what the cause, the fish is stressed out and would probably not do well during shipping which only causes more stress. Best of luck

Answer 3

If the fins are clamped together, most likely the fish is too cold. Ideal water temperature for a Betta is around 80 degrees F.

Female - swollen abdomen, trouble swimming, loss of appetite, lethargic. She could be Egg Bound.

Do not send her off as a present. Return her to where she was purchased for help.

Answer 4

Well when fish are healthy they do not do that and she wouldnt be pregnant because they dont keep the females and the males together at the pet stores.......atleast they arent supposed to. Sounds to me like your fish might be sick.......and will probably die......take the fish back and ask the petstore......they shouldnt sell sick fish sometimes they will talk you into buying a sick fish if you do not know any better and if you really dont know they are sick and cant tell. If it is sick then make them replece it as it was a gift. you cant send a friend a sick fish.......it could infect other fish too if it is something serious.

Answer 5

what kind of tank is she in? if it's filtered, was it cycled? clamped fins are not a good sign. when she twitches does she rub herself on gravel, objects in the tank? can you see anything odd on her scales? like specs of white? the edges of her fins looking tatty? like shes been dusted in gold dust? when i had a betta with clamped fins it was due to ammonia poisoning when i didn't know about cycling.

bettas don't get pregnant, they lay eggs, so either shes eggy, or shes bloated due to constipation. it could be either. what have you been feeding her?

betta talk below has a really good diseases section, so it might be worth a look through there.

maybe a water change and a dose of aquarium salt would be good as well (if shes in a tank alone, or in a tank withOUT snails, shrimp or scaleless fish such as loaches, plecs or otos)

Answer 6

My brother's Beta's call is Namé and he hasn't been eating his nutrition "Nutrafin MAX" It has stuff like squid liver, squid meal, shrimp, and some small dried worms... we've had him in view that February seventh and that i'm no longer particular how previous he became after we were given him... yet he has no longer been eating, he sees it on the right of the tank after we positioned it ther for him, and he shyishly is going ahead and eats it... yet i'm watching him now, and he went as a lot because it on the bottom of the tank and went to the right anticipating more desirable. yet he wouldnt devour it. he's likewise swimming fairly lazily... And to respond to your question... only positioned a mild a precise of the tank, it is what we do, and he looks to love it. Is the bump less than his chin? because it is only an element that they inflate even as they're worried, and prefer to scare off predators... :D through the way... once you've room for a heatr than which couldn't good, because they prefer a small enviorment...

Answer 7

Female Bettas don't get pregnant. It sounds as if she has some sort of parasite problem,although if the ammonia is very high in the tank its possible that the erratic swimming is caused by ammonia burns. It would not be cool to give a sick fish as a gift. Especially if the problem is contagious.-----PeeTee

Answer 8

she might be preg if the pet store was trying to breed, but the person should have told you that she might be preg.