My female betta's stomach is the size of a marble

[Fishy_Fun]

I'm pretty sure its just eggs.I do have her in a tank with other fish and there are males in the tank but in breeder nets.Every so often she swims over to them.The males are both blowing bubble nests and the female is huge.Her stomach is the size of a marble.I don't really want to raise a hundred bettas but will my female become egg bound if i don't let her mate?

She still eats and i only feed once a day.She doesn't pig out either so i don't think she's bloated or constipated.Any help would be great.Thanks

 

[saram521]

I have a female betta in my 20h, and for a couple of weeks I had a male betta in a breeder net in the same tank. My female became very bloated, I assumed with eggs, and after about a week, she looked close to normal size again. Maybe just seeing the male caused her to fill with eggs, and after not being able to have contact with the male, she expelled her eggs. I think they hold the eggs for only so long before they release them. This is just a theory based on my experience though. My female betta continues to swell up with eggs and then "deflate" after a few days, and I think this is because she's in the same tank with a male dwarf gourami. I didn't plan on them being together b/c I heard bettas of either sex wouldn't get along with dg's. They tend to ignore each other almost 100% of the time and appear very healthy (no battle wounds, etc.) . I know it's not dropsy that's been making her swell up since she shrinks afterward. Hope this helps!

 

[jm1212]

try feeding some shelled peas to your betta

 

[Fishy_Fun]

Thanks for the response.Since she is still eating i will feed some peas today.

 

[Fishy_Fun]

Geez, when i thought her stomach couldn't get any bigger it has.I hope she drops the eggs soon.The way she is right now it looks painful

 

[ct-death]

Betta are known to gulp excessive air as well as becoming constipated from time to time.

When this happens I shut the lights off and stop feeding for 3-5 days. I usually try to feed blanched peas though on the 1st or 2nd day, but that's it (I shuck the outter shell).

In every case this got them back to normal in 4-5 days.

P.S.
Floating foods (ie flake diet) often contribute to this symton IME