Very bloated betta

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YewBush

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My mom’s betta started getting bloated within the last 1-2 weeks. She has a 37 gallon aquarium. All of the other fish in the community tank seem fine. Here is a picture from before she was sick:
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Here is her now:



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Definitely looks like dropsy. Can you confirm that the scales are sticking out from the body?
Water parameters?
You mentioned other fish. Most bettas should not be kept with other fish because they will attack them. What are the other fish in the tank?
 
She is a female betta, so she is kept with zebra danios, White Cloud Mountain minnows, kuhli loaches, and a bristlenose pleco. I do not know the water perimeters yet. The scales do look like they are sticking out, and her fins might be shorter than before. My mom has had her for a year and a half. Also, she is fed tropical flakes in the morning and either frozen brine shrimp or bloodworms are night. She usually ignores the flakes.
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The hardness seems to be the issue.
Nitrate- 20
Nitrite- 0
Hardness- 300
Chlorine- 0
Alkalinity- about 150
pH- about 8
 
The hardness could only be measured up to 300 though
This is worrying... All the fish you habe are softwater... It takes time but eventually they will die off due to the hardness of the water. I would strongly suggest trying to treat the bettas and then rehoming those fish :(... There are some super pretty hard water fish though like neon rainbows
 
Although hardness would be an issue, it would very unlikely be the cause for dropsy.
I do agree with this but at the same time the OP needs to be aware that they can not stay in there forever. The hard water can and will lead to kidney failure after some time...
 
I do agree with this but at the same time the OP needs to be aware that they can not stay in there forever. The hard water can and will lead to kidney failure after some time...
Kidney Failure!!! 😱
I need to do something with my Cardinals! I'll keep my danios because they are very old and I don't want to return them in that state. My rosy barbs will probably be kept for now.
 
What is your water hardness?
Kidney Failure!!! 😱
I need to do something with my Cardinals! I'll keep my danios because they are very old and I don't want to return them in that state. My rosy barbs will probably be kept for now.
 
Top five hardest in the UK! I won't say in which position but:
pH:between 7.6 and 8.4
GH: between 14 and 21 d
KH: between 15 and 20 d
My water company says we have very hard water.
How long have you had the barbs and danios for? It may be the PH that is saving you... The required GH for rosy barbs is 10dgh so maybe they are a bit tolerant to higher levels.of mineral content?
 

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