Hello, My Largest Male oranda (6 in.) is sick! Here are the tank specs:

*30 gallon tank
*4 Fish : 1 - 6 in. red cap oranda(male), 1 - 4 in. (female) red cap oranda, and 2 Baby red cap orandas (my pair are the proud parents) that are approx. 1 1/2 - 2 inches.
*Ammonia is Zero
*PH is Neutral at 7.0
*All water conditions are great
* I feed them goldfish flakes once daily
* I have treated the water with stress coat this morning
* I use a dual bio wheel filter
*No medications or additives besides the stress coat have been used

Ok, here is the symptoms. Approx. a week ago my tank had a bad ammonia spike! So after adding Ammo Carb to the filter, and numerous water changes the ammonia level has been back down to zero for the past 4 or 5 days. The fish showed signs of distress at the beginning, then when the ammonia level was lowered they have been great, right back to normal!
* This morning I noticed my Large male oranda had a few scales missing and his tail fins had slight red streaks all throught them.
* A few mins. ago I found him stuck inside a ornament/cave that the baby orandas usually stay in. I had to lift it off of him to get him out/.
Now he is very lethargic, labored breathing, and his tail fins are all ragged and frayed looking and almost solid Red!!
*Also there is a huge spot on his side with all of the scales missing.
He looks absolutely awful! And is at the bottom of the tank kinda tilted to the right.

I treated with Stress Coat, and do not know what else to do! He seems to be getting worse, I have had him for 3 years, and really don't want to lose him.

Any suggestions? All of the other fish are acting fine. could his condition be worse since he just got over the ammonia poisoning? Is this a delayed reaction?

Please Help!?!?!? Any suggestions will be greatly apprieciated.
Thank you!
awhem

When you say "great," what are the actual numerical values of the ammonia, nitrites, nitrates? If the ammonia spiked, you could now be having a nitrite spike.

There will be much more extensive advice coming from the pros...but one very obvious thing that stuck out is the ornament/cave you mentioned. Hydrogen sulfide forms under those things which is toxic to goldfish and when disturbed, it sometimes blasts the fish and gives them hydrogen sulfide poisoning. I don't know much about this but there will be someone who does.

Also, the tank is overcrowded as gf need 10 gallons each. That's why your ammonia is spiking. I suggest adding aquarium salt to the aquarium to help ease the stress of the trace toxins. Add 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons to achieve a 1% solution. Do it slowly over time...like 1/2 tablespoon every hour or so. Be sure not to get any of the salt on them as you're adding it.

You should probably also do a 25% water change with stress coat, matched temp and pH.

I forgot to add to do the water change before you add the salt. When you do another water change, you'll need to add salt for the amount of water you change.

Thank you for your quick reply! I'm sorry, I thought I included the nitrate/nitrite readings.
The Nitrite is 0 and the Nitrates are 10 ppm

He is doing slightly better now, beginning to swim around a little.
I wondered if the young orandas growing larger would be too many in a 30 gal tank. I have a 20 gal. I will begin to cycle for them.

The red streaks in his tail are faded a little, but still present. The tail fins are pretty badly damaged. I will try the salt and see if he improves. Should I remove the cave ornament in the tank? After hearing of the possibility of poisoning from it, I don't think I like it much anymore.
Thank you again for your help!
awhem

Your welcome! Welcome to the board by the way.

Yes, take the hollow ornament out for sure. Only use solid ornaments if any but live plants are preferred.