Just a thought. I know someone pinned on the site how to trim a wen but what if someone could pin an article about everything you need to know about wens. Such as- which types of golides grow them, what is a normal appearance of a wen, what does white spots on wen mean, foods to improve wen growth, What does it mean when there is fuzzy area on just the wen etc. just a thought. It would be a good source of info for a lot of newer oranda owners like me would love to know all this .

hey Kris... i dont know if this will be of any use at all, but here are some things i know about wens

There are a few types of goldies that will grow wens, the most common of which being our beloved orandas. You will also find that you can get what are called 'crowned pearlscales' these too have wens. Ranchus (or lionheads) will grow wens that can cover their entire face.
The most normal appearance of a wen is quite hard to describe, but it kinda looks like solid jelly placed on the head, or more likely all over the face here is a pic of my oranda casper (also after his wen trimming):



White spots on the wen can indicate a problem (such as fungus), but it can also just show that the wen is growing. New head growth will look white, and is sometimes confused with fungus or bacterial infections (i have made this mistake before). The best way i find to tell if it is wen or not is again to look at the texture. fungus generally looks more 'fluffy' than new wen growth.
Foods that can help to promote wen growth are those high in protein such as plankton and bloodworms. You can also buy foods that will increace wen growth in the fish, i have found that Hikari oranda food works quite well
as for the wen trimming - i have had to do this to my beloved oranda casper. i suggest you only ever do this is the fish's health or wellbeing is at risk, i.e.: if the wen is covering the eye, This is only my method and im sure there are plenty of people who will have things to add etc
I found that the best hing to do is before you take the fish out of the tank, make sure that the water quality is absolutely perfect. then fill a tub with the tank water and place the fish into it. It should be deep enough so that the fish can swim upright in it, as i'm guessing most people will not use anaesthetics to sedate the fish and so you dont want them getting hurt when you have to let the back down for air...
Then take a sterile pair of nail scissors and have some iodine & tissue ready so that you can dab the 'cut away' areas after you are done. Once the fish is in the tub, pick him/her up, taking care not to damage any of their fins in the process, also take care to hold *firmly* to prevent them damaging themselves, but not too hard as you can end up rupturing or damaging their organs. Then take the sterile nail scissors and cut away the area covering the eye obviously making sure not to damage the actual eye in the process (i always have a light next to me so that i can see what i'm doing). The wen itself has a very odd texture when you cut it and it is more like cutting rubber i find, so make sure that the scissors are sharp.
once you are done removing the offending areas, *very carefully* dab the 'cut' bits with an iodine solution. Make sure that whilst he fish is out of the water you keep letting them back down for air.
I found that the cut areas should look as good as new within a few days, although at first they will have the 'new wen growth' whiteness where you cut and will turn to the normal wen colour within 7 days.
Make sure that your water quality is perfect afterwards (of course it should be anyway) as this is essential as it will prevent infection.


hope this has helped you in some way...

Thanks Tink and that was very informative. Thanks for taking the time to write it. Maybe Koko can take your post and put it on the info page so new comers can see it. It would be helpful

no problem Kris, i know how nerve racking it can be - especially the trimming part

I have a orange oranda and he hasn't even got a wen yet or will he ever get one ?

Blue, it depends on genetics/diet/water quality and all that, whether he will get a wen and how big it will be. High protein foods (and greenwater ) will help.

Tink, thats really helpful, especially about the wen feeling like rubber, now i know if i ever need to do it to have very sharp scissors.. i always thought it would be more like jelly

Blue, if your oranda has nowen what-so-ever, then he is more likely to be a fantail. Many pet stores sell fantails as orandas, and vice versa

Cheers lucy

Tink he has what looks like one but its not very big its a differant shade of orange next to the rest of him.

Very informative Tink, a great introduction to Wen trimming - you make it sound sooo easy and not at all frightening! Can it be pinned please where other people can read

thanks guys

blue, could you post a pic of your lil' guy?

