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I edited the shot to better see what was going on, and the protruding scales are common in dropsy.
This often happens to pearcei that get too much protein, if housed with carnivorous fish (they can't help themselves if it's there).
They are almost total vegetarians in nature, and need that constant ruffage of leaves and fibrous plants to help purge their gut, otherwise protein gets caught up in their long (vegetarian type) intestines creating bacterial infections and blockages.
An long Epsom salt bath could help, if its not too far gone.
Below is a page from my veterinary textbook showing a blockage in a pearsei, probably used because these blockages are very common in vegetarian type species, like it and bocourti.
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