I swear last time I saw this topic some one had replied....

She is probably not eggbound, but has a swim bladder disorder. This can come from over feeding, too much freeze dried food, or not soaking pellets before feeding. Those are usually the main causes. How's she acting otherwise? Does she try to swim around? Eat? Breathe normally? Is there any ammonia etc in the water? If you haven't taken her out of the male's tank already, do that now. He will stress her out.

If she is acting normally, just fast her for a few days to see if she gets better on her own.

Whoa, you weren't imagining the reply. o.0 It was me, and I thought the same thing as you.

i agree with littlehippygirl's thought about swim bladder disorder. sorry i can't help more, but i wish you luck (i have a couple bettas too and i love them to death)!

possibly dropsy. Do you see the scales sticking out like a porcupine?

Hello! Well guess what! after I put her in with the male later after a few hours she seemed to get back to normal. AND HER BELLY GOT SMALLER. BELIEVE IT OR NOT. She's now FINE. No scales sticking out like a porcupine...and I feed them bloodworms...a little in the morning and a little around 5 pm when I get back home.

I guess I should have worried about the female but the next day (I had left them together) the male's fins were ripped...did she harrass him? She was and still is fine.

Have any of you ever seen this???????

Thanks!

I'm glad she is doing better now. It sounds like it was a simple swim bladder disorder like I suspected. It can come from bacteria in the gut and other more complicated things, so I'm glad that was it.

Do not keep male and female bettas together, unless you are breeding them. Even then you must supervise them the whole time they are together. If the female is unwilling to breed the male will usually beat her up. Females can be just as nasty to the males, and their long, flowing fins make easy targets. Don't put them together again; they are betta off on their own.

Female bettas are every bit as territorial as the males, they just go by a different set of rules. Sounds like she asserted her dominance over him. It's unusual for the gender's to be switched, but it happens.

I'm glad she got better. It doesn't sound like you're overfeeding. Stuff just happens for no reason sometimes, but make sure you watch her. If it comes up again, something is definitely wrong.

Hi there...so it happened again...the female betta is on its side again and seems to float up to the surface....other thanthat shes eating fine.

I don't know what to do if it is bladder problems....please help! Shes super pretty and I would hate to lose her....I will research these forums in the meantime.

Thank you!

Okay fast her for a few days and hopefully she will return to normal. How type of food do you feed her and how much?Bettas don't need as much food as people think, and their stomachs are only about the size of their eye. Try soaking the food for a moment in a cup of tankwater. Squeeze extra air out of the pellet and give it to her and it should sink. The point of this is so that the pellets do not expand inside her stomach and no air is trapped inside.

Hello there, many problems often with parasites/bacteria coming in on bloodworms (come from sewage sites)... I did much swim bladder research after rescuing one from it. It can be genetic, from damage in for example shipping (as I suspect this one was as it was that way in store), bacteria, and constipation. There are many sights. Here is one.

http://bettas.fishjunkies.com/Disorders/sbd.php\

I was preparing to post a possible solution if from overfeeding (ie constipation) but will post hear as well.

People (from research) use the soft inside of a steamed pea. Late at night, one of the rescue bettas (all in hospital tanks, filtered, heated so on) I noticed couldn't swim down. I got up and steamed some end of brocalee (sp) and gave him a tiny bit of it. Next morning no fish poop...

I then remembered castor oil is a laxative and have some which I used when I did natural therapies (in my case it stops pain when used on body, and also can be used over liver to help detox, an amazing oil really) I re fed brocalie (no peas and to early to go to store) with it soaked in brocc and dabbed off so just a bit. Apx 2 hours later, he pooped and I saw him swim down and STAY there. Now late at night, he is fine (knock on wood).. so it was constipation, probably from my feeding brine shrimp two days in a row (I have trouble finding alternatives to dried food here) any suggestions appreciated.

So, give that a try. You need to watch for fish poop, which will be a good sign... the swollen digestive track presses on the bladder. Best Sherry

i must say i just recently (2 weeks ago) lost my fish due to swim bladder he would lay on his side at the bottom of the tank exhausted but i tried to save him.. just do your best with what advice you were given (which is great advice) and i wish you the best of luck.. bettas are a very pretty fish..