Would any betta expert be able to tell me whats wrong?

Question

My female bettas has been lookin like this for a while, (a while being close to a month or so now), and we thought that maybe it was overfeeding, which i dont think it is because we stopped feeding her for a while (a while being almost a week) and she was still peppy and swimmin around and she didnt get too much smaller. Maybe its a parasite? im not sure, and one more possibility, when i was cleanin their tanks, i put the male is his bowl next tot he females bowl last time i cleaned the tanks ( i put them in gallon bowls when i clean their tanks), so do you think that she might be filled with eggs and cant lay them because there isnt a male interaction? ive kept bettas for a while, and they are all in filtered tanks, so the water quality is always good, soo what do you all think?

http://s337.photobucket.com/albums/n393/kdheine/

i made this for one purpose, and that purpose is to put up the betta pictures up to see if you all can help, so thanks a bunch in advance

Answer 1

it is constipation for sure

Answer 2

My first thought was that she is ready to burst with eggs... but I don't think that's it.  She looks way too fat.  

She may have dropsy, especially if you find that her scales start to raise.  It will have a pine cone appearance.  There isn't anything you can do for this.  There are medications on the market that claim to cure this disease, but most don't work.  It is typically fatal.  I would think that if she had this, she would lose interest in food and become lethargic.  But you said she's still "peppy"?

It could be a mix of fertile eggs and she could be constipated, to top it off.  Feed her a thawed, shelled pea.  This will clear her digestive tract.  

Here is what I would do.  Take her to the pet store you got her from.  If you didn't get her from a pet store, take her to one of the most reputable stores near you.  Ask their opinion.  If they think she has parasites, then can give you the medication there and then.  If she has dropsy, which is fatal, they might be able to take care of her for you.  If you bought her from a store, you may be able to take home a new female if you bring your receipt.

Good luck!

Answer 3

she may be full of eggs but she doesn't want to lay them cuz the male can't fertilize them cuz she knows they will die

Answer 4

I had a betta fish who did that, and it was constipation. You have to cut some peas into bite size pieces and feed the pieces to the bettas. Ther peas are kind of like laxatives.

Answer 5

This is almost certainly dropsy, especially if the scales are pineconing like you described.  While there are no sure fire treatments, you can hope it's bacterial and try medicating her food (preferably soaking in Kanaplex, Terramycin, or kanamycin or oxytetracycline based medications).  Peas are only useful for constipation, which is definitely NOT what you are seeing-- it would not have expanded that far up the body cavity towards the tail.  Adding some epsom salt (1/4 teaspoon per 10 gallons) and making sure the temperature is above 80* will hopefully help to draw some fluid from the body.  In small tanks, you may need to dissolve the 1/4 in a cup of water and use an appropriate amount of the cup of water to treat the tank.