oranda with popeye

Question
My red and black oranda has popeye. I have had experience with it before but I was wondering if there is a more natural way to treat it then with Maracyn. We don't know why my fish has popeye. We do water changes every two weeks and we feed them every other day. There are three other fish and the tank and this fish is relitively new. It could be stress realted but it's fin is always up and it won't pass up a meal. Its in a 25 gallon tank and the other fish seem happy. Do you have any suggestions on natural treatments? Natural being a salt treatment or something without chemicals?
Thanks a lot!
Please respond quickly!
Corinna

Answer
Hi Corinna;

Have your water tested for the level of NitrAtes (Not nitrItes, they are different). If you find they are 40 ppm or higher, your tank needs more water changes. Popeye has been found to often be a water quality related disease. All tanks need a weekly water change anyway, especially goldfish. Replace 25% of the water and vacuum the gravel once a week every week. It's pretty crowded in there for all four fish to stay healthy as they approach adult size too. You may have to increase the water changes to twice weekly as they get bigger. Goldfish are deep-bodied fish so they are very messy guys. They also get to be over 6 inches long each. Each fish needs at least ten gallons all for itself. Your fish as a group really should be in a 40 gallon or larger.

Another helpful thing to do is to keep the immune system strong through good diet. The commercially made flakes and pellets we buy labeled for goldfish are usually too high in protein. Our goldfish are mostly vegetarian so they need to be supplemented with veggies to stay healthy. I feed mine cooked peas, raw romaine lettuce, cooked green beans, cooked shredded carrots and spirulina algae. It should be at least least 1/3 of their diet. Just rinse them and drop them in the tank. It may take them a few tries to get the idea but they will try it eventually, and will enjoy it too.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins