bubbleheadedbrainy

Hello everyone, I'm afraid I don't have a good update. I'm pretty sure my goldfish has developed dropsy, and it's to the point where their belly is expanding and the scales there are "pineconing." They've got red lesions on their pelvic fins, I'm guessing from the amount of pressure the expanding has created, as well as red splotches on the right side of their cheek. Cloudy eyes, no appetite, difficulty swimming, and a tear in their caudal fin. Prognosis doesn't seem too good, but I've completed the 5 day course of Maracyn, did a water change, and started them on Kanaplex. I hope it's not too late, but I understand dropsy can be very fatal for fish...

Thanks for your quick feedback! I started my goldie on a 5-day course of Maracyn for a potential bacterial infection last night, and I'll see what happens from there. Crossing my fingers they'll improve over the next few days! Would turning up the temperature of the tank to high 70s ( currently at 72f, 73f ) during treatment help any?

Small update: I tried feeding them a pea (shelled, cut in half) this morning before going to work, and they spat it out twice before completely ignoring it. ☹️ I've also noticed that the area around their anus looks a bit redder than usual? I don't know if this could be the result of the added aquarium salt, or constipation -- they haven't pooped since they passed that big one two nights ago -- or maybe even internal parasites.

Hello BB! Thanks for weighing in! Water parameters are good, goldfish is in a 40 gal breeder with 5 mystery snails and 1 reticulated hillstream loach; ammonia is 0ppm, nitrites are 0ppm, nitrates are between 5ppm and 10ppm with water changes once a week (the hospital tank they're in right now is showing 0ppm for nitrates); pH is between 7.5 and 8, temperature is usually around 72f but doesn't exceed 75f. I usually feed them a pinch of sinking pellets twice a day (Hikari Excel and Hikari Saki). I'll also feed them brine shrimp as a treat once a week. The day they started experiencing this problem, I tried feeding them Repashy Super Gold; they ate off a block for about 3 minutes and then I removed the leftovers. If they had been overfed, wouldn't it have been completely cleared up after the initial big poop? Or could the constipation have damaged their swim bladder?

My oranda goldfish has been acting strange for 2 days now. They're typically very energetic and reactive to movement around the tank, but they've been laying on the bottom of the tank and barely registering anything outside of food. I thought maybe they were constipated and fed them peas, and after that they made a really long poop and were back to normal, but they've since gone back to sitting at the bottom of the tank. I moved them to a 10 gal quarantine tank and have treated them with 2 tbsp of aquarium salt, but I'd like to know if there's more I can do. They don't have clamped fins and don't appear to be struggling to breathe, though they're constantly opening and closing their mouth when sitting at the bottom of the tank. Sometimes they'll get up and start swimming around, but after a few minutes they'll "plop" back down. I noticed some slightly white discoloration on the right side of their "cheek," on their gill that looks a bit raised? and their pectoral fins have white dots but I'm wondering if those are breeding stars? I don't know the sex of my fish. The "pimples" on their wen look a bit fuzzier than usual, too, and have been coming off due to the aquarium salt.

Hello! First-time goldfish owner here and today I noticed my oranda goldfish has a red mark (looks like the equivalent of a broken blood vessel in a human?) on his right cheek, along with 2 white "pimples." I was under the impression that these "pimples" are a sign of wen growth for orandas, especially since I've only ever seen them on his head/around his face, but now I'm not so sure... After discovering his owie, I did an immediate 50% water change and plan to do a hydrogen peroxide dab on the area in a few hours to give him time to recover from the stress. I've also considered giving him a salt bath, but I was hoping to receive some feedback on the best course of action so I don't go overboard and stress him out fot no reason! I've previously treated him with ParaCleanse about 2 weeks ago in a hospital tank, thinking he had flukes (I caught him flashing and twitching a lot one night and he'd been spending a lot of time near the surface of the tank. He still spends a lot of time near the surface of the tank, but I think that's just because he knows that's where his food comes from...). Tank parameters: fully cycled 40 gallon breeder with 1 oranda goldfish and 5 mystery snails Filtration: 1 sponge filter, 1 HOB filter, and 1 air disc for extra aeration pH: 7.85 Nitrates: 5ppm Nitrites: 0ppm Ammonia: 0ppm Temp: between 68 and 72 degrees F, currently at 71.4 F I also have a mesh bag of crushed coral in the HOB filter to help keep the pH stabilized / around neutral, and Seachem Purigen to help with ammonia.