Very Ill goldfish

[Kristen4050]

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 125 gallons
How long has the tank been running? 3 years
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? No
What is the water temperature? 72.4
What is the entire stocking of this tank? 3 goldfish, fancy, oranda

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? X1 week (average)
How much of the water do you change? 25-50%
What do you use to treat your water? Prime
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Both

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes
What do you use to test the water? API master kit
What are your parameters?
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
pH: 7.6

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Twice daily (small feedinds)
How much do you feed your fish?
What brand of food do you feed your fish? New Life
Do you feed frozen? No
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 3 years
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? 6ish weeks
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Flesh wounds, swollen wen, growing dark check, stopped eating
Have you started any treatment for the illness? Yes
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? Redness and swelling, some blacking in affected areas, swollen wen

Explain your emergency situation in detail.

Currently he is in a hospital tank, about 4 weeks. He seems to swim okay when he does, but mostly sits on the corner of the tank. His wen seams swollen where its red which has gotten larger in size and looks infammed. The spot of his cheek stared off as what look like a small colorless wound but looked a bit fleshy. It progressively changed to red, a bit puffy and as of about a week ago is turning black. I have used aquarium salt 1 tbs/2 gal water, per (aquarium co-op) and also decided to treat with Palygarurd ( 4 treatments). I see no changes, just looks worse. I'm at a lost of what to do for him. Hospital tank is currently still cycled. I keep a close eye on it due to the medication use. He doesn't seam to eat for over a week. Though I have left a few pellets in there and I noticed later they were gone. But I haven't seen him berating it. I even tried hand feeding with soften flake, no go.

Would salt dips be recommended?

Teo photos where he looks “better” was me getting ready to put him in hospital tank, worse photos two days ago.

I appreciate help in advance.

 

[Cue]

I am not sure about this honestly, but I think salt dips and possibly a methylene blue or Malachite green bath may be of some assistance, just to coat the wound and weaken any irritants.

 

[Fishfur]

That wen growth is likely a neoplasia - that means uncontrolled tissue growth, as happens with cancerous tumours but neoplasias can be either benign ( most seem to be benign) or malignant. The vascular appearance of it compared to the rest of the wen is a bit concerning.

Only an aquatic vet would be able to say much more or do anything about it.

The growth in the cheek looks a little more worrisome - it looks darker than anything else on a fish that shows no natural dark pigmentation.

That makes me worry that it may be a cancerous tumour, particularly given the other symptoms you mentioned. Goldfish are notoriously big eaters so the loss of appetite is a big red flag.

I do not believe there is anything that can be done for this guy at home and possibly not by a vet either - but a vet would be the best hope.

Sorry I can’t be more encouraging but this looks very alarming to me.

 

[Kristen4050]

That when growth is likely a neoplasia - that means uncontrolled tissue growth, as happens with cancerous tumours but neoplasias can be either benign ( most seem to be benign) or malignant. The vascular appearance of it compared to the rest of the wen is a bit concerning.

Only an aquatic vet would be able to say much more or do anything about it.

The growth in the cheek looks a little more worrisome - it looks darker than anything else on a fish that shows no natural dark pigmentation.

That makes me worry that it may be a cancerous tumour, particularly given the other symptoms you mentioned. Goldfish are notoriously big eaters so the loss of appetite is a big red flag.

I do not believe there is anything that can be done for this guy at home and possibly not by a vet either - but a vet would be the best hope.

Sorry I can’t be more encouraging but this looks very alarming to me.

Wow, thank you, a lot of things to digest. Makes me sad, especially losing a fish you spent years learning how to be a “Marian Biologiest” for. I never though I would feels so much for my fish. Thank you for all this information and educating me on some new things to put in my archive. The other day when he stopped eating, that's when I felt that gut feeling. Its horrible. Well, I did do the Methylene blue dip just now that some suggested. Little bit of a last hope. Should the dip be daily, or just once period? And thank you, truly

 

[Kristen4050]

I am not sure about this honestly, but I think salt dips and possibly a methylene blue or Malachite green bath may be of some assistance, just to coat the wound and weaken any irritants.

Thank you kindly. I'm at a loss, too, though another poster enlightened me some. I feel bad. I did the Methyl dip. Should this be done daily or a one-time thing? I looked at the other post, but it says both ways, so I'm not sure if that's for treating different things. And thank you very much for reaching out, truly appreciate it.

 

[Fishfur]

Wow, thank you, a lot of things to digest. Makes me sad, especially losing a fish you spent years learning how to be a “Marian Biologiest” for. I never though I would feels so much for my fish. Thank you for all this information and educating me on some new things to put in my archive. The other day when he stopped eating, that's when I felt that gut feeling. Its horrible. Well, I did do the Methylene blue dip just now that some suggested. Little bit of a last hope. Should the dip be daily, or just once period? And thank you, truly

Just sorry the info is so gloomy. I’m a fan if using MB but in this case I really can’t see how it would help,

Using a little salt will make osmoregulation a bit easier for him so that’s something but that’s all it can do,

 

[Cue]

Just sorry the info is so gloomy. I’m a fan if using MB but in this case I really can’t see how it would help,

Honestly I don’t use meds at all, so this was entirely based one the assumption that we have no real clue what this is and meth blue may help just generally sterilize the area and kill any fungus or bacteria that may be exacerbating things.
I would like to know what it is generally used for though.

I do agree though, the growth on the head looks like runaway cell production for one reason or another.