See how swollen this poor guy is? Notice his scales are sticking out like what is commonly referred to as a pinecone? Classic symptoms. Painting a perfect picture of what a beta with dropsy looks like. As this eHow article points out, it's more or less the result of a bacterial infection.
Now most betta keepers would agree with this following video that warns that dropsy is very hard to treat successfully. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try. But it does mean you should go into the treatment routine knowing ahead of time that the odds are against your fish.
That said this video outlines a five step treatment process step by step.
Usually with a betta it will be isolated already. You want this because the antibiotic medications recommend aren't recommended for general consumption.
At the same time you are told to use Epsom salt to help relieve the excess fluid buildup.
The point about no activated charcoal should not be overlooked. It will remove the medication from the water making it less likely you will succeed. So if you've got such a filter operational, remove the carbon before starting treatment. You can always add is later to help remove the medications from the water. That and water changes should accomplish that.
CONCLUSION: This helpful vid gives you a good overview of what you are up against should your fish be unlucky enough to come down with a case of dropsy. It does a good job of describing the disease and what you can try to do to beat it.
Time frame of salts to add?
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