I have had this red capped oranda in my 30 gallon tank for at least 4 years. He has seen them come and go. But lately he has been hovering next to the filter intake and attaching his head to the suction for long times. He's lately been settling to the bottom of the tank.

On his head in the last 2 days, there is a white-ish indentation on his cap. It kinda looks like its rotting away. He can still swim and eat. But, he is lethargic. I am not sure if he just hurt himself on the suction intake or if he has a disease. The other goldfish in the tank are OK. I used some copper sulfate yesterday and I am going to clean the tank tonight.

Any help would be appreciated.

Hi there and



fristly, dont clean the tank too much just yet. Instead, can you answer all the questions from the red box above?

Also, whats the brand name and size/model of your filter/s?

Have you seen any flashing or scratching (looks like they are itchy) on ornaments or gravel?



Off the top, it could very well be water quality related. By the same token, this could be something along the lines of hexamita (easily cured). But, it all depends on the info you can give us......


Post back soon.

Paul

Test Results for the Following:
Ammonia Level?
Nitrite Level?
Nitrate level?
Ph Level, (If possible,KH and GH and chloramines)?
Ph Level out of the Tap?
I am traveling this week I wont be able to test it until Friday

Tank size (How many Gals) and How long has it been running? 30 gallons been running for years.

What is the name and size of the filter/s?
It is a whisper for 30-40 gallon tank

How often do you change the water and how much?
I only do a half to 3/4 water change about every 6-8 weeks

How many fish in the tank and their size?
He is large all of the others are smallish 7 total (always an odd number for luck)

What kind of water additives or conditioners?
I use salt and safe coat. I also use copper safe when they are looking ill.

Any medications added to the tank? copper safe

Add any new fish to the tank? No

What do you feed your fish? flakes and small pellets once a day

Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt",
bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? No

Any unusual behavior like staying
at the bottom, not eating, ect..?
Everybody is eating. The oranda does sit on the bottom from time to time. He always manages to get up for dinner.

What were your water parameters the last time you checked? And...when is the last time you checked those parameters?

It is possible the problem stems from poor water quality. You state you only change your water out once every 6-8 weeks. That is not good. You should change out at least 25% per week, along w/ a good gravel vacuum (if you have gravel).

Also, 7 fish in a 30 gallon tank is a bit overstocked. Fancy goldfish need at least 10 gallons of water each. Plus, they are very very messy little guys. Add that in with your bi-monthly water changes and you have a recipe for poor water quality.

You also state you add salt. Is that something you do routinely? Do you know how much salt you have in your tank at the present time? Salt should only be added when something is wrong with the fish.

If you're not going to be around until Friday, I guess there is nothing you can do unless you have someone at home with the fish who can help. Your water params need to be checked, and a large water change should be performed accordingly. That is where I would start off first.


Post back soon if you can.

Yes, it sounds as though your water quality and maintenence schedule needs some work. Off the top, you treally should have test kits for the params asked above, onhand, if you don't. Regular testing is going to be imperative for you in that you have a few too many fish for the gallonage. True enough, when you first get a goldfish, you can add quite a few to a tank. But as they grow, their needs do too.


Ok, I have a few suggestions for you that will certainly make things a lot better for your fish. These tips especially pertain to you since you are overstocked:


Double your filtration. The many reasons can be found here: http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=26495

Test for everything at least once every two weeks. Quite a bit more until your sure your your bio-filter is handling the amount of ammonia being produced by so many fish. As much as you can, at least.

Change 30-50% once each week. Youll see why when you notice how high your nitrAtes are. Believe me, if you have THAT many fish and change out as little water as you listed, your nitrAtes are SKY HIGH. This also translates into a much lower pH http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/chemistry.html than what comes from your tapwater. The nitrification cycle http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/cycle.html is an acidic process and over time, it uses up KH (carbonate hardness, not general hardness) and the pH drops as a result. So, when doing as few and as large waterchanges as you do, your essentially changing the KH (and subsequently, the pH) by a large margin, every time. Large pH fluctuations are very stressful for fish and can easily incite sickness. Not to mention that nitrAtes higher than 60ppm are known to be harmful. So, waterchanges are an aquarists best friend. Simply put, take care of your water and your water will take care of your fish.


for now, I would start out by doing 20% waterchanges once a day for as often as you can. Its going to take a slow change in your waters quality because large, abrupt changes could cause some problems. Easy does it, you know?


Anyway, I just threw a ton of useful info at you. I'll let you absorb some of it and will be ready to answer any questions you may have.....


Keep us posted!

How is the fish?