fish dieases

Question
Hello,  My beta suddenly has a bloated stomach.  I also have another fish in the same tank, who cannot swim right. like her back is broken.  I've been reading on the net and it looks like swim bladder or dropsy.  Could you please tell me what this is and what meds to use?  Thanks, Gail

Answer
When a fish develops dropsy, usually caused by poor water conditions, their stomach fills up with liquid and they appear about to burst, and you know it's dropsy in the fatal stages because the scales will stick out almost like a little pinecone.
SBD is usually caused by overfeeding. The stomach becomes pressed against the swim bladder and the fish is not able to float properly.
Cut back on how much you are feeding, and do not feed at all for the next 48 hours.
Make sure the temperature is between 75-85 degrees, add some aquarium salt, and if it is dropsy then you'll need Tetracycline as well.
You need to make sure you are doing enough water changes as well. Water changes are the most important part of keeping a healthy tank. You can also buy water quality test strips to find out where your ammonia levels and nitrite levels are at. Ideally, Ammonia and nitrites shouldn't go above 0, and nitrates should never go above 20.