Sick Betta after he ate freeze dried bloodworms!

[Finzzup]

I finally found some freeze dried bloodworms this weekend and gave a few to my Betta. He wasn't that interested at first and I was just about to scoop them out of the water when he finally ate them.

Now, he's 'burping' them all over the place and seems to be really sick! He's trying to swim to the top of the bowl and then he kind of goes sideways and floats to the bottom and then does it all over again.

He's also a very vibrant silvery-bluegreen color and suddenly he seems like his color is "white-washed"

He is also keeping all his fins sorta of tucked into his body.

Anybody have ANY idea what is wrong with him? Did I poison him with the bloodworms????? :(

[Ozalie]

Sounds like he made a pig of himself ! This is very common in goldfish and other fish that eat off the surface of the water. He probably just got air in him while he was inhaling his treat.
Blood worms are one of a betta's fav.food and I think he'll be fine just keep a eye on him.The color change is due to the stress of floating around , and should come back once he feels better .

[Pootspete]

Finzzup sorry that your Betta had a bad reaction to the bloodworms, but like Ozalie said, this is one of his favorites. Continue to keep an eye on him.

[wetmanNY]

A good amount to feed a betta at one time is the equivalent of maybe five complete bloodworms.

Freeze-dried live foods rehydrate in the fishes' gut and may cause temporary bloating-- the goldfish problem.

[Finzzup]

Originally posted by Ozalie
Sounds like he made a pig of himself !

LOL! By gosh, I believe you're right! He is slowly making a comeback and REALLY seemed to like those bloodworms. Thought he had turned into a shark when he was 'inhaling' them! :rolleyes:

His color is still weird but at least he's not sinking and turning sideways anymore -- well, not as much anyway. I will keep an eye on him.

THANKS!

[ArkyLady]

Poor Mr. Utley! Too bad they don't have fish versions of Pepto Bismol :D

Hope he's going to be ok. Do you have him in his new home now?

[wetmanNY]

...maybe only the equivalent of three whole bloodworms. How many bloodworms would Mister Uttley find and eat on a good day if he were happily living in a ditch in Bangkok?

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

3 is plenty...Rember an adults stomach is about 3 times the size of their eye...He gorged himself...It woldn't hurt him to skip being fed tomorrow...

[Finzzup]

Originally posted by ArkyLady
Do you have him in his new home now?
Not yet! Supposedly, the cycle is complete, but I haven't added him yet. I was planning on it today, though!

He's almost made a total recovery now... color is normal, he's not doing water aerobics anymore but he is rather still in his jar with his fins all downwards -- not swimming too much and normally he never stops. Someone gave me a pointsettia today and it's leaves are touching the outside of his jar which normally riles him up, but he's ignoring it.

Hopefully he'll be okay! I've gotten pretty attached to this guy -- he's been with me 18 months now and I know that's probably a very long time considering he was already probably a year old when I got him...

[wetmanNY]

Don't let one of those "Point Setter" leaves that are brushing up against his jar fall in his water!

[ArkyLady]

I was wondering the same thing wetman. I know I've heard they were poisonous to other animals.

[Finzzup]

Originally posted by ArkyLady
I know I've heard they were poisonous to other animals.
Actually, they are not poisonous -- they are completely non-toxic. I became an "expert" on the subject of these plants about 9 years ago when my then 2-year-old daughter ate a few leaves! (It was also the very FIRST time I'd left her with my MIL) :rolleyes:

But I wouldn't let the leaves go into the water, just as I wouldn't let the leaves of any household plant go into the water...