partial pinecone?

[twimpy]

So I have something really strange going on with my male betta... He has the whole pinecone thing going on but it's only in one small area of his scales and he does not have any abdominal swelling. Has anyone seen this before? My mom lost a betta to dropsy so I know what that looks like and this definitely looks different. His eating is just so/so. Sometimes he'll attack his food like normal and sometimes he just shows no interest at all. Has anyone seen this before?

[lvandert]

I could be wrong but it might be the beginning of dropsy. You said your mom's betta had it, did by any chance he come into contact from ANYTHING from the other betta?

[Aus]

He could also have an infection under the scales, causing them to raise. It may be very worthwhile trying him on a broad spectrum antibiotic like Furan-2 or Kanaplex. Those help with dropsy, too - but I'm hoping it's just a cyst or something..

[nekura]

Maracyn 2 also says it can help treat dropsy..