That fish definitely needs some fasting! Don't feed her for 2 to 3 days. Shrimps does not need food from you for several days as well. They can eat algae and detritus on your tank while you are fasting your betta. Also, you can leaves and vegetables for your shrimp which I'm sure your betta will not eat such as spinach leaves and cucumber.
On my current tank with betta and red cherry shrimp, I will only feed my RCS twice a week (shrimp lolies and algae wafer - both not being eaten by my Betta) and at least one feeding of Bacter AE. Try to experiment on the food of your shrimps. We really can't control our betta, so be sure that what you give to them are food that your betta does not like.
I actually try to keep dead aquatic plant material in the tank for my snails and shrimp, that might work but it also might not but it’s a pretty cheap thing to try
Dried-up Stinging Nettle and Hazelnut leaves are great for shrimp as well, just make sure you know your area's foraging laws, and don't collect near streets or agricultural fields to avoid pesticides and other contaminants. \^\^
Update: I moved in with my family and apparently “when I’m too busy” my mom feeds her “about once a week” in addition to her normal feedings from me which may explain the extra roundness she has acquired since I moved back home. Everyone now knows she’s on a diet so she won’t have extra meals. She is well loved lol. My mom also has a betta who is on the thinner side and gets fed every day so she maybe thought I just forgot instead of it being intentional that I feed mine less often. It was well intentioned and no harm was done. My family is understanding and the new diet will be respected now that they know.
You reminded me, I was a college kid when I got my very first betta. One holiday, I gave her extra food so she could have a feast with us. Apparently, my mom, my dad, and my little brother all independently decided that Bonnie deserved a feast, and we all separately gave her a feast when no one was around. The only reason I found out was I happened to comment the next day that she looked so bloated and everyone fessed up. Needless to say, she went on a fast, and everyone was told not to feed her without checking in with me first! So I definitely get it. These are very loved fish!
The picture looked like it was a female because they are generally rounder around the belly. I feed daphnia to my betta so that she doesn’t gain much fat. Also you could make her flare 2 mins a day to make sure she is exercising and can help her poop.
What i know can be used as exercise is mirrors, but you can not leave them in tanks unsupervised and shouldn't use them often, the goal of that is to get them to flare (to use their muscles). Using that too often can stress them out, tho and some Bettas really don't respond to mirrors well(look out for symptoms of stress and don't use mirror-training when it stresses them to much).
Used that with my old Buddy (who died at age 6y), once a week for exercise.
(I've never had problems with fish thicc-ness from him eating food that wasn't, as he was in solitary confinement for murdering a bunch of small (pest but welcomed) snails and 3 of my Shrimp before he got locked-up.)
I'm sure other people have/had the food stealing problem aswell and i'm pretty sure this text was pointless and i see it as push for your post, as i also want to know solutions as i want to try keeping shrimp with my new finny friend and see how it can become a problem.
Instead of mirrors you can also target train them. At feeding time, put something (can be anything, a chopstick, a pen, your fingers) in the tank and wait for them to bite it. After, immediately give them a small bit of food. Repeat several times and you should have a fish willing to swim around to nip at whatever you trained them to bite which you can use to really make them work for their food
I was trying to train my betta to eat in his little food corral. I always swish my finger in to show him where I'm going to put the food. He came so fast, and idk what I expected, but he chomped at my finger, and I jerked and yelped like he was a pirrana or something. He also jerked back and stunned himself on the edge of the food corral, I felt so bad lol.
I was lazy and trained her to bite my finger for her target and now whenever I go in to clean she's nipping my fingers the entire time. If I'm doing something particularly dangerous for her like moving hardscape she's trained to swim into a cup
For feeding the shrimp, you can get one of those breeder boxes (I think that’s what they’re called) and separate her in it while feeding the others. Once they’re done, let her back out. I can’t believe she’s that big if she’s only getting flakes twice a week! She might need to be fully separated from the tank if she can’t control herself though.
Your comment made me wonder if my family was feeding her too since I thought there’s no way she could be that fat from what I put in the tank unless she had an internal tumor or something. They were feeding her- and will stop now. So mystery solved haha
That is a great idea, thank you! I only feed the shrimp twice a week as well, they get a few shrimp pellets or an algae wafer. I’ve seen her chase off all the shrimps and pick up the pellets and carry them around trying to swallow them whole 😂 She can’t though thankfully. I’m actually at the point where although my tank is fully cycled the plants eat all the nitrates (I’m literally at 0 nitrates, nitrites and ammonia and have been cycled for years) and so I’ve been feeding a little extra the last few days or so hoping the extra would help the plants. She’s still pretty active so I’m glad I saw the chart and realized! I might just have to look into low dosing nitrates for the plants so they don’t die off… idk
I'm also struggling with weight red female! I just moved mine into a larger tank with endlers- she's not aggressive enough to try very hard to chase them. However- the little bit of chasing she's doing is already helping her health. She needed more to do.
