my orandas

Question
Aquarium about 9months, 30litres
2  red capped orandas
Eheim Aquaball 2208
Never tested water chemistry

i use aquarium pharm. Stress Coat, stress zyme and melafix, doc fish aqarium salt. unfortunately i moved from the city to the countryside, and one of the fish did not like the change i water, i now have very soft water, not high in mineral content. over a period of time it developed finrot,that was four months ago. the poor thing hasn't been right since. The fins are slowly growing back, it has lost weight, shape and form. i believe it has now developed hole in the head( large oozing sores/pores.) Using a treatment called Octozin by water life. The holes are slowly reducing, i just wondered would a water heater help aid recovery? the other oranda is maturing perfectly, high glossy coat, long finnage and perfect scales. i just don't understand what the difference is between the two?

Answer
Hi Elaine;

The tank probably went through a mini break-in period when it was moved. This will cause toxins to rise and the fish get injuries and burns from it. The new water chemistry was probably a contributor too, but there wasn't anything else you could do. The fish had to be moved and they needed to get used to the different water. It's too bad it botehreed them so much though. The sicker one is probably just a weaker fish. Fancy goldfish are inbred to get their beautiful colors and body shapes so they tend to be rather weak anyway. Poor guy. Just keep the water quality excellent with plenty of water changes. Replacing 25% of it at least once a week will really help him heal and grow back his fins. A heater won't be good for them at all because they are cold water fish. It will actually weaken them. The melafix, salt and water changes are the best to do for him right now.

The main problem now though is the tank size. Goldfish are deep-bodied and big messy fish that need plenty of room as they grow. They get to be 6 to 8 inches long. Each fish needs at least 10 gallons (or about 40 liters) to stay healthy. The stronger one will eventually be the only survivor if you don't give them more space I'm afraid. You might consider at least a 20 gallon (80 liters) for both of them to do well. You will notice a big difference in both their health and vitality. Keep doing water changes of 25% every week while vacuuming the gravel, no matter what size they are in. Personally, I am always looking for a good excuse to get a new tank......now you have one, so go for it!

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

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