My betta developed a sudden case of dropsy(??) a couple weeks ago. Laying on the bottom, fins clamped, pine cone scales, etc. I gave him Maracyn 2 for a while and he seems to be feeling better but he still can't swim right; if he stops moving he sinks to the bottom and lays on his side. However, he is moving around more and is eating.

Is there something I can do to help him get over this? What is this about frozen peas that people keep mentioning?

I have to say, watching him try to deal with this has given me an appreciation for fish intelligence. Several times I've seen him laying up against the filter intake, where the intake holds his fin against it and keeps him upright; he never did that before. And he's spending a good bit of time sitting on the plants; and he seems to have figured out that if he moves fast he can stay up; when he does move, he's really zooming around. I have been netting him and letting the net sit at the top of the water to feed him, since otherwise he has trouble getting to the top of the aquarium before the food all disperses. The first couple times I did it he freaked out and didn't eat anything, but now he starts to eat almost as soon as I do it.

I feel bad for him. Any chance he'll get over this and go back to normal? What can I do to help him? I've got other aquarium issues right now, too, which I'll put in another post, but they've developed since he was sick, I don't think they caused this.

WW