I'm brand new here...and hoping someone can answer me. I have a real cute Oranda and his head has grown quite large. So large in fact its starting to cover over his eyes. I suppose this will hamper him if it gets any worse, and he'll be blind. Is there anything I can do to help this? I'm afraid he'll starve if he can't see the food.

Some people trim the wen on their fish to keep it from over-growing their eyes. But, in my experience, they usually don't have trouble finding food when this happens. Mine seems to have a very good sense of smell.

Trim the wen? Firstly, is that what its called ? Wen is the cap growth? and to trim it? How would you do that? Sounds like cruel and unusual punishment....wouldn't it bleed? Sorry if I sound naive, but I'm fairly new to the fish world, and still learning. I'm loving it though!!!

It wouldnt bleed. I think its like hair or fingernails are to us.
Theres are thread here about Wen growth with information on trimming it.. http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=47970

people do not really like to trim the wen unless absolutely necessary. There was a real great post a while back that had a link to pictures of wen surgery. i'll try to find it

EDIT::

found it

wen surgery

Wow! that was great! Very helpful. I had no idea that trimming can be done. Thank you so much!

Thanks for the link....its been helpful!!

no problem

Ahh i spotted this in another post and was horrified lol. I thought also it was cruel and must be painful. Obviously not lol.

I think my orando is still young as its wen isnt that big, or does that depend on each orandos growth? How fast do they grow and what age before they get to big?

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Okay so I read about the wen surgery, and thought about it alot. So today I finally got the nerve to try it. My husband held my baby, while I cut off a piece of the wen covering his eye. Oh my God, it was bleeding!!! I was freaking out, and he kept saying, "you're gonna kill him!" So, needless to say, I stopped. I hope he'll be ok....I love him so much..he's my favorite fish, he's so cute. I thought it wasn't supposed to bleed...now what? I feel terrible.

It depends on the fish, if taken well care of, from fry to adulthood, it should grow into a nice sized wen, even if you got it when it was older then fry, if taken care of, it should grow nicely. Not all orandas will need their wen trimmed. And some will get very small ones. (those tend to be the unhealthier ones,but not always)

Oh and nadi, :

I don't know why it would bleed... I would just keep the water quality good and keep an eye on it. Goldfish have a very good sense of smell so I would not worry about trying again to trim it.

P.S.-I hope this experience doesn't turn you away from orandas because they are my favorites!

Oh my gosh - i'm sorry that you had such a frightening experience! Is your fish ok now? I wish tha could give you some helpful advice, but hopefully someone who i more experienced that myself will be along to help. Just keep his water perfect, and that will help for now. Good luck!

Hello,

I just wanted to say I thought that was a good question and found this thread very useful. Forgive me if I may sound ignorant, but I figured the larger the wen, the better? I didn't know they can be "too" big. I hear Oranda should never be destroyed or lionheads for obsessive growth, as they are still fully functionable, even if blind or lessend use of the eyes. I am sorry you had to experience attempting to trim it and see the poor lil guy bleed. I know I would be spooked if that happened. I would like an update on here to hear the status of his (Or her) recovery.

Thanks,
Faustino

I would only trim a fish's wen if it starts to grow over the gill covers, and obscures or hinders the breathing. Other than that, its an aestatic thing, if you like the way the fish looks with such a big wen. For me, I LOVE 'em that way! They find food just fine, just pay a little more attention if they are with orandas which can see better. Make sure they get the fair share of food.
Nadi, how is your fish doing today? Is he looking okay? It really shouldn't have bled much. Could it be that you got a little close to the eye?

One of my oranda's wen has grown huge in comparison to his body and covers his eyes at the front. Since he is a little slower than the other fish at finding food, I hand feed him sometimes to ensure he doesn't miss out. So maybe you could try that with your fish. If you are really interested in knowing about wen trimming, the "Fancy goldfish" book by Johnson, Hess et al (see book section on Koko's site) has a section on it.

I agree with RanchuGirl on this one. There is no need to trim an oranda's wen unless it overgrows his gills and impeeds his gill function. I haev NEVER had reason to trim one.

A large wen can support the eyes. If the wen is trimmed from around the eyes, they may be without support and you will loose them.

Many orandas have wens that grow to cover their eyes. I have a Lionhead that has nearly covered eyes. They are not fish that can survive well "in the wild" but in a tank, they do splendidly with a large wen, blind or not. He is active, growing well, and (hopefully) will breed this spring.

Anytime you break the skin of a living creature, you run the risk of introducing pathogens into the body. A fish, immersed in water, has a bit more risk. Make sure you keep the water pristine after a "wen trim".