Betta bed

I have a couple of female betta that were born a little over a year ago and
do not seem to have developed swim bladders. They can swim with great
effort, but when they stop, they sink like a rock. I did have a couple of
branches that came off of my Amazon swords that went to the surface, but I
cut those back and then they had no place to rest. I created these "beds"
for them from craft plastic, toothpicks and corky's (steelhead fishing
gear). I posted a pic at alt.binaries.aquaria if you would like to see it.


--
Mr Stout
http://www.calvaryweb.us/FishySite

pretty cool Mr Stout.... not surprised to see the lengths some of us go to,
to make our pets happy...


"Mr Stout" wrote in message
...
I have a couple of female betta that were born a little over a year ago
and
do not seem to have developed swim bladders. They can swim with great
effort, but when they stop, they sink like a rock. I did have a couple of
branches that came off of my Amazon swords that went to the surface, but I
cut those back and then they had no place to rest. I created these "beds"
for them from craft plastic, toothpicks and corky's (steelhead fishing
gear). I posted a pic at alt.binaries.aquaria if you would like to see it.


--
Mr Stout
http://www.calvaryweb.us/FishySite

Try Java fern

It is a bit difficult to make out, even after zooming in, but the swim
bladder should be visible if it is of adequate size. My first thought was
that the female is bloated, perhaps obese from limited swimming activity?
The resting area is a good idea, the same as setting them in a separate tank
with minimal water level. I have heard of belly sliders that overcame the
problem, but it wasn't known if it was a genetic problem.

Jim

Mr Stout wrote in message
...
I have a couple of female betta that were born a little over a year ago
and
do not seem to have developed swim bladders. They can swim with great
effort, but when they stop, they sink like a rock. I did have a couple of
branches that came off of my Amazon swords that went to the surface, but I
cut those back and then they had no place to rest. I created these "beds"
for them from craft plastic, toothpicks and corky's (steelhead fishing
gear). I posted a pic at alt.binaries.aquaria if you would like to see it.


--
Mr Stout
http://www.calvaryweb.us/FishySite

snip It is a bit difficult to make out, even after zooming in,/snip
Sorry about the quality of the pic. I'll try to get a better one to post
either at alt.binaries.aquaria or on my website.

snip My first thought was that the female is bloated, perhaps obese from
limited swimming activity?/snip
She could be bloated. The one that uses the mat the most was just transfered
from a quart size bowl, so not much movement in the last year or so.
However, she never really has swam very well. Even in the bowl she would
come to the surface for food and then just sink.


Mr Stout
http://www.calvaryweb.us/FishySite

I posted some pics @ alt.binaries.aquaria from the top of the tank looking
down. You can now see the bobbers and the fish lying on the mat.

Mr Stout
http://www.calvaryweb.us/FishySite