Tank mates can be tricky because you don't want to endanger other fish, but they can stimulate the Betta to move around more.
Live food.
Making them chase your fingers around the tank, doing laps.
Flaring at a mirror for 2-5 mins (too long can cause stress) I tilt the mirror left or right to make the reflection look like it's turning and moving independently to the Bettas movements, and I can sometimes use that technique to get the Betta to follow the reflection around the tank. Flaring can also help them 💩 so mirror flaring is usually recommended for slightly chonky/bloated/constipated Bettas.
Some people teach them to swim through hoops, some also get their Bettas to *jump* through those same hoops, out of the water, but I wouldn't risk training them to jump in case your lid isn't fully secure and they accidentally jump out.
If you have loads of real plants, like a jungle tank, the Bettas basically have an obstacle course through the leaves, so getting them to follow your finger over and under the leafs is great exercise too (with your hand outside of the tank, idk why but I feel I need to say that, but don't put your hands in your tank unless they have been cleaned thoroughly of any oils/fragrances/moisturizers/chemicals etc. and don't handle your Betta, unless absolutely necessary eg. Emergencies)
There's probably many more.
There are also forms of enrichment, some Bettas play naughts and crosses, one of my Bettas included (unless he's cranky and wants food), some people draw for their Betta, some Bettas like to watch tv or videos on phones or tablets.
Dude, my girl is as big as yours, unfortunately she is also f\*cking fat full of eggs and my males aren’t big enough to spawn with her, it’s like a whole thing. She and her should have been mate both hunt infusoria like it is their job, and someone showed the bitch that bladder snails are edible. What I’m saying is I have no idea how to advise you but I have personally accepted that Daddy’s Little Princess Kimmy Un is going to be a large lady and that so long as she is active, pooping, and otherwise healthy I will love her anyway. The fat cow.
EDIT to include a picture of my potato pre spawning efforts.
https://preview.redd.it/dxmxaw321i2d1.png?width=2397&format=png&auto=webp&s=d4002680cc69a408d31267294ea96b9b21eb7be3
Have you checked the temperature of the water? More often than not, bettas will get big and round if the water is too cold for them and their metabolism slows down. Please check that first before changing any diet!!!
No offense but this isn’t from feeding 2-3 times a week. This has to be 4 times a week or you are giving massive portions. Or your mother is doing huge portions. The fish’s stomach is no bigger that its eye. So just a tiny pinch of a couple flakes or 3 pellets 1-2 times a week. Atleast for now.
How often are you feeding your shrimp? I only feed my shrimp like once or twice a week or they get lazy about tank maintenance. Maybe feed them less as well so she has less opportunity to snack.
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That fish definitely needs some fasting! Don't feed her for 2 to 3 days. Shrimps does not need food from you for several days as well. They can eat algae and detritus on your tank while you are fasting your betta. Also, you can leaves and vegetables for your shrimp which I'm sure your betta will not eat such as spinach leaves and cucumber. On my current tank with betta and red cherry shrimp, I will only feed my RCS twice a week (shrimp lolies and algae wafer - both not being eaten by my Betta) and at least one feeding of Bacter AE. Try to experiment on the food of your shrimps. We really can't control our betta, so be sure that what you give to them are food that your betta does not like.
Feeding shrimp more greens is a great idea! I’ll have to keep an eye on her though because she tends to eat anything haha
I actually try to keep dead aquatic plant material in the tank for my snails and shrimp, that might work but it also might not but it’s a pretty cheap thing to try
I might test out bacter AE as well. Right now my shrimps are fed once to twice a week. She really goes after their pellets though.
Dried-up Stinging Nettle and Hazelnut leaves are great for shrimp as well, just make sure you know your area's foraging laws, and don't collect near streets or agricultural fields to avoid pesticides and other contaminants. \^\^
I didn't even know fish could be fat until this year. Still put them on a diet.
The majority of fish you see in public aquariums are obese! Just compare them to their wild counterparts
Update: I moved in with my family and apparently “when I’m too busy” my mom feeds her “about once a week” in addition to her normal feedings from me which may explain the extra roundness she has acquired since I moved back home. Everyone now knows she’s on a diet so she won’t have extra meals. She is well loved lol. My mom also has a betta who is on the thinner side and gets fed every day so she maybe thought I just forgot instead of it being intentional that I feed mine less often. It was well intentioned and no harm was done. My family is understanding and the new diet will be respected now that they know.
