My Fancy Goldfish Has Slightly Lifted Scales And A Crooked Back

I have 4 fancy goldfish in a 30 gallon tank and I noticed that my smallest oranda has lifted scales today. I have not noticed it before but it could have started a while before I noticed it. She is less active then the others, but still eats well and get exited at feeding time. I have noticed that she has been getting bigger lately in the belly but my other fish have had a growth spurt so I thought she was just filling out some more. She has always been a little more mellow and slower to grow. She developed a crooked back as she grew up but it seems to have gotten worse lately. I am worried it may be dropsy.
I hope so much I'm wrong, I've had a rough week as far as fish care. Just one thing after another. I really want to be wrong
Do you think it's dropsy? If so, what should I do?
If it is dropsy, do you think the water/bacteria is to blame or is it organ failure? is there any way to tell the difference?

Oh, and she opens and closes her mouth more then the other fish if that matters

 

Sounds like:

Also, 30 gallons is WAAAAAAAAAY too small for 4 goldfish, of any variety, IMHO. I'd consider re-homing at least two of them. I'd start doing DAILY 25% water changes, tomorrow, and a 50% today.

I would not dose with salt for a goldfish.

 

I've never hear of that disease, is there any meds I could use? Or is it just a water quality thing?

also she is not losing weight or appetite, TB is a wasting disease right?

 

There's NOTHING that can be done about FT; remove and euthanize is the only "treatment."

I hate to sound like an uncaring jerk, as I'm certainly not; however, when I have a severely diseased fish, I remove it, dose it with oil of clove, and flush it. I have SIGNIFICANT investment in livestock and infrastructure.

 

There's NOTHING that can be done about FT; remove and euthanize is the only "treatment."

I hate to sound like an uncaring jerk, as I'm certainly not; however, when I have a severely diseased fish, I remove it, dose it with oil of clove, and flush it. I have SIGNIFICANT investment in livestock and infrastructure.

I can understand this, I am a professional breeder of goats (my fish are just my pets) and I know that sometimes that is the only way, but I am not convinced she has this particular disease. I thank you for your suggestions, they are extreme, not uncaring. I will continue to try to diagnose her keeping TB in mind as a possibility.

 

What variety of goats?

I grew up raising cattle, alfalfa and horses; as an adult I've bred horses as part of my portfolio (my in-laws and ex-wife did most of the work) and have had rabbits, chickens, sheep and the occasional dairy goat. Loves me some goat milk... Mmmmmm... There's 4 things that I drink; Beer, water (I like carbonated water without any flavor - fawk soda-pop, that stuff is death wrapped in aluminum), tea and goat milk. I buy from a local gal who has a dairy goat. She's got a Nubian and Swiss cross that makes milk with a 1" layer of cream on the top - so good on toast!!!

I also think that the most tasty animal flesh is goat, followed by lamb (mutton is a whole other discussion, however... I have a love-hate relationship, especially when it comes to Yorkshire pudding and the runs...) with elk a distant third, and elk is really, really tasty... I'm living in the "city" now; no room for a few stalls and a pasture for horses and goats.

 

I raise Nigerian dwarfs, they are dairy goats. they have really high butter fat so they're good for making cheese and butter with.

 

Any chance you can quarantine? I would strongly recommend in case of TB, but a more unusual answer could be some form of scoliosis which is causing constipation and bloating.
Do you know your parameters? (Ammonia and such)

 

I already have her in quarantine. I don't have a nitrite test but my nitrate and ammonia are usually at .25 ppm or less. would the scoliosis cause the scales to lift? I've never hear of that before.
I am treating both my tanks with oxytetracycline dosed for the water weight. I figured ,until I can tell otherwise, I would treat it like dropsy. She is still swimming and eating fine so I am still hopeful.

