betta upside down

[Student Body]

Today I found my female betta floating upside down in her bowl, which
had a slightly foul odor and milky color. I thought she was dead but
then she started swimming again. Anyway, I changed her water
again--after just changing it a couple days ago--and she is doing
better. Any ideas as to what went wrong, or caused the betta to be
upside down?

SB

[Gill Passman]

Student Body wrote:
> Today I found my female betta floating upside down in her bowl, which
> had a slightly foul odor and milky color. I thought she was dead but
> then she started swimming again. Anyway, I changed her water
> again--after just changing it a couple days ago--and she is doing
> better. Any ideas as to what went wrong, or caused the betta to be
> upside down?
>
> SB
>
Just a guess but I'd put it down to the water quality issue you had if
she's doing fine now and keep a close eye on the water quality. If not I
would start looking at swim bladder issues, constipation etc..... Only
one other thing springs to mind. I was in one of the LFS's I go to a few
weeks ago and there was a male betta upside down right near the top up
of the tank. I mentioned him to one of the staff who came straight over
and noticed he was still moving - he put it down to stress caused by the
male betta in the tank next door. He netted him and moved him into
another tank - the betta perked up and started swimming around normally.

Just a few ideas
Gill