Is this a swim bladder problem w/ my betta?

Question

I bought a betta last night from wal mart that had been beaten up by Oscars (long story). Anyway, I'm trying to rescue him. He has no fins. I have him in a 1 gallon bowl with aquarium salt added. My question is this. He's on his side alot. I know it has to do with the fact that he doesn't really have any fins but I think there is something else going on. He has a somewhat bloated belly and I have noticed that when he goes to the bottom of the bowl, he can't stay there. He floats right back up to the top. What would cause this and how would I fix it? Don't lecture me about keeping a betta in a bowl. I just want to get him well first before I invest in a bigger set up. If he lives, he'll get a nice tank with filtration and a heater. I promise.

Answer 1

That certainly sounds like a swim bladder problem to me. It's possible that it's just some intestinal blockage from his diet as well. Walmart I'm sure only feeds a very basic dry flake food at that could certainly cause some blockage and trapped gas that would give him this problem. Given him an additional day with no food to see if the problem passes and if not you may need to trreat for a swim bladder infection. A good choice of treatments' would be Furanace or Furan 2 in combination with antibiotic medicated food. If those antibiotics aren't available to you Maracyn TC would be my next choice, but also in combination with the medicated food.

MM

Answer 2

yes this is a swim bladder problem i would recomend u leave the salt in the water an feed your betta a pea.. yes a regular sweet pea. also i would recommend you buy some maracyn two and add about two drops to your 1 gallon bowl. everything should be ok if he eats the pea.by the way if your wondering what the pea does it cleans out the digestive tract in the betta.. if this doesnt work fast(dont feed) your betta for three days and see if hes able to swim after that

Answer 3

I dont think ur suppose to add salt to the water