Woke up Christmas morning to the shock of my 4yr old 4"Oranda lying on the bottom of the tank, with totally frayed fins and tail, red streak down the tail. He was behaving fine yesterday - and I thought he looked fine. Levels are normal, tank is an Eclipse. Just changed water a week ago. The other fish are all fine - another bigger Oranda, a black one with bulging eyes (black moor?), catfish, plecostomus, siamese algae eater - and have all lived together for over 4 years. I just removed him and put him in a bowl with Melafix. He had bout of lightly frayed fins about 1.5 yrs ago, but I added Melafix to the aquarium and he recovered. they eat flake food, sometimes peas. What can I do??

Johnny sorry to hear your fish isn't well.

The first thing we need is for you to post the actual numbers of the tests you ran, then answer the rest of the questions for us.
All this info is vital in diagnosing something going on.

Until you can get back with us I would recommend a water change.

The first thing we need is for you to post the actual numbers of the tests you ran, then answer the rest of the questions for us.
I can't get the actual numbers as I don't have any measure kits - and unfortunately, it's Christmas and I live in the boonies. I checked the ammonia and it is the 0-0.4 lowest level.
I changed the water - about 40%. I added some aquarium salt and Pimafix.
I just noticed that the fins on my 6" Oranda are starting to fray tonight. I changed that water about 30%, added Melafix and Pimafix and aquarium salt to that aquarium too, as well as changed the filter.
There are no new fish, they are fed flake food, no grains of salt, but bloody streak on tail fins on both fish - the really sick one seems to have bloody streak on all fins. He just stays on the bottom on his side (probably can't swim because of the fins) and he hasn't eaten today.
The big one is still eating, - I just fed him tonight.

The little one seems to be hanging in today, laying at the bottom of the hospital bowl on his side, trying to move, still pooing and responding when I come to check on him by wiggling and lifting his dorsal fin. I tried to give him a fish flake but he spit it out again. There seems to be less bloody streak on his tail, but it is still there. It is winter here and I am not sure what temp I should keep the water at for him. It is slightly warmer in the aquarium. The bigger one seems to be doing fine in the aquarium.

I would recommend not using a bowl for hospitalization. It is too small and to maintain good water would need to be 100% water changed mulitple times a day causing too much stress to the fish.

Until you can get tests that give you a more accurate answer (0-.4 is not accurate enough to determine what the water is.) May I suggest using drop tests by aquarium pharms. If you can get those, that will better help you to gage the water.
Back to what I was recommending, until you get the tests, I would change 50% of the water daily. Fresh, good quality will help more than a med of any kind.

Do you know what the concentration of the salt is in the tank? Too much salt can be very bad for the fish, it can acutally cause fraying fins.

Hi Laurie:

I would recommend not using a bowl for hospitalization. It is too small and to maintain good water would need to be 100% water changed mulitple times a day causing too much stress to the fish.
I PUT HIM BACK IN THE AQUARIUM
He is looking really bad. When I took him to the aquarium, he was scarcely moving and hardly breathing (gulping) - I put him in the aquarium and he started moving his fins again and gulping, but now I notice that he has white feathers? on parts of his body. His fins are all shredded bu the dorsal fin is up and looking better than the rest and there is less bleeding on his tail fin. When I got to him, he almost had a greyish tinge to his body. He is now with the rest of the fish.


Until you can get tests that give you a more accurate answer (0-.4 is not accurate enough to determine what the water is.) That was the drop test - lowest level of ammonia.
May I suggest using drop tests by aquarium pharms. If you can get those, that will better help you to gage the water.
Back to what I was recommending, until you get the tests, I would change 50% of the water daily. Fresh, good quality will help more than a med of any kind.
OK - I was only changing 30% but will change more now.

Do you know what the concentration of the salt is in the tank? Too much salt can be very bad for the fish, it can acutally cause fraying fins.

There was no salt in the aquarium on onset of these symtoms. I added 2 tsp of salt to a 20 gal aquarium.


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He is still lying on the bottom, breathing (gulping) slow regularly, stirs whenever another fish swims by.
I just don't know what to do, whether he is trying to get bet†er or whether he is suffering totally. He was once really chewed up by a lobster - I thought for sure he was finished, but he recovered with just a bent fin - the cuts and gouges all healed. But now he just lays on his side....

Well, he didn't make it through the night. So sad. Just changed water again and hope that whatever he had doesn't get the others.
Thanks for all your help!

I'm so sorry he didn't make it Johnny

Your other guys should be ok, especially if you keep up the waterchanges - this'll keep the bacterial count in the water down

I too am sorry he didn't make it.