BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish My female betta is huge and egg bound??

I have a very pretty female betta, callled Red, I have had her a week and she has gotten fatter and fatter, she has a white spot on her belly!! I was hoping she would expel her eggs, but so far not, she is having difficulty swimming now! Does anyone have experience of this, what can I do to help her??? I am afraid she is going to die soon, please help!

Hi bluebell,

I have four females, one of which is always very big. I used to think she was eggbound but now I just think she's full of eggs. (the latter does not necessarily indicate the former). Here are some great resources for betta illnesses.

http://www.fishjunkies.com/health.php
http://bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm

My first thought with swimming difficulties is swim bladder disorder. I had one fish who had an awful time with it until I changed his food to flakes. Can you tell us more about her difficulty? Is she floating? sinking? on her side? Does she have any other symptoms like breathing hard, or not eating? Sorry for all the questions, but being eggbound is actually pretty rare. Hope this helps!!
Amber

you are so sweet, thanks for your thoughts, unfortunately my little Red died last night!! She was having difficulty doing most things actually and spent her last few hours laying on top of her plant as close to the surface as she could get gasping for air...........she was fat when I got her but got fatter and fatter, she did have a white spot on her belly!! She did not eat from the day I got her!! I would love to get another female (I have two males) but I am worried to go through the same thing again!!
Thanks so much for your reply it meant a lot. Any info you can give me about your experience of looking after the females I would love to know more!!
Thanks you!

Brigit

*hugs* I am so sorry. Don't be afraid of getting another female. They are so sweet (maybe even sweeter than the guys <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ) I have four. Two are in a 46 gallon community tank, and get along really well. they chase each other and play around. The other two are each in their own tank. One of these two had been in the community and was doing great until i tried to add the fourth one. Even after i took the fourth one out, she would bully the other two. The one that had been in the 46 is in her own little tank, the bully-ingist (i think i just made up a new word, lol) is in a divided 10 gallon with my male. she is the one that is huge. She cant see the male, I blocked their view of each other. She behaves normally, but is very big. I wonder if the fish secrete a pheromone into the water and if she is picking up on that and thats why she keeps her eggs... Dont know. But either way, i am really sorry for your loss. If you have any specific questions, I'll try to answer them.