Sick goldfish, unsure how to treat

[bubbleheadedbrainy]

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.

[Biotope Biologist]

If you could test your water parameters and post them I could make a more accurate recommendation  but since the peas helped I would say that either your food quality has deteriorated or the fish is suffering from a bacterial infection. The "swim bladder disease" are fairly common in goldfish especially of the "fancy" variety and it may be hard to diagnose it accurately. Starting with changing the diet is an easier fix from there you can try medications if the diet change doesn't work and your water parameters are good.

[bubbleheadedbrainy]

On 6/15/2021 at 11:23 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

If you could test your water parameters and post them I could make a more accurate recommendation  but since the peas helped I would say that either your food quality has deteriorated or the fish is suffering from a bacterial infection. The "swim bladder disease" are fairly common in goldfish especially of the "fancy" variety and it may be hard to diagnose it accurately. Starting with changing the diet is an easier fix from there you can try medications if the diet change doesn't work and your water parameters are good.

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?

Edited June 16, 2021 by bubbleheadedbrainy
Misspelled hillstream loach 🤦‍♂️

[bubbleheadedbrainy]

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.

[Biotope Biologist]

I wouldn't say the constipation damaged the swim bladder, but since goldfish are physostomous (open air bladder and esophagus) they commonly have problems with eating and regulating their swim bladder. Their other lobe of the swim bladder is located right next to their anal vent as well so during digestion they can also have troubles regulating their swim bladder. 

 

I think your diet and water parameters sounds good. I do also like feeding goldfish broken up hikari algae wafers. They love this stuff and it  has a combination of vegetable proteins and fibers to help with digestion. I would also attempt to feed smaller serving sizes and more frequently. This seems to help. You can also buy some cheap (often free) pond weeds such as milfoil, duckweed, and elodea. If the diet change still doesn't help goldfish can often get bacterial infections in their swim bladder. Usually it's hard to tell with ornamental variants, but their abdomen will swell slightly and their vent may turn bright red. At this point using antibiotic medicines will help. Usually it is recommended in this case to soak the food in Erythromycin or other broad spectrum antibiotic. Alongside this a Methylene blue and epsom bath will help as well  since these are absorbed through the tissue.

 

Edit: Your goldfish may be suffering from a bacterial infection in the gut or swim bladder itself given the inflamed vent.

Edited June 16, 2021 by Biotope Biologist

[ARMYVET]

My first instinct would be to put the fish thru the med trio for a week.  With very light feedings.  

 

That would help with most things internal and any external infections.

[bubbleheadedbrainy]

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?

[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...