Oranda with squarish, bloated belly. No raised scales

[Ardor12 2]

Test Results for the Following:

* Ammonia Level(Tank): 0ppm

* Nitrite Level(Tank): 0ppm

* Nitrate level(Tank): 5ppm

* Ph Level, Tank (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines): 7.6

* Ph Level, Tap (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines): 8.6

Other Required Info:

* Brand of test-kit used and whether strips or drops? API

* Water temperature? Room temp is 78 degrees F. There are no heaters or chillers on the tank.

* Tank size (how many gals.) and how long has it been running? 40gal, 1.5 years.

* What is the name and "size of the filter"(s)? I have 2 Fluval Aquaclear 70s on the tank.

* How often do you change the water and how much? Once a week, 30-50 percent

* How many days ago was the last water change and how much did you change? 3 days, 50 percent

* How many fish in the tank and their size? 3 fancy goldfish, all under 4 inches including fins

* What kind of water additives or conditioners? Prime water conditioner

* What do you feed your fish and how often? New Life Specrum and Repashy Solient Green, 2-3 times per day

* Any new fish added to the tank? None

* Any medications added to the tank? None

* List entire medication/treatment history for fish and tank. Please include salt, Prazi, PP, etc and the approximate time and duration of treatment: I used Prazi when I first brought her home about 9 months ago. Otherwise none.

* Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt," bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? Squarish, bloated belly

* Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, etc.? None

My smallest goldfish has a bloated, squarish belly!

I went out of town for 3 days and left the keys with a neighbor so she could feed them. I came back to find that the light on the tank was on, none of the food i left for them had been used, and my smallest baby was like this. I asked the neighbor what happened and they said they forgot about them. The light has been on for 3 days straight, they haven’t been fed, and my poor baby is swollen.

I’ve set her up a QT tank, and I’ve turned off the light to both of them and thrown blankets over the tanks so they can rest. The water test came out fine. No ammonia or nitrite and the nitrates were well in the acceptable levels. PH is the same as ever. She is also acting pretty normal. She’s swimming and looking for food. Her scales are NOT raised and other than a bloated belly she looks the same as ever.

I sent my fiance out to get some peas as we are out and I’m hoping they might help.

My poor baby. I feel terrible. I never should have left her. Here is a picture of her from the top now that shes in her QT tank. ;;n;;

Any advice would be very appreciated. This is my first time posting so please let me know if I did anything wrong and I will do my best to fix it.

[Lis. 4,167]

welcome to the forum I'm sorry your fish isn't well! Thank you for filling out the form, a mod should be along shortly to help you out

[Ardor12 2]

Thank you!

Here is a video of her swimming with her belly if it helps:

and here is a gif that I made of her just 5 days ago. She looked completely normal then:

Edited August 9, 2014 by Ardor12

[ActiasAmy 330]

You're doing all the right things and with great water parameters and the sheet filled out you're on the right track to get help here! Hang in there and wishing you a speedy recovery!

[tithra 4,917]

Would you do me a favor and place her in a Tupperware of water so you can get a clearer/closer top view pic?

I can actually see the start of the protrusion in the video from 5 days ago, but it's obviously much more pronounced now. Have you seen her poo? (If so what does it look like)

What meds do you have on hand?

Do you have a QT tank available?

[Ardor12 2]

She is already in QT. I made sure to separate her as soon as I saw her. I never noticed the protrusion in the vid, but now that you've mentioned it I can see it. I really wish I had seen it earlier.

Here are the better pictures you asked for. Sorry they still aren't great but it's the best I can do with the camera I have (aka my phone).

You can see her scales are all stretched out, but are still smooth against the body. It's even worse than it was when I first saw her. I haven't seen her poo at all actually. I fed her some peas earlier, but I haven't seen anything come out.

I don't have any meds on hand, but I put in an order for metro meds. I just wish they had an option for overnight shipping. I do have some epsom salt.

Here is her QT setup. I added a sponge around the filter intake just in case she gets weak overnight. I don't want her to get stuck in it.:

Edited August 10, 2014 by Ardor12

[dnalex 13,633]

Good choice of meds to order. Does she continue to have a good appetite?

Will you weigh her as soon as you get a chance? Thanks

[fantailfan1 26,742]

Is she a "she" for sure?

[Ardor12 2]

Hey guys! Thanks for all the help. She's looking the same this morning. No changes (and still no poo that I can see).

She has a great apatite! I fed her peas yesterday evening and this morning and she ate a half pea (broken into smaller chunks) both times. That's about the same about as a normal meal for her. She's pretty little.

I don't have a anything to measure her weight with and as its Sunday, everything here is closed. I live about an hour away from a walmart, but I can run up there and maybe see if they have anything. I've never measured her before so I can't give you a comparison, sorry.

No, she isn't a she for sure. My baby sister named her "Florence" and calls her a she, so we just go with it. I know she's a bit too small to tell for sure, but I think she might actually be female based on body and vent shape. Though I know those are super unreliable ways to tell.

[Chai 7,337]

The vent sticking out isn't necessarily a bad way to judge gender. That's what I've usually done and it's been correct!

