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.

[Gesp56]

Treat for internal parasites. Enlarging of the stomach can be a result of parasites and parasites do show up in blood worms and live or frozen foods occasionally.

[Aeonflame]

Constipation in bettas easily leads to organ damage and bloat. Feed some microwaved peas for a few days

[stargunner]

i don't think it is parasites because i have been feeding him dry food for some time now. i will continue the pea diet for now then.

[JayZero911]

I have a female that dose this anytime she eats, she is just so competitive for food she doesn't really care that she is full she HAS to get most of the food. She first did this in the sorority tank, and so did all the others in the tank. I treated for dropsy and nothing ever changed. If I starve her for about 3 days she looks normal. I just yesterday divided the tank she was in, hoping she quites being my swimming pimple lol. Every tank gets a verity of foods, they don't eat the same thing 2 days in a row and 2 days out of the week they get peas or other vegges. Other than she almost always has a swollen belly, she is doing fine. No disconfert that I can tell and she chased her tankmate from time to time. Just keep and eye on him, even my other bettas will do this from time to time and be fine by morning.
-and now I notice this is 6 days old....-