sick oranda

Question
I'm having trouble keeping my oranda's healthy.  We've just lost 1 (it
happened quickly) and the other has been recovering from dropsy?  Treated
the tank and now he is less often belly-up but now loomes about the tank
bottom and today noticed darken patches of scales on his torso area.  Need
help with "skippy" and with maintaining my tank so he stays healthy.  
- We live in a cold climate and the water gets quite cool so just added a
heater to Skippy's 10gal. tank.  
Please help-
Terza

Answer
Hi Terza

I'm not an expert on goldfish, I do know a little though, and I'll share what I can.  I'm also going to advise you to check with someone else here more familiar with them as well.  

First, I'm assuming you have them in an indoor tank, not outside.  Goldfish are cool water fish, and actually thrive in temperatures from 65-75 degrees F.  So if the water temp is falling in that range, you really shouldn't need a heater-BUT you'll want a heater if the temp is fluctuating.  If it's going from 75 in the day to 60 at night, use a heater to keep a constant temperature, because temp fluctuations that much will stress the fish.

Next, goldfish actually grow quite large, from my research orandas can get around 10+ inches.  And, due to their high ammonia outputs, a 10 gallon tank is too small for 1 goldfish.  I'd recommend at the very least a 20 gallon for 1.  

Dropsy is usually caused from poor water conditions.  With 2 orandas in the 10 gallon tank, that could very well be what happened.  The dark patches could be from high ammonia levels in the tank, it'll actually burn the fish, I believe it usually occurs around the gill area.  

What I would do, get a larger tank for Skippy.  Until you do, get a test kit to test for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.  All should read 0, with nitrates reading less then 20ppm.  You'll need to do water changes probably every few days of about 25% until the levels get back to  where they should be.  Once you get a larger tank, I'd recommend doing weekly water changes of about 25-30%.  Do you think the dropsy is gone?  Usually that's a hard disease to cure, and few survive it.  Pick up some MelaFix, sold at most local pet stores, and follow the dosage directions for that.  It's a natural remedy for fish that won't damage the beneficial bacteria in the tank.  Do the water changes, and keep an eye on him and hopefully he'll improve.  Also, you could try feeding a pea(split it open).  Some say that helps with swim bladder issues.  One last thing I can think of, feed sinking pellets, not ones that float at the top.  Goldfish tend to gulp a lot of air when they feed, which can also contribute to the swimming issues.

Good luck & hope that helps some!!

Christy