He also mentioned that bloating is common with some chilids. Its something to do with the digestive system not working properly. Rich, First instinct is dropsy. There are many schools of thought about treatment of advanced conditions though from what I gather is that there was a bacterial infection that got into the fish's swim bladder. The bacteria released CO2 and caused the fish to bloat.
General antibiotics can handle the infection itself sometimes.
The gas that actually causes the bloat is another story. Since the air is regulated by diffusion, unlike our lungs, the fish cannot release the air rapidly. My thought is that it is theoretically possible to draw out the air and some of the fluid with a syringe. Collectors at extreme depths do this regularly when collecting to keep the fish from popping its bladder when it is brought to the surface. The complication is that you are dealing with a heavily stressed fish so chances are greatly reduced that it can tolerate this.