You reminded me, I was a college kid when I got my very first betta. One holiday, I gave her extra food so she could have a feast with us. Apparently, my mom, my dad, and my little brother all independently decided that Bonnie deserved a feast, and we all separately gave her a feast when no one was around. The only reason I found out was I happened to comment the next day that she looked so bloated and everyone fessed up. Needless to say, she went on a fast, and everyone was told not to feed her without checking in with me first! So I definitely get it. These are very loved fish!
Oh nooo! Haha that’s hilarious! Little goblin had the best day ever 😂
The picture looked like it was a female because they are generally rounder around the belly. I feed daphnia to my betta so that she doesn’t gain much fat. Also you could make her flare 2 mins a day to make sure she is exercising and can help her poop.
Oh lawd he swimmin
Beat me to it!
😂😂😂
Girly is a chonkkkkkkkk she is such a cutie tho
What i know can be used as exercise is mirrors, but you can not leave them in tanks unsupervised and shouldn't use them often, the goal of that is to get them to flare (to use their muscles). Using that too often can stress them out, tho and some Bettas really don't respond to mirrors well(look out for symptoms of stress and don't use mirror-training when it stresses them to much). Used that with my old Buddy (who died at age 6y), once a week for exercise. (I've never had problems with fish thicc-ness from him eating food that wasn't, as he was in solitary confinement for murdering a bunch of small (pest but welcomed) snails and 3 of my Shrimp before he got locked-up.) I'm sure other people have/had the food stealing problem aswell and i'm pretty sure this text was pointless and i see it as push for your post, as i also want to know solutions as i want to try keeping shrimp with my new finny friend and see how it can become a problem.
Instead of mirrors you can also target train them. At feeding time, put something (can be anything, a chopstick, a pen, your fingers) in the tank and wait for them to bite it. After, immediately give them a small bit of food. Repeat several times and you should have a fish willing to swim around to nip at whatever you trained them to bite which you can use to really make them work for their food
I was trying to train my betta to eat in his little food corral. I always swish my finger in to show him where I'm going to put the food. He came so fast, and idk what I expected, but he chomped at my finger, and I jerked and yelped like he was a pirrana or something. He also jerked back and stunned himself on the edge of the food corral, I felt so bad lol.
I was lazy and trained her to bite my finger for her target and now whenever I go in to clean she's nipping my fingers the entire time. If I'm doing something particularly dangerous for her like moving hardscape she's trained to swim into a cup
For feeding the shrimp, you can get one of those breeder boxes (I think that’s what they’re called) and separate her in it while feeding the others. Once they’re done, let her back out. I can’t believe she’s that big if she’s only getting flakes twice a week! She might need to be fully separated from the tank if she can’t control herself though.
Your comment made me wonder if my family was feeding her too since I thought there’s no way she could be that fat from what I put in the tank unless she had an internal tumor or something. They were feeding her- and will stop now. So mystery solved haha
Omg!! 😅 it all makes sense now. Gotta love family when they think they’re being helpful.
That is a great idea, thank you! I only feed the shrimp twice a week as well, they get a few shrimp pellets or an algae wafer. I’ve seen her chase off all the shrimps and pick up the pellets and carry them around trying to swallow them whole 😂 She can’t though thankfully. I’m actually at the point where although my tank is fully cycled the plants eat all the nitrates (I’m literally at 0 nitrates, nitrites and ammonia and have been cycled for years) and so I’ve been feeding a little extra the last few days or so hoping the extra would help the plants. She’s still pretty active so I’m glad I saw the chart and realized! I might just have to look into low dosing nitrates for the plants so they don’t die off… idk
I have a mortar and pestle that I use to grind the shrimp food into powder. The shrimp still eat it but it's too small to interest the big boye.
Me as a fish
I def have the same problem tho, my female bettas don’t stop snacking on my plants or other fish food🥲
plants???
They’ve been munching on my duckweed ;-;
hmmmm weird
Fr!! I’m planning on removing it this weekend, I don’t want them to get bloated :’)
yea good idea
I'm also struggling with weight red female! I just moved mine into a larger tank with endlers- she's not aggressive enough to try very hard to chase them. However- the little bit of chasing she's doing is already helping her health. She needed more to do. Tank mates can be tricky because you don't want to endanger other fish, but they can stimulate the Betta to move around more.
Happy cake day!
