Slightly raised scales on red cap oranda?

Hello, I am new to this hobby and I recently got 2 orandas that are about 1-2 inches big this May. Both of them had very mild fin rot from the pet shop, but it healed already and both of them became good again.

Then, towards the end of July, the red cap oranda developed a red spot on her fin, and i immidiately quarantined her. I noticed on the first day, the spot was there, but on the second day, it vanished, and on the third day, it reappeared again except it seemed to spread. So I tried to treat it like an ich, (i put aquarium salt on the tank and cleaned the tank thoroughly when the spots dissapeared) and then it vansihed and never returned again. I also cleaned the main tank to keep the other goldfish from sickness.

But then as I was planning to return the red cap, i noticed that she was slightly swelling, with her scales slightly raised. She is still acting normally. She still eats, she swims and rummages around, and still begs when I come near. She isnt even lethargic. Her scales are not raised on all directions too. And the scales on her tail aren't raised, only her stomach and sides.
I dont know if it is dropsy, but I kept her for about 1 and a half week in the quarantine tank and her condition is still the same. Is it dropsy? If it is, then how can i treat it and what are the medicines I need to buy? I am thinking of ordering epsom salt online but there is little to no aquarium stores that sells them in my country. And if it isnt dropsy, then what is it, and how can she revert to normal? She hasnt spawned yet, but the other oranda with her is always chasing her butt if he had the chance.

My main tank is about 10 gallons and I am planning to buy a new one after the lockdown in my area ends (what is the reccomended tank size for 2 2-inches big oranda?) I only got the ammonia testing kit right now, and it is usually low, but I havent checked this week yet. There are no water plants, and currently no filter yet. I clean the main tank twice a week and put aquarium salt and a water conditioner called tension gon.

I attached a photo of her here. Thanks in advance!

 

Sorry about your fish. Raised scales are always scary. I had a betta who's scales would go out every time he wasn't feeling well. He never got dropsy, but he was a sickly fish for 3 months until he finally gave up trying to recover and passed on (he's the reason I keep emergency clove oil on hand now...). It doesn't necessarily mean dropsy, but it isn't good. You could try salt baths. I've had great luck with them on things like fin rot and fungus, but I've never tried them for bloat or dropsy.

 

I think that red spot that you saw on her may have been the beginning of some type of bacterial infection. Maybe at some point she was stressed, or maybe she has an immune system that is compromised. Or maybe the water parameters were off in your tank for a little while. But at this point, I would recommend keeping her separated from your other fish. I don't know where you are, so I am not sure about the temp there, but rasing the temp to around 80 degrees will help stop the bacteria from reproducing.

Non-idonized salt will work in place of aquarium salt, if you can't get that. You can add that to the hospital tank.

Pure epsom salts will help with leaching out some of that fluid build up (fluid builds up from the kidneys, which are shutting down). Pure, unscented epsom salts with no additives is what you are looking for. I would give her an epsom salt bath, using 1 tablespoon to one gallon of water. If you can, use tank water for the bath. Use a separate contaner for the epsom salt bath. It doesn't have to be anything big. Keep her there for 15 to 20 minutes, then return her to the hosptial tank.

Also, if you can get it, I would also add an antibiotic at this point. The most recommended is some form of kanamycin (Kanaplex by Seachem, for example).

I hope she bounces back from this. Some fish keepers would say to go ahead and euthanize her, but I am all for trying to save any sick fish. In some cases, they do recover. If she does recover, you will have to watch her closely for relapses.

I hope this helps! Fingers crossed!!!

 

Hello, thank you guys for replying! It really helps me out. I will order Epsom salt online and maybe kanaplex too if it is available in my reigon. Currently I only have aquarium salt. The place where I live is a tropical reigon, and it is always hot, so raising the temp wont be a problem. I am not on to euthanizing as well and will still try to save her. She's still acting normally, except for her raised scales.

I just got Epsom salt today. I already read some articles on how to do salt baths, but I just wanted to clarify a few things:

1.How many times a week should I do salt baths?

2.How many gallons should the salt bath container have? My extra container is only 1 gallon.

She is still acting normally, and still eats. I really hope she recovers. Thank you guys for your help!

(She doesnt really like the camera so thats the best picture i could do XD)

 

You can actually do an epsom salt bath twice a day, if she is not too stressed. If you do one, and you see that she is really stressed about it, I would do once a day. If you see that she poops right away after you put her in the bath, take her out. She is too stressed.

