Really Obese Goldfish...Need help and advice

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Rometiklan

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Feb 27, 2003
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Hello everyone,

We have a common comet goldfish that is about 7 inches long (not including the tail) housed in a 20 gallon tank, established for about 2 years. It is filtered by an AquaClear 200, pH is 7.0, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, temperature is about 68 degrees. I feed the fish once or twice a day with goldfish pellets by NutraFin, with frequent days of fasting (about 3 days a week). I change about 25-30% of the water about once a week.

The problem is that the goldfish is extremely fat...I would even say obese, very obese. It doesn't seem to be in any discomfort, nor does it have trouble swimming, but it is kind of disconcerting to see it so large, like it is going to explode at any given time. The scales are all stretched out. It's been like this for about 4 or 5 months now.

What can the problem be? I would appreciate any suggestions and steps to correcting this problem. Thanks!
 

avoxo

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Hi Rometiklan, all your water parameters look fine. Goldfish will become "fat" or widen in time just like most of us do. If you have a picture it would help a lot.

Your fish might be egg bound. I had one just like this; I would strip the eggs from her (GENTLY squeeze the fish while it was still in the water and some of the eggs would come out.) Please try to clean them up after.

Is your fish pine coning to the point where the scales are sticking out (stretched out?) If the scales are sticking out like a pinecone then your fish has dropsy. Dropsy is a secondary symptom that there is something wrong internally. It could be 3 things cancer, parasites and bacterial. I would raise the temperature to about 80-85 degrees and use EPSOME salts (about 1/4 of a tsp. per ten gallons) instead of aquarium salts because they will help the fish to lose some of the fluid. I would get medicated food and feed it per directions and give the tank an all purpose medication.

You said it’s been like this for a couple of months, in my opinion it sounds like cancer or maybe a parasite. Bacterial dropsy is normally fatal with in a couple of weeks. Good luck
 

Rometiklan

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Hi there,

Thanks for the replies...much appreciated.

avoxo and Cearbhaill:
No, the scales are not sticking out as it does in dropsy. I have seen a case of dropsy before, and I do not believe this the problem. I meant the scales are "stretched out" to cover the bulge. Because the abdomen is so huge, the scales are stretched out pretty thin as you can imagine, but the scales are still smooth. The fish behaves normally, and it is as strong as it ever was.

I do not believe the goldfish is female, so I do not think it is egg-bound. It has never displayed the heavier abdomen associated with a female filled with roe. It has always had a very slim profile until about 4 months ago.

Do you think the 20 gallon tank has something to do with the weight gain? Maybe the smallish tank is affecting the proper growth of the fish, stunting it somehow? Until we get funds to buy a larger tank, a 20 will have to do for now. I had also thought the goldfish may be constipated, but that seems highly unlikely since he has been like this for 4 months now. Still, maybe a change of diet may help...is there any foods you would recommend? Maybe a complete dry diet of pellets isn't helping. I will reduce my feeding schedule to strictly once a day, every other day.

We've had this goldfish for about 7 years now, we're kind of attached to it. So it is kind of hard to see it so uncharacteristically obese. Thanks!
 
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goldene

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Iv never heard of an overweight goldfish before, If you think it is constipation I read you can give them peas to help it go the toilet, have you noticed over the years any white spots/tubicles on its gills that would suggest it is a male, if not it could be a female and be egg bound?
 

avoxo

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Goldene has it right with the peas. Get frozen peas and microwave them for a couple of seconds. Take the hull off of the pea and feed the halves to your goldfish. It does not sound like it is constipated though. A picture would go a long way on this one. The tank is small for the goldfish, it is 7 years old, I don't think it will be getting much bigger than what it is right now.
 
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