RE: Orandas

Question
Hi Chris,

I just left a question for you about the oranda sitting at the bottom, and upon further inspection I've noticed some black marks on his one side....is thins anything I can fix?

Answer
Hi Vanessa;

Black marks are from ammonia burns. Ammonia is from fish waste. I remember from your last question that you did a water change, and that's good, but the gravel must be vacuumed at the same time to get rid of solid wastes in the bottom too. If he has been sitting on the bottom a lot it is burning his skin as he comes in contact with the waste down there. Do another water change, but only 25%, and vacuum the gravel at the same time. All tanks need a weekly 25% water change and gravel vacuuming. Goldfish are very messy guys so they especially need it. Avoid changing more than 25% at a time because changing too much can cause shock. If you need to clean up after a disaster or it has been a while and things aren't going well, make a 25% change every day for three or four days instead of one big one in one day. Fresh clean water is a good thing but the chemistry of the new water can be different enough from the old water that the fish go into shock. As your fish live in the water in the tank it slowly changes over time. The fish will be able to handle it much better if there are smaller changes more frequently so the chemistry stays more stable.  

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins