is this the beginning of dropsy?

[stargunner]

sorry for the horrible picture.

this swelling started a few days ago out of nowhere and it doesn't seem to be going away. could this be dropsy? and if so, what can i do to treat it?

[ekfishlover2011]

Are his scales all raised up? Is he eating and otherwise acting normal? It looks like he might be constipated, try fasting him for a day or two if he doesnt look like a pinecone from above.

[stargunner]

no, his scales are not raised. i was just concerned because of the size of it. a few weeks ago this happened, and i believe it was constipation due to a diet of almost exclusively bloodworms. so i switched him to a small pellet for bettas and he loves them. i give him 4 a day. i will stop for a few days then.

[stargunner]

um, is it normal for a fish to be constipated for over a week? it still won't go away. i tried to feed him some small bits of a de-shelled pea to help , but it didn't work.

[stargunner]

i think it's gotten bigger. i don't know what to do.

[ekfishlover2011]

im not sure what to think of it then. Might just be an obese fish. I have a gourami that is obese and no matter what i do she stays obese.