Constipated betta?

At least, that's what I'm thinking here. Tell me what you think. Here are the symptoms:

Through last Saturday: From the day I brought Rocky home on Easter Saturday, he's been what I called a "betta on the go:" zipping all over his tank, exploring everything, eagerly heading to the glass to beg for food whenever I passed anywhere near. Appetite was fine, never a problem. The feeding schedule has been three Hikari betta pellets in the morning and three in the evening, Monday through Friday. Saturday is a treat day, when he gets a few freeze-dried bloodworms in the evening. (Saturday is also water-change day, 20%. The bloodworms are to apologize for wrecking his latest bubble nest.) Sunday is a fasting day. Water chemistry is PH 6.8-7 (varies a bit), Kh2, GH 11, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 0 (tank's heavily planted, and he's the only occupant), tested with the API master kit. Temp is 77.

Last Saturday, I decided to give him the freeze-dried bloodworms twice: once in the morning and once in the evening. About 4-5 each time, depending on size. Again, his appetite was healthy: he was practically ripping them off the toothpick.

So, on Sunday, it's as if I was looking at a betta that only slightly resembled the famed Rocky. Utterly listless, hanging in the plants or resting atop the scraper magnet, hardly moving and barely acknowledging me when I would come near. He was acting like a betta in one of those awful pet-store cups. Of course, the aquarium is in my home office and I was in there all day working on a project, so I had plenty of time to watch and worry. :uhoh:

Sunday was fasting day and, since I already suspected I had screwed up and overfed him, I just kept an eye on things to see if the problem would pass. (ahem...) Sure enough, on Monday morning, he was acting mostly like his normal self, and I noticed a couple of what I assume were betta feces atop the magnet where he'd been resting. Thinking he was better, I gave him his normal ration of pellets that morning and evening.

Bad idea.

That evening he was almost as bad as Sunday, so my guess is that he was still constipated and I just aggravated the problem. :wall: So, I did some research online (here and elsewhere) and learned of the laxative magic of the humble pea. This is the treatment strategy I've come up with:

He fasted today and, to my relief, he's much like his old self. However, instead of his usual food, he'll continue fasting until tomorrow evening, in the hope that he'll pass as much as he can, perhaps clearing the blockage. Tomorrow night, when I assume he'll be good and hungry (he was begging for food tonight, so I know he has an appetite), I'll take a frozen pea, put it in a bowl of tank water, microwave it, let it cool, remove the skin, and feed him bits of the pulp as a laxative.

Questions: Does the diagnosis and treatment sound reasonable? Any other suggestions? How do you feed a betta mashed pea? Just drop the whole thing in the water, or float bits in front of him with a toothpick? How much should I feed him? Is one treatment usually enough?

The near-certainty that this is due to my own carelessness just irks the heck out of me. I've grown fond of the little guy, and I hate to think I'm the one who made him sick.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Thanks for the advice, guys.

doreenjoy said:

The next time you feed him freeze dried bloodworms, you might soak them for a few minutes in a bit of tank water first.

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I do soak them, but, thinking about it, probably less than a minute. From now on, I'll give them 3-5 to make sure they're rehydrated thoroughly.

Thanks! :headbang2:

I hate peas. My betta loves them.

So, tonight Rocky had his first taste of peas (as far as I know). He loves them. After nuking the peas in some tank water for a few seconds, I took about a half-pea's pulp and mashed it a bit and put a bit on a toothpick. Well, our hero hadn't eaten for 48 hours, and I think he associates the toothpick with bloodworms, so he was right there giving the signal for "chow time!"

At first I gave him a chunk that was a bit too big for him, but he sucked it all in and floated there, chewing on it with a bit hanging out of his mouth. I was getting a bit worried, but then he spit it out, looked at it, and sucked it in again. This went on for a couple of minutes as he was working the pulp off what I guess was an inner skin (note to self, mash more thoroughly next time).

In the end, there were bits of pea floating everywhere, but I'm sure he ate some, too. Fingers crossed this helps with his constipation. Tomorrow, I'm putting him back on a limited version of his regular diet: one pellet in the morning and one in the evening for the next few days, and no bloodworms for two weeks. And he now gets nuked pea once a week.

For those of you wondering, yes, my co-workers did get a laugh out of the idea of me cooking my betta's dinner.

But I refuse to wear a waiter's jacket. :silly: