For future reference, since Aries fish has recovered.....Good deducing Aries...Nice work !!
Glad for you too Rocky ! Sometimes the "aw heck, we'll give this treatment a try" works !
Usually when betta float like that, the first thing I treat for is constipation/overfeeding...as that is the most often cause for that issue. Especially if you can't seem to find anything else wrong with it. Just hold off on feeding for a few days, try the cooked frozen/shelled pea...I have found that to work very well when the betta will eat it...sometimes they don't.
The issue that Roland was talking about is something that can happen when the betta is a fry. If betta fry are overfed...some believe that feeding bbs has a higher incident of this.....then thier swim bladders do not develope properly and they either will have this problem all the time, or are very prone to it if they eat too much at one sitting. Fry with this issue are called "belly scrapers" because they swim with thier tails dragging on the bottom of the tank. They should be culled, but sometimes they are missed (though I don't know how) When this is the reason for swim bladder issues in a betta, there is no cure...they can live well enough like that, but it sure is no fun as the owner to see them in that condition. Smaller more frequent feedings is about all you can do to help them...and keeping thier water very clean. How do you know this is the cause ? Well, if you have tried the treatment for constipation over and over and it doesn't help, if the betta seems to be healthy, is eating well and doesn't appear to have any other issues...than it could very well be that you have a belly scraper.
If the betta seems ill and is not eating, than the issue is more than constipation or an underdeveloped swim bladder.....and unless you know what it is, the best approach is to just keep the water VERY clean....putting it in a smaller container during this time is a good idea.
I usually put a sick betta in a walmart sized bowl and float them in a heated tank....changing the water in the bowl every day. I do this by having another bowl with clean water floating in the same tank, so the temp of the clean water is exactly the same. I carefully pour out most of the dirty water and then gently flip the fish into the clean bowl and then clean and refill the other and have it ready for the next day. I also will add aquarium salt because it discourages bacteria and helps with gill function. But some don't agree with this....either way, doesn't hurt anything.
Using meds on fish when you don't know what they have isn't a good idea. I have found that just making sure they are kept in very clean warmer water works wonders for most issues....especially when you don't know what the issue is.
Sorry this is so long, hope it helps someone out.....
