Dying Fantail

[MHunt]

I've got a poorly goldfish. It's a female fantail, I've put pics of her on here before, I'll try and find the thread if the pics are still active.

The main problem is she appears to have problems with her swim bladder, she's gotten quite swollen over the past weeks or so, and now just bobs along at the top of the tank. She is normally upright but occasionally goes on the side when she gets tired from trying to swim down. The swelling hasn't presented itself as dropsy, as the scales are still flat, not raised.

I've been doing water changes and treating for what I think are the two causes. Constipation with shelled peas, and interpet 9 for internal bacterial infection. It could just be the eventual cause of living the majority of her life in a goldfish bowl before I understood the right way to keep fish.

She's in a 10 gal (I know probably too small but the best I have) aqua one 320 with the under gravel filtration and a small power filter. Did a water test tonight and the ammonia and nitrite were 0. Nitrate about 40 and ph about 6.5.

I know I'm probably fighting a loosing battle now, but any advice is welcome.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

The goldfish could actually have dropsy, pine coning of scales is a symptom of dropsy but is a symptom that only shows itself in the later and worse stages of dropsy, some fish suffering from dropsy may not even get pine coned scales at all- the main symptom of dropsy which is always present is the building up of fluids in the fish (since the fishes osmotic processes have gone wrong and the fish is retaining too much fluids).
Epsom salts which are a very particular salt may help the fishes conditions, i think the theory is that they help the fish to excrete the build up of fluids in the body. Doing more small water changes to reduce the nitrate levels in the tank may also help too- other than that, i think you are doing all the right things- treatment of internal bacterial infection. It would be good to only feed the fish de-shelled chopped up pea's until the fishes swelling goes down (hopefully it will, although it my take a fairly long time- if the fish just has dropsy and not constipation, then if the fish got constipation then that would make the dropsy even more lethal- on the other hand, if the fish just has constipation and not dropsy, then the pea diet will help cure this).

 

[Rozlynmac]

I've got a poorly goldfish. It's a female fantail, I've put pics of her on here before, I'll try and find the thread if the pics are still active.

The main problem is she appears to have problems with her swim bladder, she's gotten quite swollen over the past weeks or so, and now just bobs along at the top of the tank. She is normally upright but occasionally goes on the side when she gets tired from trying to swim down. The swelling hasn't presented itself as dropsy, as the scales are still flat, not raised.

I know I'm probably fighting a loosing battle now, but any advice is welcome.

How is it going MHunt? One of my two fantails died just the other day from what appeared to be swim bladder problems. I'm gutted because I feel guilty. I did eventually try to feed it shelled chopped peas, even took it out the main tank so it's companion wouldn't keep nicking the peas but I think I was too late working out what was going on. Watching your fish die is hellish.

So I'm hoping you've had more luck - and don't feel too guilty about her 'beforethe tank' life - my first foray into goldfish as a kid involved a bowl, no filter and a poor hard done by fish that actually lived for about 12 years despite the hell I put it through & despite getting every possible disease because of how poorly I looked after it. I'm amazed it coped for the 4 years I did that to it before my Dad took over when I left home. In the end it thrived in a much larger tank and lived much more comfortably for another 8 years or so.

R

 

[MHunt]

I know this thread is pretty dead, but I thought i'd better put the final chapter on it. I decided to euthanise the fish today. I couldn't bear to see it just bobbing at the top of the tank for any longer. It wasn't making any attempt to eat the food I was putting in the tank and seeing it was just floating at the top of the tank it was starting to get skin problems along it's dorsal area. I'd stopped adding medication as it wasn't making any difference and today decided enough was enough. So that's it, RIP goldfish.

 

[liz2]

well done you for deciding enough was enough. I have a chocolate oranda that is ill. only had it 2 and and half weeks. Got it in quarantine, it is lethargic I have tried everything I can think of. Then I noticed yesterday I had a dead fish in my pond so I went to get it out this afternoon and it is still alive. So I have now got that indoors as I decided if I was a goldfish i would rather die in nice clean water than in my dirty pond.....

 

[BizzyMomma]

I know this thread is pretty dead, but I thought i'd better put the final chapter on it. I decided to euthanise the fish today. I couldn't bear to see it just bobbing at the top of the tank for any longer. It wasn't making any attempt to eat the food I was putting in the tank and seeing it was just floating at the top of the tank it was starting to get skin problems along it's dorsal area. I'd stopped adding medication as it wasn't making any difference and today decided enough was enough. So that's it, RIP goldfish.

You did the right thing in my opinion too, it must have been incredibly hard to do this but it would have been even harder to watch your beloved fish suffering more each day, especially if it had stopped eating too. I have a red metallic Oranda, only a baby yet but it is a worry of mine that it will eventually develop swimbladder problems at some stage in it's life.

RIP little Fantail!

well done you for deciding enough was enough. I have a chocolate oranda that is ill. only had it 2 and and half weeks. Got it in quarantine, it is lethargic I have tried everything I can think of. Then I noticed yesterday I had a dead fish in my pond so I went to get it out this afternoon and it is still alive. So I have now got that indoors as I decided if I was a goldfish i would rather die in nice clean water than in my dirty pond.....

Well I hope that your Chocolate Oranda picks up for you!! Good on you for bringing your pond fish into the house too, who knows maybe it will make a recovery for you