Hello!

I have a 29 gallon tank with three small goldfish, an oranda, a red-cap, and a black moor. All are about 2-1/2 to 3 inches long, and I have had them for about 5 months now. Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 4-5, pH buffered pretty well to around 7.2. Temperature between 64 and 68 degrees, which has been pretty constant.

Recently, I noticed that the red-cap, and sometimes the black moor, would chase the oranda a little bit around the tank, especially during feeding times. The oranda also developed a very small tear in its dorsal fin, which I was initially worried about, but then seems to have healed up pretty quickly.

I think that the behavior I was witnessing was probably mating behavior, although I wouldn't have thought that my fish were old and large enough yet to be sexually mature.

But recently, I have spotted another strange thing on the oranda which has me worried again! There seems to be a medium-sized patch on one side of the main body of the fish, close to the dorsal fin, that has turned a very dark, speckled-red color, almost like the fish was blushing! Other than this, the oranda has been a very nice pale-orange/yellow color. Last week, there was a similar red spot on the other side of the fish, but it was smaller and seemed to go away pretty quickly. This time the red "blushing" spot is much larger and darker-colored.

What could it be?? Does it have anything to do with the fact that I think that the oranda is probably a female, and that she just laid eggs? (Today while cleaning the tank I noticed some strings of what could have been eggs- small, oval-shaped pearly things connected in a kind of slimy string.)

Would a recent spawning also have something to do with a troublesome free-floating green algae bloom that I have been struggling with in the tank?

Are my fish even old enough yet to be breeding?

Thanks for any and all suggestions or answers! This is the first time I have had goldfish during mating season, so I am not sure what to think about all this!

I suspect that the bubbles in the stringy poop are just that - bubbles in stringy poop.

You may wish to read about fish poop in this link:

http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/GoldfishPoop.html

I know it may seem like a trange sort of subject to discuss, but it is important and can give you a very good clue as to what is going on.

In the presence of long stringy poo with airbubbles incorporated, I am concerned with the description of the red tinge you are describing. Does it appear that there is a reddish coloration that is almost "internal" - like an internal glow?

This may be a bacterial infection. This infection could have come from many different sources, but one may be constipation. When the food sticks in the fish's gut and fails to move along, it can fement - releasing bubbles and building bad bacteria.

These red "spots" might also be evidence of some sort of parasite - it is hard to tell without seeing them. If the spots are more "surface", I would suspect traumatic injury - from parasites or burns or such. If the red seems to be more "internal" I would suspect bacterial infection.

It is very difficult to determine a fish's maturity just by size. So much depends on genetics and the way the fish was raised - both originally and after you got him. Fish eggs are small spheres that literally scatter to the currents - sticking over everything - the bottom of the tank, the plants etc. The fish eat them with relish. They are not stuck together in a string, though.

Thanks for the help.

You are right; it probably was just poop with bubbles in it. I will take steps to make sure the fish are not suffering from constipation- peas, here we come!

The reddish-spot is definately on the surface of the fish's scales. Perhaps it is from a traumatic injury. The other two fish had been chasing this oranda for about a week, sometimes pretty vigorously. It can't be from a burn, as we have no heater in the tank.

I'll keep an eye on it- hopefully it will just go away!

Thanks again for your help.

Sorry, it is me again.

We just had a look, and the red spot on our oranda's skin seems to be getting worse, so I wanted to post again with more information in case someone can help us figure out exactly what this is.

The so-called red spot is a dark-reddish smudge made up of smaller red dots on the fish's skin. It was below the dorsal fin, but now has started to spread a little bit to the other side of the fish.

Is this a localized skin infection?

Before this appeared, I had noticed another strange thing with this oranda, that I had hoped was nothing and would go away. But perhaps it is important. For the past 2 weeks or so, the oranda seems to have developed a cloudy, almost white-ish, translucent, or slimy sheen or coating to parts of its fins and body, especially the tail fin and parts of the main body. It has to be at the right light to see, but it has the effect of making the fish turn almost white-ish in color, as opposed to its natural orange.

Other than these symptoms, ad possible constipation, the fish had seemed to be perfectly healthy, and so far does not seem to be exhibiting any other worrying symptoms. However, as I said above, the other two fish have been chasing and worrying this oranda for a couple of weeks now. I don't know if this would be related or not.

So what is this reddish-tinge or smudge? If it is a skin infection, would melafix help? (We have some standing by!) Also, what is this white/translucent sheen or slimy coating that the oranda has developed over parts of its body, and is it related to a skin infection?

Thank you so much for any help you could give with this problem!!

are you able to take a picture and show it too us,this would be the best way to determine what it is

I have been trying, but so far not much luck. I am not very good with photographing goldfish! I will try to post the best picture I have in this message. The red spot that I am talking about is just below and to the front of the dorsal fin, and shows up as redish-white on the picture. The picture also sort of shows the overall white/translucent sheen on the fish's body.

here is another photo:



Sorry these pictures are not too great!

Sorry to hear you fish isn't well.
From what I can see with the pics (as you are right, a little too blurry) it doesn't look surface to me.

My recommendations would be to hospitalize the fish. ONe to treat her and the other to give her a break from the others.
Next is to raise the temp to around 78F, do this slowly. Higher temps help to boost immune systems. But you also have to make sure the water is well oxygenated.
Next I would put the fish on a 2-4 week antibotic food regimon. Medigold or metromed from goldfish connection online are 2 very good foods.

