At first i thought that there was something wrong with him, now i'm not so sure. I think that Charlie Parker has gotten fat! He has a large lump on his underside, near the front of his body, right where his stomach is, i think. I've heard of dogs looking like their owners, but fish? I've cut down his feeding to once a day instead of two, and even when he is absolutely BEGGING for food - i won't give in.

Any thoughts?

Do you have a pic of his newly aquired tummy? He may be just getting fat although I fed my bettas two times a day and they never really gained any size. A pic may help.

I only feed my male 2 hikari pellets a day and I have noticed he has got bigger yet hes healthy.

you may be overfeeding him. They will get poochy bellies when you over feed . does he look like this pic?
http://www.bettatalk.com/food.htm

Yes Bettaqueen! He looks EXACTLY like those photos! I'm trying to get a pic for you, but in the meantime, how does one put a betta on a diet? I'm going to follow betta talk's advice, and not feed him on one day a week (saturdays) and since today is friday, i thought i'd kickstart the new routine by also not feeding him today. I feed him "Betta Bites", little pellets, about 5 or 6 every morning. Is this too many? Should i soak them first?

Thanks guys!

or you could feed him less each feeding. Maybe just 3 pellets in the morning and a couple in the evening. Depends on how you want to do it. you could also fast him like betta talk mentioned once a week. Actually it is good to fast them one day out of the week. helps them get their digestive system in order.

Look at him from an aerial view and make sure that there are no asymetrical lumps on his sides.

Thanks for the suggestion, Kissy - i took a look at him from above, but all seems pretty evenly round - no unlike his owner! Sigh. Right, Charlie Parker is hereby on a diet! His owner on the other hand...

Fish look like their owners--that's funny!!:P My sister feeds Betta Bites to her bettas but I think she only gives 2-3 pellets a day. Anyway her fish look fine--no pudgy tummys.