This might help! http://www.sg.com/2013/09/how-to-sex-goldfish.html

I'd go check Walmart and see if they have a little kitchen scale. They're not too pricy, if I remember correctly. Maybe you can call ahead of time so it's not a wasted trip.

Edited August 10, 2014 by Chai

[*Amanda* 556]

She is already in QT. I made sure to separate her as soon as I saw her. I never noticed the protrusion in the vid, but now that you've mentioned it I can see it. I really wish I had seen it earlier.

Here are the better pictures you asked for. Sorry they still aren't great but it's the best I can do with the camera I have (aka my phone).

You can see her scales are all stretched out, but are still smooth against the body. It's even worse than it was when I first saw her. I haven't seen her poo at all actually. I fed her some peas earlier, but I haven't seen anything come out.

I don't have any meds on hand, but I put in an order for metro meds. I just wish they had an option for overnight shipping. I do have some epsom salt.

Here is her QT setup. I added a sponge around the filter intake just in case she gets weak overnight. I don't want her to get stuck in it.:

I'm sorry your fish isn't doing well.

If that's a decoration in the QT tank, I would take it out. The fish might get injured on it if already weak and it's good to have the tank as bare as possible for medications, water changes and such.

[Ardor12 2]

She's not really weak. She's moving around like she's fine, but I went ahead and took the decoration out anyway.

She pooped! It wasn't a great poop, but at least stuff is moving through her. It was dark green (shes been eating peas), and not very solid. Kind of stringy. There was a bit of white on the end.

I'm uploading pictures of fish poo onto the internet. What is the world coming too?

[*Amanda* 556]

She's not really weak. She's moving around like she's fine, but I went ahead and took the decoration out anyway.

She pooped! It wasn't a great poop, but at least stuff is moving through her. It was dark green (shes been eating peas), and not very solid. Kind of stringy. There was a bit of white on the end.

I'm uploading pictures of fish poo onto the internet. What is the world coming too?

Yay! And don't worry, I'm sure most of us have uploaded fish poo pics at one time or another.

[tithra 4,917]

pooping is good! please let us know when the MMs arrive or if anything changes between now and then If you can get your hands on a kitchen scale to weigh her/him in the meantime that would be great.

[Ardor12 2]

THANK GOODNESS KOKOS IS BACK UP! I've been checking the forum every hour.

This is how Florence was when I woke up.

Her overall swelling has gone down, but now she has some sort of protrusion sticking up and poking out her side a bit. I’m really thinking it’s time to put her down except that she is acting fine. She doesn’t seem to be in any pain (though I imagine she must be). She’s active, friendly, swims like a champ, and still comes to beg for food every time she sees me. And she’s eating.

I still have the metro meds on order, but they haven’t arrived yet. I don’t want to prolong her suffering, but I also don’t want to put her down if she could recover.

I know you can barely see it in the gif but she does have a small, white, something sticking out of her side about 2 millimeters. I don’t know what to do, but any advice would be very much appreciated. I'll post a better picture in a minute. I'm going to scoop her into some tuperware.

Edited August 12, 2014 by Ardor12

[dnalex 13,633]

Do a search for anchor worms, please, and see if there is any resemblance

[Ardor12 2]

It doesn't look like an anchor worm. It's more flat and sharp.

[Kat_M 1,653]

I am so sorry your fish is unwell - she is a little cutie! Fingers and fins crossed for her!

[fantailfan1 26,742]

On her left side? It looks like a scale coming loose to me.

Any idea when the MMs will arrive?

An eating fish is a happy fish.

[Ardor12 2]

I'll admit I've never seen a loose scale on one of my fish before, but I don't think that's what this is. Its a lot thicker and larger than her scales and its a creamy white color where her scales are orange. Plus there is a bit of fleshy, stringy stuff surrounding it.

MMs are still halfway across the U.S. I'm thinking they wont be here before Thursday.

She certainly seems happy! I actually think shes been enjoying having her little QT tank all to herself. She doesn't have to share food with the boys anymore!

[fantailfan1 26,742]

I wonder if it's the cyst bursting?

[Ardor12 2]

Well, whatever it was it fell off. I went to check on her after about an hour and her side was clean. No white thing or fleshy strings.

I have no idea where it went and i'm really hoping the filter got it and she didn't eat it. Lets hope this is a good sign.

[fantailfan1 26,742]

Will you take a pic or two from above and also where the "thing" was (looking directly at it) when you get a chance?

[Ardor12 2]

It's already pretty much dark and the lights I have in here are really low, so this was the best I could do. My fiance was a great sport and held her for me as that was the only way I was going to be able to take a picture of her side. You can see she's such a little girl.

She looks like she has a black mark on her in the picture, but she doesn't. It's just a reflection and bad lighting.

I can take better photos in the morning if these are too bad. Thanks for all your help!

Edited August 13, 2014 by Ardor12

[fantailfan1 26,742]

I really think it was the cyst starting to drain. Let's hope she continues doing so well until MMs arrive.

Did you or are you able to do a large (100% if possible) WC since the pics from before were taken? I wouldn't want her swimming around in that . . .