11 year old Goldfish- Dropsy? Egg bound?

[SophiaV]

Hi! Can anyone help our poor Snowy? Snowy and Sunny were won by my daughter when she was 8 at a street fair 11 years ago, they are now both about 8 inches long. We are about to transfer them into a 55 gal tank from a 30 gal but Snowy now seems to be ailing so we don't want to stress her out. I'm not sure if she is a female or male but I'll just refer to her as a female here. Water parameters are: 0.0 Ammonia, 0.0 Nitrite, 10.0 Nitrate, 6.5 PH. This is pretty much how it's always been. I've doubled the aeration in the tank. We have an Aquaclear filter for this size tank. Since they slowly kept getting bigger, I've been doing 40-50% water changes every day for the past 2 years (using Prime as conditioner and water left overnight). They eat a combination of Aqueon Shrimp pellets, Bug Bites insect larvae, Omega One and Tetra goldfish flakes once a day at night, and I soak everything in a cup of aquarium water before giving it to them. I am wondering if Snowy is egg-bound, or has dropsy. Over the past 2 weeks or so when she rests, her tail is bent down. She's been head down sticking her head in a corner with her tail bent down to the right, and looks bloated on the left side. Once in a while she gets spurts of energy and her tail straightens out. I put a teaspoon of Epson Salt into the tank, turned the heat up to 72.5, and fasted her for 2 days. Yesterday I fed her a few peas which she gobbled up. Today she wouldn't eat them so I gave a few Bug Bites (The larvae sprinkles) and a few flakes which she ate. I have not seen her poop in a few days.  If you will notice, her tailfin has a cut on it at the top - it looks like a slit and I'm not sure how that could happen, we don't have anything sharp in the tank besides maybe the gravel. Sunny keeps bothering her and poking her belly so maybe he did that? Usually they love each other! There is also a red streak on the side of her tail (pic 2). I purchased API General Cure, Kanaplex, Metroplex and Melafix. 2 days ago I dosed the tank with Kanaplex, did a 60% water change, and will be doing another dose today, but I'm not sure if Kanaplex was the right one to use or if I should use any of the others. So far there is no improvement. She has never been out of this tank, and when I try to get her out she freaks out so badly so I can't do any individual hospital tank salt baths. Does anyone know what this could be or how to treat it? Sorry for the bad pics. Thanks for any help or suggestions!

 

[Guupy42]

Unfortunately, it looks like to me that Dropsy is a possibility. On the top view, one side of her stomach is enlarged, while the other side looks normal. Have you noticed any pineconing? It is a little hard to tell just from those images. The fin damage that you notice could be from aggression from your other fish, Sunny, but goldfish are not usually aggressive, I found after some research. They might, in some cases, as in this forum post, though, so look for signs of that.

@Colu might be able to help with your problem. Based on the parameters you provided, it looks as if your pH might be a little bit low, as in this article, it says that goldfish should ideally be in a pH range of 7.0 - 8.4. This Aquarium Co Op Blog Post says that "Most freshwater fish are happy at pH levels between 6.5 to 8.0. ". Good luck to you and your fish in the treatment process.

[Colu]

It's difficult to tell if it's dropsy off your pictures something internal could be going on like  intestine blockage can cause bulging on the side it's possible something else  like dropsy that can be caused by a number of things such as polycystic kidney disease internal bacterial infections parasitic infection the most effective treatment I have found for dropsy is dose the tank with kanaplex to treat any possible internal bacterial infections you can use  Epsom salt or aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons that will help reduce fluid buildup and metroplex in food feeding a small amount twice a day for upto 3 weeks  I would add some crushed coral to the substrate to gradually increase the pH to 7-7.5 I see your moving them to a 55 gallon tank ideally you want a minimum of 75 gallons but a 125 would be better long term @SophiaV

[SophiaV]

I am looking out for it, but have not noticed any pineconing, I will raise the PH. Thank you Guupy42!