He's already posted on the site under Goldfish photo's.Its my Cyclops my wonderful one eyed fish
But here he is again anyway

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/Norda.../Cyclops005.jpg

Great info Tinks "D

Blue, your orange fish appears to be a fantail and if so, won't grow any wen. But he's beautiful none-the-less

Thanks Jen but now I can't figure out why the LFS was selling them all as Oranda's
I don't mind tho Fantail or Oranda he'll always be my beloved Cyclops

Heres a side view of him just to make sure.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/Norda.../Cyclops003.jpg

Shops can get it wrong 9 times out of 10 - especially when they can't differentiate between breeds. I was looking at what was meant to be a tank of ranchus and lionheads - but the fish were actually fantails and maybe one or two ryukins

And I agree - I think cyclops is wonderful just the way he is

he is a gorgeous fish

Here are some more 'helpful pictures' since we are on the subject of Wen's and you wanted some documentation and pictures of growth and such....

One of them is a wen with a 'wen growth' white spot. Some call it a white bruise or fuzzy patch. But it shows up shortly before that area of it's wen grows. The little white dots on it's face are breeding stars.. not to be confused with the white patch on it's head. (RIP my precious BLUE)



Another form of wen growth looks like little white pimples or whiteheads. Here is a picture of that on the same Blue Oranda. It's the little white pimple thing above it's eye in both pictures. Not on his cheeks... as they are breeding stars.

great pics Barb

For Barbra44's picture of her oranda. Which is a beauty:

What are breeding stars? (this might be a stupid question)

My baby oranda seems to have something that looks exactly like them on his wen. Is this because of wen growth or is it ich? I have posted a topic about this also.

If your fish would have Ich its usually situated all over the body like this



picture taken from Koko's

Breeding stars are little white dots that pop out on the male's gills when its mating time

looks like this



picture taken from this site
breeding stars

Thanks for the clarification . Dotty lost the white spot and I am pretty sure it was just a growth mark because her wen got a little bigger after it went away.

your welcome im gladd things turned out to be fine

are oranda's rare?

no, orandas are pretty common in most places they are usually sold quite small though

I have two orandas, a red cap (Dandy) and a blue (Dabba). The wen on my red capped oranda is quite small but it's there and i'm quite happy with it the way it is. However, the blue oranda barely has one, if at all. What else could it be? i didn't think you could get blue fan tails.

im pretty sure you can get blue fantails. it might also just be a young fish. it might still change colour or even grow a wen. It can take a while for wens to develop

Thanks, tinkerbell.

Hey do any of you know of any foods you can buy to help the wen grow, because i just bought a red cap and his wen is so tiny. there is a pic of him in my signature

My oranda's wens seemed to grow faster since I started feeding them peas. They are also much healthy and loves the peas more than flake food.

heya~
I have noticed that ever since I started feeding my oranda's Hikari Oranda Gold Pellets their wens have grew quite a bit as a matter of a fact my one calico I have just gotten has been fed nothing but hikari since i got her and i noticed that her wen is getting new growth Unfortunately only 1 of my oranda's like pea's and that is my lemon head the others dont like it but they love the Hikari I think i'm going to try lettuce see if they will go for it

My fish are too small to have pellets yet.. I have to mush the peas into small SMALL pieces so they can eat it.. but I am planning on getting them some hikari food when they finish eating their flakes. ;o)

Carmel - you can feed your fish pellets and flakes at the same time - it's actually quite good for them as it gves them a balanced diet. just make sure you dont feed too much

i actually feed my fish both flakes and pellets they seem to like both and carmel they have the baby pellets by hikari really small

OH REALLY?!! I didn't know that. Now I'm going to be searching my lfs to see if they have any. They should cuz they sell a lot of Hikari foods. Thanks so much for the info!

no probs if you can get your hands on some frozen bloodworms it'll do his wen wonders

i've seen some freeze dried bloodworms but not frozen ones.. are those okay too or are they different?

Wens are my favorite characteristic of the Orandas/Lionheads. What good does trimming do?
Re growth of wens, Hikari Lionhead or Oranda as reputed to make the Wen grow.

it is only when the fish's health is being sacraficed that wen trimming should take place. for example, if the wen is beginning to cover the eyes.

Thanks, T.

Casper is exceptional

thank you