swollen belly

Question
Hi--
I have a male betta in a 5 gallon planted tank.  He eats 'betta pellets' and I've never had any trouble getting him to eat.  Over time he has developed a swollen belly.  At first I thought he was overeating or constipated, so I fasted him for a few days and fed him less....nothing changed.  Then I noticed a couple of small fungus 'dots' on his head, so I treated the whole tank with a fungus remedy.  This seemed to help him some and his belly went down just a little, but now it's back to where it was before.  I started thinking he had dropsy, but none of his scales are sticking out, he's acting completely normal (swimming all over the tank making bubble nests), and he's still a chow hound (I'm feeding him one or two pellets at a time all throughout the day as his belly seems to swell more if I feed him a bunch at once.) I'm really stumped.  I've read about an internal parasite that causes some of these symptoms, but I can't find out what parasite it is or what to do about it.  He does have stringy poo which I've also read on the internet is a symptom of the parasite, but that's all I know.  Have you heard of anything like this, or do you think he may have dropsy or something like TB?  I've had this betta for about a year...(no telling how old he was when I bought him), so I know he's getting up there.  Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks for your time!
                      --Jeremus

Answer
Dear Jeremus,
Your betta could be constipated. A Swollen belly is a symptom of that. I would lay off his food for a day or too and try giving him a thawed and de-shelled green pea about 2-3 times a day. Only a good bite at a time. You will likely have to hand feed him the tiny bite sized pea on the end of a blunt toothpick. Most all bettas accept peas and are often looking for more when they get their first bite! Please don't give him anymore pellets for now. Like you mentioned they are probably only making him worse.
Some bettas can get constipated from too much food at once especially pellets, or not enough variety in their diet. The pea feedings should help him out.

I'm not entirely sure about the stringy poo, it is true that could be a sign of internal parasites. But there is also a possibility that it is just because his digestive system isn't going smoothly as it should. So I wouldn't come to a conclusion on this just yet. If he were mine, I would treat him for constipation first.

Dropsy is typically characterized by a truly sick and listless fish as well as the scales sticking out like a pinecone. It sure doesn't sound like your betta. Swimming about, building bubblnests, and accepting food are all good signs that it just a typical problem and not a true disease itself.

*For now, I would make sure his water quality is good (No ammonia or nitrites and nitrate less than 20) fast him off his regular pellets and give a few pea feedings a day for several days and see how that helps.

Feel free to keep me updated on how he is doing if you like.

I hope this helps and best wishes,
Karen~