Goldfish Ilness of some sort

Hello all, One of my very old fish has for some time been getting fatter and bent with another one just starting the symptoms. My pond is quite full of weeds with a few frogs and newts but no pump or filter. At the moment I have a mild ingress of green alge but the 6 fish don't seem to mind and the snails are working hard. The fish in the photo has been like this for a few years but gradually getting worse although it feeds well. You may have seen something like this before, I realise there will almost surely be no cure but I thought the photos may be of interest. And what causes it and is it preventable or curable in the early stages.

 

I have had fish go in a similar way.
They seem to go on for years before they die, its a slow death, but I dont know what the correct term is for it.
I dont think its anything to do with the water quality.

 

After it passes away I fully intend to have a look inside, before the funeral, a sort of Autopsy scalpel please well stanley knife. I thought it may be a tumor. If it becomes distressed later, I will have to make a decision.

 

Hans it looks like your goldfish has dropsy most fish with this problem survive for only 2-3 weeks but sometimes as many months. Often the belly becomes reddened shortly before death. 99% of case I've seen have mainly a mixed bacterial infection (aeromonas hydrophila and mycobacteriosis). Aeromonas enters the body through intestines in the winter or spring and through ulcers, heron or parasites wounds.
Once inside the fish the bacteria infect the kidneys and the liver. Failure of either one of these organs can course dropsy symptoms. Dropsy especially from liver or kidney damage can be so severe as to finally cause primary organ failure itself. Fish rarely recover from dropsy and are best anethetised using clove oil.:(

 

Thank you both. The clove oil soloution looks good. Is it administered internally or some other way. I went to feed them this morning and he seems quite happy eating well but I will monitor him daily. He loves tadpoles ( I decant some off to a fish free pond) and I call him Ken after a overweight friend ...just hope he doesn't join this forum.

 

It sounds most like chronic dropsy - which can go on for a long time compared to acute dropsy. It is possible that it has been contracted to the second fish. It could also be a tumour or internal parasite burden.

I don't know much about fish, so here is a site which has some helpful diagnostic pointers to common illnesses.

Let us know what happens!


http://www.goldfishinfo.com/identify.htm

Kath

 

Yes I lost a whopper not long ago with it looks the same.

 

Looks like its going to be a wait and see situation. As mentioned dropsy most likely of which sort not sure I may know one day. I read your page cookie monster like the others very interesting and helpful.
Lyn its a shame you did not have a look inside, not for the faint hearted though, as a ex fisherman eg cleaning trout ready for the pan it will be fine. Mind I always prepared them in the shed (wife horrified )or when she was out.

 

Hans - glad the link was of some use.

In the interests of intense curiosity, is there any chance you could post some close-up photos of poor old Ken when you do the Post Mortem. Sort of a fishy CSI ! I would be very interested to see what is ... ( was :( ) going on inside his abdomen.

Will fully understand if you don't want to do this - or if Nathan would consider this too Xrated and gorey for the site!

But in the interests of scientific discovery.... ?

Ta Hans

 

hans if your going to start cutting fish open its a shame you dont keep cod.. we would all have the chips on:D:D... please let us know how you get on with your fish ..where i work they have a steam pond that the whole factory runs on and it is stocked with about 4.000 carp as the water temp is warm all year round ..it also has some very big goldfish but anything that doest look well (BLOATED) is just binned..watched the pond get shocked last week and stun the fish and they took about 1,000 fish and then re stocked it...some tax fiddle

 

O my goodness.
I couldn't do that.
I had had the fish for years , it was like one of my children. LOL

 

You mention that you have no pump or filter. I really think you might have a water quality problem and suggest you test it for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH a.s.a.p. Most health problems in fish originate from poor water quality.
It doesn't look like dropsy to me as with this condition the scales lift and the fish's body appears pinecone like. This doesn't appear to be the case with this fish.
Please test your water.

 

Thinking about it .
A while ago I had a little fish that looked a little bent and bloated.
Not as bad as this one in the photo.
I asked at my local garden centre ,had the water tested .
The water was fine.
They said it may be a vitamin deficiency.
They gave me some special food.
And it worked within a few weeks it was fine.
It's still going strong.
That was after the winter in early spring.
Sorry I can't remember what the food was.

I would also get the water tested a thing I do very often

http://www.koifoodguide.com/vitamins.htm

 

In the Summer I grow a lot of weed and have to remove some of it so there may be a nitrate issue although it may just be the long days and warmer water. I will purchase a testing kit on Thursdays visit to Shrewsbury and see what happens. I top the pond up with tap water from our local borehole in Summer due to evaporation but otherwise it just looks after itself. Lots of wild things visit including a grass snake last year. picture to follow. I may televise the postmortem.

 

It's a shame when your fish get sick , but sometimes it just happens.
It' doesn't matter how well you look after them.
Like us humans I suppose they get sick and die.
You can only do your best.