Reptile & Amphibian Forums

One of my Orandas has been sick for a few days now. I first found it floating on its side at about mid depth in the tank. I though it was dead so I scooped it up with the net but it came to groggy life and starting swimming so I let it be. The next morning it was laying on the bottom. Again I thought it dead but it wasn't. So now i have it in a large dip net whick I have propped up to keep it at the surface and upright. It's still swimming around in the net, not just laying on its side or on the bottom of net. It's gold coloring is fading out. It's eating just fine though, still seems to have healthy appetite. It has no sores or other exterior symptoms except the fading of its color. Its in a 200 gal tank with about 35 or 40 or so other fish who all seem healthy. Mostly goldfish but a breeding population of swordtails too. Again, its listless and faded but with a good appetite. Any suggestions on what could be wrong? Thanks.

Sounds like a swim bladder problem. Feed him peas for a few days and find a good sinking semi-moist food for him.(I would suggest bio-blend) Out of curiosity, did he go through a growth spurt right before this? Orandas are a breed that will sometimes end up with a permenant problem when fat deposites push into the air bladder. The short of that being that he may spend the rest of his life with no bouyancy. If that is the case make sure you move him daily so he doesn't get sores.
This could also be water quality, though. How often are you doing water changes? Do you know any of your chemical balances?You could take a water sample to your lfs to find out. How long has this tank been set up? How large are your golds? An average fancy gold will need a minimum of 15 gallons, so even if only half of your 40 fish are golds you're looking at a minimum of 300 gallons just for them once full grown. And even if they're small now they need that room to grow to full size and stay healthy.
As a side note you shouldn't mix other species with golds. Goldfish tend to be "dirty" and can hurt the other's health. They also prefer a lower temp than tropicals. Then there is the problem that when the golds are big enough they will make a quick end to your swordtails, seeing them as nothing more than a yummy treat.

Thanks for the response. I tried feeding him some peas though I'm not sure the best way to do that. I just squeezed some canned ones into the water and They all seemed to eat a little. I feed all my fish a varied diet anyway. The sick guy seems to be doing better. His color is a little better though still a little faded but hes swimming around and seems fine. I didn't notice a growth spurt prior to his getting sick.

So it's happend again. Another sick Oranda. Swim bladder problem again I guess. He can't stay up right and sinks to the bottom. I'm keeping him in the net to keep him up and upright but he still turns upside down or one his side. I have to hold him up by hand and put food in front of him so he can eat. I hate to see him suffer. The other one has an infected eye. This is my sick tank.

Maybe it's a problem with my computer, but the picture doesn't seem to be in the post.
From what you're saying this does sound like a water quality problem more than feeding. How long has this tank been set up? When did you last do a water change? Did you do it from the bottom of the tank? If you're using an under gravel filter have you blown it out recently? How large are your golds, on average, in length?
If it's been awhile since a water change, you may want to try a good half of the tank. Considering your heavy load you probably should be doing at least a quarter of the tank around once a week.
Out of curiosity, is the major tank for dramatic effect or are you breeding them?

I don't know why your not seeing the pic. Might be a photobucket thing. It shows up for me. This tank has been set up for about a year now. I've been very faithful about the water changes. At least once but mostly twice a month. The last change was about a week ago. The tank is 24 inches deep. I have one of the box type bio filters in it. The box sits on the bottom with the pump inside and the water entering through the top. I'd say 8 inches off the bottom. No undergravel. Also I'm using a HOT Magnum canister filter. None of my golds are full size, the biggest one maybe 5.5 inches in total length. Mostly small. I just lost a Ryukin and a fantail too so I'm down to 14 golds and maybe 12 swordtails of decent size, theres some wee ones in there too. I'm not trying to do any breeding. But as for water quality, I feel it's good. I did an ammonia check yesterday and it was bottom of the scale. That's the only kit I have right now. The only non ideal condition I think I have is temperature. I live in Texas and this tank is on my back porch, though it does get 100% shade. I have a big patio cover. It's warm in the summer time of course but the fish didn't seem to mind it last year. The big guy is still hangin in there. Alive that is. He eats fine when I hold him up to the food but then just sinks back to the bottom. I got some of the Bio blend food also.

I need to clarify something about my water changes. The water is removed at about 8 inches from the bottom. My tank is a stock watering tank that you can get at any feed store. It has a threaded hole at the bottom. I used galvanized pipe to pipe a recirc line from the bottom to over the top ending in a brass valve. The discharge tubing off the pump in the filter box goes up through the pipe which I back filled around with aquarium sealant. I just have to screw a water hose onto the valve and run it out to the flower bed to pump the water out.

Do you ever siphon off the bottom where the detrius is? A build up of all that waste will raise your ammonia and nitrite levels. Even nitrate levels can effect health if high enough.
The other problem I can guess at is that orandas prefer cold water. Higher temps do effect their swim bladder and can cause fungus to develope in their wens. Orandas thrive best at temps around 60-65 degrees. You may need to bring them in.
As a side note, I bet your plants go wild with that tank water!

My question is similar to the previous post but my oranda has the opposite symptom ... he/she floats.

The tank was established in Nov last year, two orandas were introduced at the end of Dec. They are different sizes; the larger of the two has had no problems at all; the smaller seems to have had a couple of problems.

Initially it had white stuff oozing out of the top of it's head. I was told this could be due to head growth or bullying from the other one. I isolated the smaller on allowing it time to recover. Once the symptoms disappeared I reintroduced the larger one back into the main tank.

All seemed to be well until early last week when the smaller one became listless. I introduced a further 6 fish into the tank this evening and I noticed the smaller of the original 2 orandas floating on the surface.

I was about to fish it out and it swam off, setlled into a peaceful location in the tank and once again stayed still (faking death). It seems to struggle to swim down into the tank - if it stops swimming it seems to steadily drift to the surface.

What do you reckon?

I will do a water change again this evening (following your suggestion to the previous poster), whilst I eagerly await your reply.