 

It has been a few days of treatment now and she is still eating and swimming fine but her scales are still lifted and the swelling has not gone down. I really am stumped. Would dropsy take a while to 'deflate'? Or is the damage permanent?
Please help

 

It has been a few days of treatment now and she is still eating and swimming fine but her scales are still lifted and the swelling has not gone down. I really am stumped. Would dropsy take a while to 'deflate'? Or is the damage permanent?
Please help

I’ve successfully treated dropsy twice. And yes, it did take a while for them to get back to normal.

 

I’ve successfully treated dropsy twice. And yes, it did take a while for them to get back to normal.

Thank you, I'll keep watching her. My big tank is going to be done with antibiotics today and I'm keeping her on it in her quarantine tank just to be sure she gets treated well.

 

Thank you, I'll keep watching her. My big tank is going to be done with antibiotics today and I'm keeping her on it in her quarantine tank just to be sure she gets treated well.

Good luck! I’d recommend Kanaplex in the water and mixed in the food.

 

Okay ... there's a couple of things going here ...

First ... it "could" be dropsy ... but maybe not. The fish should be quarantined until it gets well or progressively worse - and then when you see all hope is gone then you can euthanize it. In the mean time - don't let any "cross contamination" happen between the quarantine tank and your main tank. Here's a link to how frustrating dropsy can be ...



Second ... those YouTube videos are from Jennifer Lynx, an experienced goldfish keeper. They highlight just how hard it can be to get to the root cause of goldfish diseases ... and how serious they can be (it resulted in the loss of all her fish).

Third ... never be squeamish to euthanize a goldfish. As Ramjet says above - it's pretty easy to euthanize one with clove oil and they go down easy. And if you're going to raise fancy goldfish, you're going to have to do this because fancy's don't just suffer from disease, they sometimes have internal deformities that eventually cause them serious problem (like swim bladder disease) and you have to put them down.

Forth ... there is a perception out there that fancy goldfish are "beginner fish". Well ... I have other fish and I can tell you that fancy goldfish are for ADVANCED fishkeepers. Soooo many potential problems with them.

Fifth ... WATER QUALITY ... and PRISTINE WATER QUALITY ... are probably the most important factor in keeping healthy goldfish. 40ppm nitrate? Nooooooo ... I target to keep mine below 10 ppm all the time and usually I have 0 due to the nitrate reduction scheme I've set up. I also have a 57-watt UV sterilizer configured to work correctly (usually people don't configure these properly which is why a lot of people say they don't work).

They're just ... hard fish to keep.

 

Okay ... there's a couple of things going here ...

First ... it "could" be dropsy ... but maybe not. The fish should be quarantined until it gets well or progressively worse - and then when you see all hope is gone then you can euthanize it. In the mean time - don't let any "cross contamination" happen between the quarantine tank and your main tank. Here's a link to how frustrating dropsy can be ...



Second ... those YouTube videos are from Jennifer Lynx, an experienced goldfish keeper. They highlight just how hard it can be to get to the root cause of goldfish diseases ... and how serious they can be (it resulted in the loss of all her fish).

Third ... never be squeamish to euthanize a goldfish. As Ramjet says above - it's pretty easy to euthanize one with clove oil and they go down easy. And if you're going to raise fancy goldfish, you're going to have to do this because fancy's don't just suffer from disease, they sometimes have internal deformities that eventually cause them serious problem (like swim bladder disease) and you have to put them down.

Forth ... there is a perception out there that fancy goldfish are "beginner fish". Well ... I have other fish and I can tell you that fancy goldfish are for ADVANCED fishkeepers. Soooo many potential problems with them.

Fifth ... WATER QUALITY ... and PRISTINE WATER QUALITY ... are probably the most important factor in keeping healthy goldfish. 40ppm nitrate? Nooooooo ... I target to keep mine below 10 ppm all the time and usually I have 0 due to the nitrate reduction scheme I've set up. I also have a 57-watt UV sterilizer configured to work correctly (usually people don't configure these properly which is why a lot of people say they don't work).

They're just ... hard fish to keep.

