Female very round.

[SuckerLove86]

Ok, so I noticed recently that one of my CT females has become very round in the belly. Is she full of eggs, constipated maybe, or is this something really serious? Please don't say dropsy....

Here's a couple pictures of her. I'll post water parameters when I can get a test kit.

 

[wuvmybetta]

It's hard to say what it is, you're her parent Has she been poo'ing? If so you can rule out constipation.

It also could be the beginning of dropsy, or she's becoming egg bound. Your best bet is to fast her for a few days. That should cover all angles.

 

[Kiarra]

I think that girl is just full of eggs. Several of mine have looked as fat as some point or another, and all but one have come out of it just fine. The one that didn't had an egg get stuck while she was dropping them, and it was fatal. Everyone else dropped the eggs in due time, or reabsorbed them into their bodies.

I wouldn't worry about her much at this point, but cut off her food for a day or two and see if she loses that belly. She should, unless it's dropsy, but I don't think it is.

 

[SuckerLove86]

Do the lighter colored females not get the vertical stripes when full of eggs? I just went back to look at her and she was... erm... pooing. So that's a plus. The blue crownie female in there is looking a little "filled up" too, but she has the vertical stripes.

There's no noticable pineconing, though it's kinda hard to tell on such a small fish.

 

[Kiarra]

Light colored females never show striping. You should be able to tell by her behavior if she's is mating condition, though. She may be more aggressive with the other females, and, if there's a male in a nearby tank where she can see him, she will probably be spending more time hanging out near him, and quite possibly be assuming a head down, butt wiggling posture.