Orandas

Question
The hood of my friend's oranda has completely covered it's eyes. The person at the fish store suggested "trimming the hood with a pair of manicure scissors". I can't imagine doing that.  Will the fish do ok without being able to see?  Would trimming the hood cause infection?

Answer
Hi Tissi;

The "hood" or "wen" of an oranda can be trimmed but in my opinion it is surgery that should be done under sedation by a veterinarian. I can't recommend for the average fish hobbyist do this kind of surgery on their own without professional guidance. It is far too easy to cause permanent injury to the eyes and for infection to set in. The vet will use a fish sedative or anesthesia to keep the fish from moving. They will also give a pain medicine and antibiotic after surgery to treat pain and ward off infection. Call around your local area vets to see if they know of any that could do the procedure.

Here is a web page with pictures of a vet doing the surgery on an oranda that was blind too;

http://thegab.org/Articles/SurgeryWen.html

When fish can't see they have a hard time competing for food and can run into things, injuring themselves. If the fish is alone it would probably do okay. It would be better to have the surgery done for good quality of life for him though. It isn't the fish's fault that we humans have selectively bred fish that develop such devastating problems. I love fancy goldfish but along with the pretty stuff we want, some bad things develop too I'm afraid.

Good luck...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins