Fish got stuck

Question
Hi I have had my my 2 oranda goldfish for about 3 years. We recently just got back from a 2 week vacation with a friend of mine feeding them. He thought the one may of been dead under one of our big log ornaments. When I came home he was alive but a lot of his fins are shredded(eaten by my algae eater or my other oranda?) His side and top of his head are bruised quiet a bit. At first I thought he may of gotten ick but the other fish are fine. He has trouble swimming a little with his now eaten fins but does want to eat. Do you think he'll make it and is there anything I can do to help him to heal? He acts like normal. So I am hoping he will be okay. Thanks

Answer
Hi Olivia,

I'm sorry to hear about what happened. Goldfish have a curious nature, and fancy goldfish with their cumbersome bodies do tend to get themselves in trouble. I've heard reports of them getting their head stuck in gravel vacuums, and inside of ornaments that are too small, as is the case here. The best way to ensure against this is to make sure that the ornaments are entirely closed, or if they have openings, that the openings are large enough for them to fit their whole bodies into and out of comfortably.

Algae eaters really don't belong in a goldfish tank. Unfortunately, these slow moving fish are easy targets for both plecostomus and Chinese algae eaters. If you provide plenty of veggies for them to graze on and daily algae wafers, you might get away with it - but if you keep them hungry so that they'll "clean" your tank, they will eventually figure out that the slime coat on goldfish is tastier than algae! I know, it's awful - that's why only snails are recommended for the goldfish tank. Mystery snails work well, and I like to keep pond snails and Malaysian trumpet snails to stir up the gravel (or sand) and eat excess food. You can also try shrimp such as ghost shrimp, but you'll have to start out with a big colony (a dozen or two). If there are enough hiding spots, they'll be able to reproduce at least at the rate they get eaten, and keep a steady number in your tank.

Ok, now that that's out of the way - if your hurt oranda is eating, that's an excellent sign. Goldfish are remarkably resilient and a fish that eats usually lives. If there is no sign of ich, all the better. Just keep the water very clean and add extra aeration - a powerhead or an airstone or two. I would do daily 25% water changes. You should also feed lightly, especially since you've been on vacation - fish sitters tend to overfeed. Give the gravel a vacuuming too, to suck up any excess food. The key is to keep the water as pristine as possible. This should help him heal on his own.

If you start to see redness or white fluff around the fins or body, you'll need to treat him in a hospital tank with a fungus/finrot remedy. Maracyn or Furan 2 would be what I recommend, but hopefully, it won't get to this point.

You could try using Melafix in the main tank. Melafix isn't a medication - it's an antibacterial, not an antibiotic - so you can use it in the main tank without harming the beneficial bacteria. 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons every day, with a 25% water change daily, would be what I recommend - do this for three or four days.

Salt is not really helpful when you don't see anything wrong, but it does help with fungus. 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons is what is usually recommendeded. Aquarium salt is what to use - kosher salt and sea salt will work too.

Feeding goldfish a vegetable based diet goes a long way to keeping them healthy. It's what "algae eaters" ought to be eating too. Spirulina flake, algae wafers and such are great but you also need to incorporate fresh veggies to keep them in the best health. Defrosted frozen green beans and peas (with the shells pinched off) work great - goldfish love them and they keep their digestive systems cleaned out. They also like to nibble on nori, roasted seaweed used for making sushi. Cut a strip, clip it with a plastic clothespin, and it will sink to the bottom where they can graze on it. These foods are low in protein, so do not pollute your tank.

Feeding the right foods and keeping the water very clean are the best things you can do...although I would also think about rehoming the algae eater. Once they get a taste for fins, the chances of this event recurring are more likely, I'm afraid! A tank that is carefully maintained and fed low protein foods shouldn't have algae trouble, and some small scavengers (shrimps and snails) should do the trick.

I hope that helps. Take care,
Nicole