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Why is my female fish bloated? Is it dropsy or is she pregnant?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Fish | Freshwater Fish

My fish is bulging is appearance and I am fairly sure is a female, the tank water is getting too cold for them though but I am working on that as fast as I can. I am worried she has dropsy or has eggs, what is going on?

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1 Answer

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Answered By Todd Cecil

Veterinarian

Published on October 14th, 2018

Thanks for providing pictures. Through the pictures, there is a good probability that your fish are gravid and should deliver soon. Hard to tell what species by the pictures (slightly out of focus), but usually with dropsy, the scales rise (pineconing) and the swelling extends more caudally. Dropsy is more a clinical sign and not a disease. Causes include heart, renal, liver or gonadal diseases. There is no one treatment, but depends on the cause. Few are successfully treated, unless a bacterial infection and the proper antibiotics. Hopefully you will have eggs or babies in the next few days.

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