# Hope for my betta?



## UnderseaGal (Mar 4, 2014)

Hi everyone. I think Poochie, my betta, is sick.
He has a very sizeable hole (2-3mm long) in his tail and another in his "chin" fin.
The ends of his fins are not damaged, though - the holes are right in the middle.
He also has a bloated gut. 
He's swimming around and eating fine (so far).
Water parameters in the tank have been stable for months and are A-ok.

Initially since he seemed so well I thought it was just a tear he incurred when rummaging around in the anubias, but now that there's the second hole and the bloated gut I'm thinking he's sick.

I've been reading about fin rot but this does not look like it - the tips of all fins look fine to me.

I don't want to medicate needlessly because there are very happy, healthy shrimp in the tank.

Any suggestions on how to move forward?
Thanks


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## LithiumRain (Mar 7, 2015)

If your parameters are good and his fins are fine other than holes it may be a case of physical destruction. Are there any rough surfaces in your tank? Plastic plants, rough rocks, or even an unprotected filter intake could all be culprits. The bloat makes me wonder how much you feed your betta, what you feed it, and how many feedings it has a day? Usually bloat is caused by overeating in betta fish, unless its dropsy or a more serious condition. Just a guess based on the information you have provided. Could you post a picture of the fish and his current tank? Thats always helpful.


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## UnderseaGal (Mar 4, 2014)

Thanks for the response, LithiumRain. 
The bloating seems to have gone down. 
I will post a picture as soon as I manage to get a good one - I'm a terrible photographer.
I feed my betta once per day, approximately 5-6 days a week (I usually skip a feeding about once a week in all my tanks).
At each feeding I give him a few (maybe 6 or 7?) pellets of New Life Spectrum Grow 0.5mm sinking pellets (though he eats them before they sink).
Once a week I give him blood worms instead (about 3).

The tank has a rock in it but it's not very pokey. There is also a moss ball, a limnophila sessiflora plant, and a large anubia plant. I also have a freshwater mussel shell in there.
In the past little while I've seen Poochie hang out in the anubia so it's not impossible he got stuck on something, but he's had that plant in his tank forever...

I'll try to upload a pic soon.
Thanks again for your answer!


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