On 5/1/2024 at 6:03 PM, Guupy42 said:

Unfortunately, it looks like to me that Dropsy is a possibility. On the top view, one side of her stomach is enlarged, while the other side looks normal. Have you noticed any pineconing? It is a little hard to tell just from those images. The fin damage that you notice could be from aggression from your other fish, Sunny, but goldfish are not usually aggressive, I found after some research. They might, in some cases, as in this forum post, though, so look for signs of that.

@Colu might be able to help with your problem. Based on the parameters you provided, it looks as if your pH might be a little bit low, as in this article, it says that goldfish should ideally be in a pH range of 7.0 - 8.4. This Aquarium Co Op Blog Post says that "Most freshwater fish are happy at pH levels between 6.5 to 8.0. ". Good luck to you and your fish in the treatment process.

 

[SophiaV]

On 5/2/2024 at 12:59 AM, Colu said:

It's difficult to tell if it's dropsy off your pictures something internal could be going on like  intestine blockage can cause bulging on the side it's possible something else  like dropsy that can be caused by a number of things such as polycystic kidney disease internal bacterial infections parasitic infection the most effective treatment I have found for dropsy is dose the tank with kanaplex to treat any possible internal bacterial infections you can use  Epsom salt or aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons that will help reduce fluid buildup and metroplex in food feeding a small amount twice a day for upto 3 weeks  I would add some crushed coral to the substrate to gradually increase the pH to 7-7.5 I see your moving them to a 55 gallon tank ideally you want a minimum of 75 gallons but a 125 would be better long term @SophiaV

Thank you, Colu, I will follow your advice.  I have medicated with Kanaplex the full dosage 3x  (last dose 2 days ago) but there doesn't seem to be a change. I have a hospital tank ready and I've tried to gently catch Snowy but she is not having it. She goes crazy and starts slamming her head against the side of the tank and freaking out as soon as I put my hand or anything else in the tank so I'm trying to keep her calm (I've never had to take her out before). I will follow your advice and begin with the epson salts and Metroplex/Focus. Hopefully it won't have an adverse affect on the other fish but he is more hardy. Do you think it will be ok if I add the epsom salt and both fish eat the medicated food? I don't want to stress Snowy more than she is. Also as per your suggestion I am looking into a larger tank. Thank you for your response, if there is any change I will update! 🙂

[Guupy42]

On 5/3/2024 at 12:20 PM, SophiaV said:

I don't want to stress Snowy more than she is.

When you are adding your medicine or adjusting pH, make sure not to make any extreme adjustments, such as going from a pH of 6.5 to an 8.4. Take it slowly, and add the chemicals (Or whatever else you are using) a little bit at a time.

[SophiaV]

On 5/3/2024 at 5:28 PM, Guupy42 said:

When you are adding your medicine or adjusting pH, make sure not to make any extreme adjustments, such as going from a pH of 6.5 to an 8.4. Take it slowly, and add the chemicals (Or whatever else you are using) a little bit at a time.

That's good advice, I will be trying crushed coral. Thank you! 

[Colu]

On 5/4/2024 at 12:20 AM, SophiaV said:

Thank you, Colu, I will follow your advice.  I have medicated with Kanaplex the full dosage 3x  (last dose 2 days ago) but there doesn't seem to be a change. I have a hospital tank ready and I've tried to gently catch Snowy but she is not having it. She goes crazy and starts slamming her head against the side of the tank and freaking out as soon as I put my hand or anything else in the tank so I'm trying to keep her calm (I've never had to take her out before). I will follow your advice and begin with the epson salts and Metroplex/Focus. Hopefully it won't have an adverse affect on the other fish but he is more hardy. Do you think it will be ok if I add the epsom salt and both fish eat the medicated food? I don't want to stress Snowy more than she is. Also as per your suggestion I am looking into a larger tank. Thank you for your response, if there is any change I will update! 🙂

As you have just done a course of kanaplex I would just do salt and metroplex in food the treatment I recommended shouldn't harm your other fish I would also fast for next 5 days to see 

[SophiaV]

On 5/4/2024 at 5:38 AM, Colu said:

As you have just done a course of kanaplex I would just do salt and metroplex in food the treatment I recommended shouldn't harm your other fish I would also fast for next 5 days to see 

Thank you! I appreciate your help.