One gallon of water is fine. Just make sure that you are using her tank water, or if you want to use clean water, make sure that the temp matches her tank water.

I wish you luck, and hope that she bounces back right away!!!

 

Ok noted. Thank you! I put her on her first salt bath today, and she doesnt appear to be too stressed, except when i am scooping her out. But she appears to be surfing the walls of the tank, probably because the tank is too small for her. I used 50 percent of her tank water and 50 percent of new clean water. I plan to do this twice a day.

Just a couple of questions: how many maximum days should I do this to her? Or does it really depend on the condition?
And should i reuse the water with the epsom salt for another use or should I throw it away?
This is my first time doing a salt bath to a fish, and i have lots to learn ^-^

 

Sounds like a good plan.

You can do the baths multiple days. Hopefully, you will begin to see her recover, and the you will know when you can stop the baths. I would continue with the baths until you see the swelling go down and stay down for a few days in a row.

I would not re-use the bath water. Start with fresh water for every bath.

I don't mind answering questions. I love to help in any way that I can!

 

Thank you for your help! I really appreciate it. I am putting her in salt bath twice a day now for 15 minutes. I will update you guys after a week of salt baths. Thank you again for helping me!

Edit:
Oh, also, on her 2nd salt bath today, she acted strange. She didnt respond to my hand like she usually do and was swimming around frantically. I got kind of scared or her behaviour and put her back to the hospital tank, where she still acts a bit shocked. I think i should stick to 1 salt bath a day for now and gradually increase it once she get used to it...

 

I agree...apparently 2 a day is too much/too stressful for her.

 

On her first two days of salth baths, she was fine with it, but now she seemed more stressed and is scared of me during salth baths. I tried staying away from her during this salth bath, and from a distance, i think she became calmer. Did she become scared of me because she remembered that I was the one who scoop her up?

 

Yes, that could be what is happening. She just knows that when certain things begin to happen, that means that she is about to be moved.

I know it's unpleasant, and if you think that she needs to skip a day to lessen her stress, and it doesn't look like she is swelling, then you could give her a break.

Were you able to get any fish antibiotics?

Poor little baby!!!

 

I am not giving her any salt bath today as well. Yesterday,she was really scared of me and spat out the food I gave her.
For the fish antibiotics, I could only find them on Amazon but Amazon isnt available in my country. I tried to research other replacements that are available in my area, but for me they seemed suspicious and low quality based on their reviews. I dont know if i should try them out or not.

Today, my fish went straight back to normal when she realized that there were no salt baths today, and she started eating heartily again. I am planning to resume her salt bath tomorrow and I hope she'll be ok at that time. Her bloat hasnt subsided yet (she only had 3 salt baths) but she isnt showing any other signs of sickness.

Also I was wondering, what are the good things to feed her other than her pellets? I tried to feed her boiled peas, but they already ran out.

 

I would not give her anything that you feel might be the least bit iffy, so if you don't like the looks of those meds, don't invest your money. You are just looking for a good anitbiotic that will treat gram negative bacteria. If you don't have access, then all you can do is keep her water very clean, and give her the epsom salt bath every 2 or maybe 3 days.

For feeding, you can give her Repashy gel, if you can get that. It is very nutritious and is highly recommended. You can feed her brine shrimp, bloodworms, or daphnia, all of which are good sources of protein. You can also feed her some lettuce or spinach. They like nutritious veggies, and these will provide her with the roughage to help her pass everything through her digestive track.

 

Okie, thanks! I will try to feed her these things. She is a really smart fish. She knew when was her time for salt bath and she tries to hide from me when its the time. I also got a pump to oxygenate her hospital tank, and i turn if off when I am goinf to do a salth bath.so when she saw me turn it off, she runs down and tries to hide, and ignore the food i give, but when I turn it back on, she returns to normal

I hope she recovers. Thanks a bunch!

 

Hello, just an update on what happened to my oranda. She passed away this morning. I was actually expecting it because 2 days prior to her death, her bloat worsened,and she developed lethargicness and refused to eat. She was a nice and smart fish. 1 day before her death, i put her tank next to the main tank with the other fish so they could see each other one last time. She was a really good and nice fish and i will miss her

Thank you so much for helping me still. I really appreciate it ^-^

 

I am so, so sorry that she didn't get any better!!!

I do love orandas. They are beautiful fish.

My thoughts are with you!!!!