Dropsy or genetics?

[valetep]

I have a carp/comet gold fish in my backyard pond. Approximately 8+ inches. About 8 years old.
Last spring we noticed it was unusually fat, but chocked it up to it being a hearty eater.
This year however it has ballooned. It looks like it ate a baseball.
It swims, eats and acts normally. But it's startling to look at. I've been feeding it peeled peas for about a week, with no change. I'd post a picture, but don't know how. Has anyone experienced this before?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Any advice

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome? Is this the only fish you have? Are the scales sticking out where they look like a pine cone? How big is the pond?

Could be a female, big with eggs. Could be dropsy, a mostly fatal disease caused by internal organ shutdown. It could be a tumor.

 

[valetep]

Pond is between 300-400 gallons.
Not sure about the pine cone appearance. It's not obvious.
There are 7 other fish in the pond with it. Today it's showing the first signs of stress. But I have no way of quarentining a fish of this size.

 

[valetep]

Update. Unfortunately I found the fish belly up a few hours later. No gill or fin movement. The other fish seemed to stay away. I scooped it out and placed it in a 5 gallon bucket of pond water, "just incase ". 2 hours since and I'm positive it's dead. Glad it was fast. It will be buried next to the pond, while I do a huge water change.
Thanks for the reply.

 

[j.w]

@valetep
Sorry the fish died but like you said it didn't suffer as it went fast.

 

[Mmathis]

@gramleen Sorry, but not going to check out your web site. This is garden pond group.