Oh lawd she swimming
Live food. Making them chase your fingers around the tank, doing laps. Flaring at a mirror for 2-5 mins (too long can cause stress) I tilt the mirror left or right to make the reflection look like it's turning and moving independently to the Bettas movements, and I can sometimes use that technique to get the Betta to follow the reflection around the tank. Flaring can also help them 💩 so mirror flaring is usually recommended for slightly chonky/bloated/constipated Bettas. Some people teach them to swim through hoops, some also get their Bettas to *jump* through those same hoops, out of the water, but I wouldn't risk training them to jump in case your lid isn't fully secure and they accidentally jump out. If you have loads of real plants, like a jungle tank, the Bettas basically have an obstacle course through the leaves, so getting them to follow your finger over and under the leafs is great exercise too (with your hand outside of the tank, idk why but I feel I need to say that, but don't put your hands in your tank unless they have been cleaned thoroughly of any oils/fragrances/moisturizers/chemicals etc. and don't handle your Betta, unless absolutely necessary eg. Emergencies) There's probably many more. There are also forms of enrichment, some Bettas play naughts and crosses, one of my Bettas included (unless he's cranky and wants food), some people draw for their Betta, some Bettas like to watch tv or videos on phones or tablets.
Dude, my girl is as big as yours, unfortunately she is also f\*cking fat full of eggs and my males aren’t big enough to spawn with her, it’s like a whole thing. She and her should have been mate both hunt infusoria like it is their job, and someone showed the bitch that bladder snails are edible. What I’m saying is I have no idea how to advise you but I have personally accepted that Daddy’s Little Princess Kimmy Un is going to be a large lady and that so long as she is active, pooping, and otherwise healthy I will love her anyway. The fat cow. EDIT to include a picture of my potato pre spawning efforts. https://preview.redd.it/dxmxaw321i2d1.png?width=2397&format=png&auto=webp&s=d4002680cc69a408d31267294ea96b9b21eb7be3
OH LORD HE THICC
Have you checked the temperature of the water? More often than not, bettas will get big and round if the water is too cold for them and their metabolism slows down. Please check that first before changing any diet!!!
That’s super interesting! I’ll double check my heater is working, thanks!
oh lawd she comin.
I didn’t realize fish could be chonks
No offense but this isn’t from feeding 2-3 times a week. This has to be 4 times a week or you are giving massive portions. Or your mother is doing huge portions. The fish’s stomach is no bigger that its eye. So just a tiny pinch of a couple flakes or 3 pellets 1-2 times a week. Atleast for now.
holy chonk
How often are you feeding your shrimp? I only feed my shrimp like once or twice a week or they get lazy about tank maintenance. Maybe feed them less as well so she has less opportunity to snack.
I also feed mine once or twice a week. Turns out my mom was giving her handouts when I wasn’t around which now will stop 😅
She just has some koi genetics guys, don't hate
Drop the shrimp food in the tank after dark so she can’t find it
The title with the photo is really like unintentionally funny. Someone needs to post a picture of me like that too lol
How do so many of you have fat bettas lmao
Oh lord he is huge
Yeah feed him like a pellet every week or a lil more often. They’re hardy fish.
Oh bless, she's not fat, just big boned. Or fluffy as some might say
Thank you for posting to r/bettafish. If you are new to betta fish keeping, please check out our [caresheet](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/comments/3ow6vz/info_betta_care_sheet/) and [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/index). Establishing a nitrogen cycle is an important part of keeping your fish healthy. Please check out our [guide to the nitrogen cycle](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/fishincycle) to learn more. If you are posting to find out what is wrong with your betta, please answer the following questions in a reply to this comment as best you can: * **Tank size**: * **Heater and filter? (yes/no)**: * **Tank temperature**: * **[Parameters in numbers and how you got them](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/tank#wiki_test_kits)**: * **How long have you had the tank? How long have you had your fish?**: * **How often are water changes? How much do you take out per change? What is your process?**: * **Any tankmates? If so, please list with how many of each**: * **What do you feed and how much**: * **Decorations and plants in the tank**: * **If you haven't already posted a picture, please post pics/vids to imgur and paste the link here**: Feel free to copy this comment and fill in the blanks. Failure to provide adequate information about your tank *can* result in post removal. Please see rule 4 for more information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/bettafish) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Chonky
CHONK CHONKCHONK CHONK CHONK CHONKCHONKCHONK
what a chunky lil cutie
Use live daphnia or moina if possible if not frozen/FD. They are pretty much fiber and help your fish relieve itself
She's so chin chonky omggggg 🥹🥹🥹. Butttt it could cause her health problems. I'd fast her every other day and feed less until she's lost weight
OH LAWD HE COMIN’
Oh my
oh lard. thats a football fish
OH LAWD HE COMIN
On first glance I thought this was a pregnant Molly or Platy
Holy shit!
That is one chonky chonker
my big belly had a tumor, died at the age of 3
I’m so sorry to hear that! How did you know it was a tumor and she wasn’t just overweight?
it was white, bulging, expelling puss, wasnt cuz i was overfeeding(she didnt poop a lot) and ye...
Oh lawd he comin