Hi Laurie,

Thanks for the advice. I have some MediGold on the way from the goldfishconnection website, which will hopefully get here soon.

About hospitalization, my concern is that I do not have a hospital or quarantine tank set up that has a working biofilter. In the past, when I have put fish into a hospital or quarantine tank without an established biofilter, no matter how hard I have tried to keep the water quality good, in the end spikes of ammonia have done more damage than the original illness!

After watching the tank for a solid 30 minutes, I am confident that the other fish are not bothering the oranda. Also, might a higher temperature encourage bacteria growth as much as the fish's immune system?

Due to these concerns I am inclined to keep her in the main tank, at least for now.

When the medigold gets here, if I feel that keeping the fish in the main tank is the best idea, do you think it would hurt to only feed the oranda the medigold? (In the past I have had success in carefully only feeding one fish pellets, by waiting until the others are distracted and dropping the pellet right in front of the fish. The oranda is actually pretty well-trained in this!) Or would it be good to feed all the fish on a medigold regimen for 2-4 weeks, in case the infection might spread?

Thanks again very much for your help.

I myself would feed the whole tank. You have to remember that depending on the size of the fish, they have to get enough med food to make a difference. That is often time consuming and more than normal.

As for the temp, raising it isn't going to spur on the bacterial infection. For if it is internal (which is what it looks like to me) then the heat isn't going to effect it.
I think the benefit out weighs it.

Hello Laurie and everyone,

Today the MediGold arrived from goldfish connection, and I have started feeding all three fish in the tank with this medicated food. I have to chop up the pellets into 4 or 5 pieces for them to be able to swallow, but so far, so good! I hope this helps.

For the past 3 days, the fish have either had nothing at all, or only peas. Hopefully this will help with the constipation that likely caused the suspected internal bacterial infection in Mandarin, my oranda. I could have held off the feeding for longer, but I wanted to start the MediGold right away.

Mandarin's condition is sort of the same; the original red-pink-white spot on her body has mostly healed, but every day there seems to be a new spot that appears, with the same reddish-pink color, and a white, opaque raised bump on the skin. After a day or so, the spot seems to heal, but by then there has appeared a new spot somewhere else on the fish.

Mandarin's fins have also started to fray. Although an earlier small tear on the dorsal fin has healed, now the tail fin is starting to get some rips in it. Also, on the stem of the tail fin, right where it goes into the body, there has started to become visible a few, short red streaks.

I have been checking every day, and water quality remains perfect, with ammonia and nitrite at 0, and nitrate under 5. pH is also the same, at around 7. I have raised the temperature up since my last post from 68 to 75, and am now raising it to 78 degrees. The water is well-oxygenated, as we have a power filter + UGF combo.

Am I doing everything right? I am worried because of the torn fins, and the reddish streaks in the fins. Also, whatever it is seems to not be going away on its own. Mandarin ate her MediGold with gusto, and is acting pretty normally, which I guess is a good sign.

Anyway, thanks again for all your help!

EVerything sounds good except one thing. The ugf. These are very bad for gf. Because they root around in the bottom where toxins have built up underneath that thing. It is amazing, even if you vacuum, all the crud under there.
So I would suggest getting it out of there as quickly as you can. However be aware this can be dangerous, for when you remove it all the toxins can be released into the water.
I would venture to say it could be part of your problem.

Hello! Just an update, in case you were wondering. The MediGold made the red and pink spots from the internal bacterial infection or constipation go away within a couple days. Right now the tank has been on the medicated food for about a week, and the fish have never looked healthier. I am going to stay the course for a few more days, and then switch to ProGold and peas, which will hopefully stave off any other related issues down the line.

I was amazed just how well the MediGold food worked, and really recommend it to anyone else who has noticed reddish or pink spots on their fish, and/or constipation, and think they may be dealing with a bacterial infection.

About the UGF, I have to respectfully disagree with Laurie as to its danger. I think that UGFs work wonderfully, and are really unrivaled in terms of biological filtration. I have been keeping fish (including goldfish) for years with UGFs and have never had a problem. Because UGFs cause water to constantly be moved through the gravel, bringing waste products to the bacteria for them to metabolize and delivering cleaned water back to the main tank, it is really impossible in my opinion for there to form any kind of small pockets of toxic water. Such toxins would only be created by unhealthy bacteria in any event, which does not happen with UGFs, which are very good at sustaining large, healthy communities of beneficial bacteria. All things considered, as long as you perform fairly thorough gravel vacs every week or so, UGFs, in my humble opinion, are not only safe but work great, especially for goldfish (who produce a lot of waste and thus require large and healthy nitrifying bacteria communities).

UGF can work very well in a fish tank. But most commonly they are much better in tropical applications rather than goldfish apps. Goldfish are such waste makers that they can easily overwhelm an UGF with waste, leaving far more there than the beneficial bacteria that create it can deal with, in a timely basis.

For the average goldfish keeper an UGF is not a good thing at all - it is nearly impossible to clean - and is a source of potential toxins if all does not break down correctly. If you have the right balance of floor space, large enough gravel that the waster can be drawn down well, a light load of goldies that are not feeding heavily or breeding, you can successfully use an UGF. For most, however, these different factors do not all come together in a single tank - and the UGF becomes a source of problems.

UGF are also built in parasite incubators in many tanks - for once introduced, many parastites are impossible to erradicate from an UGF.

I am glad it works for you, though.

I am THRILLED that the MEdiGold did the trick for you - and so quickly, too. That is SUPER!