I just had a really weird thing happen...

  • Get the NEW AquariaCentral iOS app --> http://itunes.apple.com/app/id1227181058 // Android version will be out soon!

adeire

AC Members
Jul 25, 2010
53
0
0
Norfolk, VA, USA
I got home from work a little while ago and checked on my Bettas. All good. :) I gave them a pea to share (broken up) and when that vanished I gave them some pellets. Then two minutes later I checked on them again and Scarlett was hovering by the surface, and I notice that her gills are working very hard. I checked on the other girls (same tank - same water), they seemed fine. I could see that Scarlett was "breathing" from the surface every 10 seconds (very odd) and when she did a bubble came out her left gill!!! And the side fin right there is pulled in. Uh oh... I didn't see any damage - no nips or anything - and her fins weren't clamped at all, the rest were fully extended. Still, bubbles shouldn't come out her gills... :confused:

So I scooped her out. Put her in a fish bowl with only 1.5 inches of water, so she didn't have to work to reach the surface, and I kept checking on her every minute or so, when something weird happened...

After 5 min, I looked in and there was a piece of the pea and 4 pellets in the water! It had been clear before. Scarlett's gills weren't struggling. She wasn't coming up for air more than normal. And I may be wrong about this, but she seemed seriously pissed about being in that bowl - swimming all around like she was trying to get out.

Fine by me. Back in the main tank she went. I watched carefully to see if she was going to be okay, and I kid you not, she is back to normal!

So, tell me, what in the world just happened there?
 
Last edited:

H2Ogal

Betta Be Good to Me
Mar 16, 2010
1,213
0
0
Memphis, TN
Real Name
Deborah
I believe that bettas have pharyngeal teeth (teeth in their throats), and the up-and-down head motion is them actually chewing their food. There can be a pause between taking in a bite of food and chewing/swallowing it, and they'll happily grab another bite of food before the first one is finished. So it sounds like she gulped in a lot of food too fast, or maybe she had a hard time chewing the pea and it slowed things down. Either way, it interfered with her breathing until she spit the food out.

Hope this helps. :)

Edited to add: pea and four pellets is a lot of food for one betta. Her stomach is only the size of her eye, so one regular pellet or a couple of mini-pellets is a full meal. The pea by itself would also be a meal.
 

adeire

AC Members
Jul 25, 2010
53
0
0
Norfolk, VA, USA
Yeah - I was surprised she ate that much. It was 1/2 a pea and 8 pellets for FOUR Bettas, not each one. The others might be a tad hungry...

Good info, though, I didn't know about the chewing thing.

She's still dandy. :)
 

fishycat

needs more wiggle.
Dec 9, 2009
2,926
0
0
Hawaii
I'm glad Scarlet is okay! Yup, bettas are pigs... on "pea" days, I don't feed pellets to avoid over-eating. I usually spot-feed pellets to my boys but can see how that wouldn't work in a sorority set-up! :rolleyes:
 

H2Ogal

Betta Be Good to Me
Mar 16, 2010
1,213
0
0
Memphis, TN
Real Name
Deborah
LOL, Scarlet was really scarfing those pellets!

Hope you'll post some pics of your girls soon, adeire. We like pics. :)
 

adeire

AC Members
Jul 25, 2010
53
0
0
Norfolk, VA, USA
It's like feeding sharks, lol! I try to spread the food out so it's not all in one spot, but, hmm, I'll think of something...

Pics, aye? I have an album up for the sorority, but here are some close ups of the stars! :clap:

The first is Scarlett. The nip is from a while ago (bad Daphne!) and is healing well. She's the omega of the group.

The marble/white one is Opal. She just took the lead from Ruby, who is right behind her.

Then there's Ruby, former alpha, nice and red!

And a blurry pic of Daphne, but it shows her color well.

scarlett.jpg Opal (&Ruby).jpg ruby.jpg daphne.jpg
 

Ballyhoo

AC Members
Jun 27, 2010
2,608
1
38
34
Fairfield, CA
Beautiful girls!
 

Ratlova30

AC Members
Apr 2, 2010
705
1
0
Washington
Real Name
Chelsea
Glad she's okay and beautiful bettas!
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store