I thank you for your help, I do actually watch the solid gold youtube channel. She helped me get through my first year keeping fish and I was sad when she lost all her cuties.
I have my fish quarantined and I treated both the quarantine tank and my big tank with antibiotics just in case. I don't think the cause is bacterial though. My sick fish's scales are still up but she is more active and has not gotten worse. I'm hoping this is because the rest in the quarantine tank was enough to heal her.
My other fish are fine and dandy but I'm still glad I treated them just in case.

 

She is done with treatment now and looks like this:




Opinions? I'm still very confused. Please help.

 

I hate to say it, but it looks like dropsy. Do Epsom salt baths daily, and put epsom salt in the primary tank you're keeping her in at 1 tbsp per 5 gallons. Kanaplex can help in some instances. She's really pretty, I'm sorry she got sick

 

I agree with Rtessy that she looks like she has dropsy. I’d keep doing kanaplex in the QT and just do epsom salt baths. IMO, the kanaplex with the salt in the QT may be too much. Just do daily/twice daily salt baths along with medicated QT.

 

Dropsy Treatment
Here's a link thing, I'm trying to follow it for my own goldfish, I guess we're in this together in a way. In doing salt and kanaplex together and so far my goldfish had had no reaction at all, but he is in slightly earlier stages than yours and still has high activity levels. I decided that since drospy has high mortality rates I may as well treat as aggressively as possible, but this decision is entirely yours

 

Man, that's a beautiful fish ... and it's a real bummer for this to happen.

 

I have treated her for dropsy already with both salt and antibiotics. What puzzles me is that she doesn't seem to act sick at all and she hasn't changed in 5 days. Her scales are still lifted.
And thank you, she is my favorite fish and her name is named Silvia.
She is very pretty

 

Dropsy Treatment
Here's a link thing, I'm trying to follow it for my own goldfish, I guess we're in this together in a way. In doing salt and kanaplex together and so far my goldfish had had no reaction at all, but he is in slightly earlier stages than yours and still has high activity levels. I decided that since drospy has high mortality rates I may as well treat as aggressively as possible, but this decision is entirely yours

Thank you for your help. I tried to jump on treatment as soon as I noticed, it's been about a week now.

 

I am going to make a call on Silvia, whether or not I should put her down. I really am opposed to this since she is still acting like herself and eating, but she is starting to be a bit less in control of her swimming. I honestly don't see much of an option. I think that the dropsy is not caused by a bactieria and is something internal that I can't cure. Or maybe it's a bactieria that I can't seem to beat but either way I feel quite defeated. She may just be on a slow road to death by dropsy and I don't want her to suffer.
I'm going to get her out and check her agian to see if she's any better.
Do you guys have any final advice?

 

I am going to make a call on Silvia, whether or not I should put her down. I really am opposed to this since she is still acting like herself and eating, but she is starting to be a bit less in control of her swimming. I honestly don't see much of an option. I think that the dropsy is not caused by a bactieria and is something internal that I can't cure. Or maybe it's a bactieria that I can't seem to beat but either way I feel quite defeated. She may just be on a slow road to death by dropsy and I don't want her to suffer.
I'm going to get her out and check her agian to see if she's any better.
Do you guys have any final advice?

Are you just dosing Kanaplex in the water or feeding it? I dose the water and feed it directly. You may also want to add metro to the food.

 

Thank you all for your help, but unfortunately I decided to put Silvia down. After that we found out that is was some kind of hard mass in her body so there's nothing I could do anyways.
I will miss her but at least I did what I could
Thanks again.

 

I’m really sorry

 

I will miss Silvia a lot.
I have decided to cut my numbers of fish down to help with water quality and keep my other guys healthy. I Have a posting on craigslist fo my red and white 2 1/2 inch long fin fantail. I'm in olympia washington and can't ship. If anyones interested or knows someone who would be, here's a link:

Thank you for all your help and support for me and Silvia. I have not regreted joining fishlore, there are so many helpful and well meaning people that try to help when they can and I appreciate that very much.