Your Betta's Fins and Scales are Fine

> If your betta is having trouble swimming and sometimes floats sideways or hangs in the water sideways, and spends the rest of its time lying on the bottom of the tank, it probably has swim bladder disease. This is an internal bacterial infection that is best treated with medicated food and an antibacterial treatment that you put in the water. Swim bladder disease is typically caused by poor water conditions, but it can also happen when a fish gets bumped or mishandled during transport.

> If your betta's belly is swollen, its probably bloated and is possibly constipated. If the swelling is in a very small area (less than a third of the length of your bettas's side) and comes up almost like a point or a pimple, your betta may have an ulcer, and then you should go back to the first page and pick the page for skin problems. If that's not the case, and your betta is just kind of blown up like a balloon, you need to stop feeding it. It probably got this way from overfeeding, so just keep your betta quiet and don't stress it for a few days and the swelling should go down. If it starts acting really hungry, feed it half of a pea (frozen or thawed or fresh, it doesn't matter much). This will help with the constipation, but your betta will probably refuse the pea unless they are pretty hungry. In the future, don't feed your betta more than once a day, and don't give them more food than the size of their eye (that's about the same size as their stomach).

> If your betta just spends most of its time lying on the bottom of its bowl, and/or is really sluggish, get a thermometer for its tank or bowl. If the temperature is less than 78 degrees, your betta needs a heater for its bowl. Bettas just don't do cold, and the average room temperature (especially in the winter) is not warm enough for them. So they get sluggish... and eventually they get sick.

> If your betta is blowing bubbles, congratulations! He's happy. He's building a bubble nest.

> If your betta won't eat, don't worry about it unless he's refused food for more than a week straight. Most of us are overfeeding our bettas. See my article about Feeding, Overfeeding and Food for Your Betta and What To Do If Your Betta Won't Eat.

> If your betta seems otherwise OK, but tends to spend all its time hiding in a corner of its bowl, it may be because every time you bump the table his bowl is sitting on, he hears a huge "Boom!" in his bowl. Try putting his bowl under a book or something that will insulate him from every time your clunk your soda can down. If bumping is not the problem, is your betta's bowl in direct sunlight? They hate that. Move him into a shadier spot, or at least bright indirect sunlight. If he still hides, did you get a plant or an aquarium decoration for him to hide in? Sometimes bettas just tend a place to retreat to once and awhile.

> Do none of these symptoms apply to your fish? Then please contact@savemybetta.com and I'll diagnose the problem and add it to the options listed on this page.

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