Oranda Fish Hasn't Eaten In 2 Months

HI fishlorians,

My oranda fish hasn't eaten since we purchased him 2 and a half months ago.
I suspect he is eating algae, but he isn't hungry and doesn't ever come to the surface to eat pellets or flakes. I scoop the pellets out once they have been in the tank for 15 minutes.
I have fed him peas, de shelled and cut up into 8ths, they sink to the bottom and the fish doesn't seem to care. I scoop the pea slivers up again after about 30 mins.

He hasn't got ick or dropsy. He isn't flashing. His wen is good and bright. His scales are all there.
He developed swim bladder problems 1 month into the pond. I've given him 3 Epsom baths for 25 mins each (attached is the Epsom bath pic, he looks so sad turning on his side and upside down!) when he had swim bladder problems and nothing - he didn't relive himself probs because there was nothing there to excrete.
When he swims, he swims sideways and upside down and then corrects himself.

I have a outside pond, it holds 260 liters (68.5 gallons).
My nitrate cycle is complete (I had 2 shibunkin fish for 2 yrs and my friend 'looked after them' when I went on vacation for 3 weeks and they died, so I scooped them out of the water when I came back and started again from scratch).
My ph levels are 8 (little high).
There is no ammonia or nitrate present.
I change the water every 2 weeks 20% and put a cap full of pond prime in the water and swish it around.
But the fish won't eat.

Please help this cute fish!

Thanks,
Dee









(P.S. We have one real green plant which is growing on to a piece of wood which I've had for 2 months. The other 4 plants are fake plants)

 

If your pond is like mine, there is more than algae in it. Insect larva, frog spawn, and your plants are all fair game. Your fish is likely feasting on an all natural diet, and if he doesn't like the pellets you are feeding (mine rejected fancy pond pellets with prejudice in favor of Tetra flakes) then he will ignore them.

 

I bet he is kinda lonely, goldfish don't do well by themselves as they are very social fish

 

A Goldfish that's not eating could be a bit alarming but considering it's been 2 months I'd say he well would've starved to death. He may just be eating all-natural, Goldies LOVE vegetation like algae, they also love things like lettuce, peas, etc.

Other than the swim bladder issue, which I unfortunately don't know very much about other than feeding peas to relieve some floatiness. He looks pretty healthy, as long as he's not getting pushed around by any currents or getting stuck to any filters, he should be fine.

On the front of getting him a friend... yes they're very social but I've never had that cause a feeding issue. If you have the space and ample filtration I don't see why you couldn't get him a friend.

 

Thanks for your help and advice
I live in Sydney, Australia and it's winter here. The temps are at night 46.4 f and during the day 55.4 f. I have an outdoor pond.
Do you think I should still get him a friend, even though the water outside is very cold? Alternatively, I could wait till spring.
Thanks, Dee

PS will the friend mimic what he sees ie the other fish not coming to est pellets/flakes/peas? I don't want 2 'starving' fish if I can help it.

 

A friend would certainly benefit him, goldfish are very gregarious.

I would also look into adding some hardy, tolerant live plants, not only to keep all the algae at bay, but to provide the goldfish with a source of food. Goldfish are primarily vegitarian, supplementing their diet with protein such as insects or shrimp. Popular goldfish food plants include duckweed, anacharis, and water wisteria.

Planting shade plants around the edge of the pond will also keep it cooler in the summer, something the goldfish would certainly appreciate.

 

Thanks for your help and advice
I live in Sydney, Australia and it's winter here. The temps are at night 46.4 f and during the day 55.4 f. I have an outdoor pond.
Do you think I should still get him a friend, even though the water outside is very cold? Alternatively, I could wait till spring.
Thanks, Dee

Goldfish adapt to a wide variety of temperatures, if you acclimate the new guy properly, you should be fine

As for mimicking, I'm not sure... it could certainly happen, I don't see why not

 

Goldfish really prefer to pick along the bottom for food. I very rarely saw my goldfish eat. But believe me when I say, he certainly looked like he ever missed a meal! He would just let the pellets sink to the bottom, then graze on them at his leisure. He just died a few weeks ago at age 9.

Generally, goldfish get swim bladder problems when gulping air eating from the surface. Since he isn't doing this when your are feeding him, he may be doing it when you're not around. He may be trying to eat insects at the surface, and gets a good gulp of air.

 

Thanks for all your help. It's comforting to know that he is getting nourishment.




Attached is photos of my fish. Note there are 3 'pimples' on his wen. Last week, there was 1 tiny 'pimple'. I read that the pimples are growth spurts on a few blogs, so decided to not treat the pimples.
OR he's got scratches (?) from being upside down in my 260 litre (65 gallon) pond...

I only have 1 oranda. The 2 fish I used to have got murdered by my so-called friend who possibly fed the fish too much while I went on my 3 week vacation.

The beginning 2





photos is of my fish upside down. He stays like that for about 10 mins and always corrects himself, swimming again. Sometime he swims to one side and quickly corrects himself too.

What do you make of this?
Thanks.