Goldfish - pregnant or constipated?

Question
Hi,

I have two shubunkins and over the past two weeks one of them has become very bloated and she keeps passing long trails of what I presume is poo (although she has never done this before - it's long and string-like with a orangish thicker bit part way through.  She has passed about three of these in the last few days).  She is also lethargic and has stopped darting around the tank like she used to.  I thought at first she may be full of eggs, but I'm not sure.  The other fish is behaving perfectly normally but I've noticed white spots on the gills, and I'm assuming that he is a boy fish!

I'm worried about my bloated fish in case there is something wrong with her that I have not spotted.

We have had the pair of them about a year, they are in a large tank with an inbuilt filtration system.  I checked the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels today and they are fine.  I do 20% water changed every couple of weeks, and the only peristent problem we have with the tank is the build up of algae.  The only recent change to their routine is that we went on holiday 3 weeks ago and we put a 'vacation' food block in the tank for a week to see them through the week we were away.

Any ideas what could be wrong with my fish and what I can do to help her?

Thanks.

Karen  

Answer
Hi Karen;

It sounds like you do have a male and female. Constipation could be the female's trouble, and it could also be from being gravid (having eggs inside). If she was weakened from being constipated she may not be able to lay the eggs and she could be trying to "re-absorb" them. All those troubles can cause stress and lethargic behavior as well as bloating.

To help your little gal get through this, try fasting the fish for 3 days. This means no food at all for three whole days. Once the three days has passed, feed only cooked and peeled green peas broken into little chunks for 3 more days. If she is feeling better and seems to be less bloated, feed a little bit of regular food too, but still give peas with it. If after 3 days there is little or no change, keep feeding the peas and no other foods. You can give them a peas-only diet for a week or more but eventually they have to have regular foods. Just give it very lightly and mix with other veggies such as romaine lettuce, cooked shredded carrots, cucumber slices, and cooked green beans. Veggies can be left in the tank to nibble on for several hours and it's good to allow a constipated fish to do that with high fiber foods. Goldfish are mostly vegetarian but the 'goldfish diet' foods we buy usually have too much protein and not enough fiber. Once you can give them their regular food again, give veggies in the place of at least 3 meals a week. Feed your fish once a day but only give them enough that all the food is gone within 5 minutes. If you really want to feed twice a day, be sure it is gone in about 2 minutes.

The food block probably started it I'm afraid. Many of those are made of mostly 'plaster of paris' and can cause constipation as well as pollution in the tank. I really don't like them anymore. I have found it's better to have someone come in and feed the fish every 2 or 3 days while I'm gone. If you are gone for less than a week, the fish don't even need to be fed at all. Fish don't need to eat every day and it's healthy for them to "fast" for a day or two every week. You don't have to but it isn't going to harm them to do so. It's good for their digestive systems to rest.

Cutting back on regular food in general will help the algae problem too. It will reduce the organic nutrients or "fertilizer" that it feeds on. Making weekly 25% water changes really helps. A weekly change will also help your sick fish feel better too. It boosts the immunity and strengthens her.  

I hope she feels better soon...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins