Scales sticking out but acting normally?

[P&BtheBetta]

Hello,
Today I noticed that Pearl, my female betta's scales are sticking out. I'm not sure if it started today but I did notice that her stomach might have gotten bigger in the past day or so.
Her scales are sticking out practically everywhere. She is acting normally though. She ate the food I gave her, she's active, and she can swim fine.

I tested her water and it's just as it was every other time.

0 ppm ammonia
0-20 ppm nitrate
0 nitrite

Background info:
She lives in a split 10-gallon tank with my male betta. I water change every week or every week and 2 days.

Is it dropsy or something else?

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Sorry, does look like dropsy to me

 

[BoldAquatics]

This is 100% Dropsy. Time is important with this one. There are a few things you could try. Give your betta a salt bath using Epsom Salts for about 10-15 minutes. I have used in the past about 1 tbs of epsom salt in 4 cups of water. You'll want to do this in a separate container. The next step is to bring your heater up to 75-80 degrees, don't go past 82 degrees though, as it becomes to uncomfortable for them. Try to give your betta a salt bath once a day until she starts feeling better. You're also going to want to stop feeding your betta for a few days. 2-3 and then feed her only once, and do another fast for a day or two. (Don't worry, your fish won't starve!) Dropsy usually is caused by poor water conditions and or diet. To much protein (bloodworms etc) will make your fish constipated. Your betta is going to continue to eat no matter what you give it. Fish can't sense when they are full like humans can. These three things can all help with the bettas digestion and help get the "pinecone" scales back down. I have cured bettas of Dropsy by using these methods, but the most success comes from consistency and how quickly you start the process. I hope your betta pulls through! Good luck!

TLDR; Turn temp up to 75-80, give salt bath for 10-15 minutes a day - 4 cups water, 1 tbs epsom salt, and fast your betta for 2-3 days at a time until your bettas scales are back to normal.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Please don't get your hopes up, dropsy is incredibly difficult to cure and is not particularly an illness, rather a symptom of organ failure usually caused by a bacterial infection. If it was my fish I'd probably euthanise to be honest, sorry

 

[itiwhetu]

How old is this fish, maybe just old age.

 

[P&BtheBetta]

How old is this fish, maybe just old age.

She is around 2-3 years? I'm not exactly sure how old she is.
Pearl is still acting completely normal?

 

[Guest14017]

It is typical for some dropsied fish to still behave normally for a while - but eventually this normal behavior will stop. Make no mistake - this is SEVERE dropsy. Bettas are not known for being able to recover from dropsy worth anything. I would also euthanize the fish while she still has her spirit and personality left.

 

[Guest14017]

Bold aquatics said this

"Dropsy usually is caused by poor water conditions and or diet."

This is false. Dropsy is usually caused by a bacterial infection or organ failure. One is extremely hard to cure and the other is incurable. If dropsy was caused only by poor water quality or diet, it wouldn't have such high mortality rates.

 

[Myraan]

Well, the bacterial infection and organ failure is due to poor water conditions and dirt, at least partly, but yeah

 

[P&BtheBetta]

I don't rlly want to euthanize her...
is there anything I can at least try?

 

[P&BtheBetta]

Also, can my other betta catch dropsy? There is a divider between them but they share the same tank water. Should I do a water change?

 

[Myraan]

My guess she ate something gross and maybe stress from water quality, age, or something you don't know about, meant she didn't fight off the infection and it caused organ failure. It's probably a pathogen that is present everywhere, you can try to reduce the numbers through changing water which will also improve the water quality just in case that was the issue, she will likely be fine.

Sometimes fish just die.

 

[Guest14017]

Dropsy doesn't seem to be infectious for the most part - it is usually an isolated thing. You can try the Epsom salts, they may make her more comfortable. Some people say to try Metronidazole or Kanamycin to combat the possible internal bacterial infection - but frankly these solutions are generally ineffective or only effective short term. Even in cases where fish recover from dropsy, the dropsy often quickly returns or the fish passes away mysteriously in the next few months. That's why many keepers do not even try to treat it once it gets to this level.

 

[Guest14017]

Well, the bacterial infection and organ failure is due to poor water conditions and dirt, at least partly, but yeah

Well bacterial infections or organ failure CAN be caused by those things... but not always, but yeah.

 

[itiwhetu]

Out of interest what is the pH of your tank