Help - Goldfish with Red Spots on Caudal Fin

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macfacker

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Jan 1, 2009
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Hi,
I have 5 small Goldfish in a 30Gal tank, they are all less than 3inch including the Tail except for 1 that's slightly longer.
I usually do an 80% water change every week, really. However last week due to some flooding in our Fiji Islands, the normal tap water supply was interrupted. I did the normal 80% water change with rain water which I collected from the roof and yes I did let it rain for a while before I started the collection.
My Oranda suddenly developed a large red spot on the Tail, which at first I took for injury and shuffled the tank abit. Then yesterday I noticed my Red & White Fan Tail developing somewhat similar red colours on its Tail.
I immediately pulled out a few books and this is what I got.

Fin Congestion (contagious) - FROM Goldfish Your Happy Healthy Pet
This disease very commonly attacks goldfish, especially the long-finned varieties. It is easily identifiable because of the red blotches that appear on the trailing edges of the fins. Look for hemorrhaging—bright-red areas on the surface of the fins. Be careful, though: Many goldfish have red blood vessels visible in their tails and this is normal. Goldfish infected with this disease have blood vessels that become inflamed at the ends of the tail. This disease starts at the edge of the fins and works its way toward the body, much like fin rot. Fin congestion is an indication that the water quality in the tank is very poor. Change 50 percent of the water and add one tablespoon of salt for every gallon of water (sprinkle the salt around the tank over a period of a few minutes—don’t just dump it all in). This treatment should clear up the problem in a few days. If this treatment doesn’t work, you need to purchase an antibiotic, either penicillin
or tetracycline hydrochloride. Follow the directions carefully, as these chemicals can become very toxic to the fish.
I did an immediate water change full 98% and have already added about 22 tablespoons of Salt in between 18 hours.
Now my questions for someone how has experienced the same thing, are there any other diseases that could cause this problem N possible remedies if possible.
The salt bath remedy I used is quite common for some other diseases as well, but how soon can I know if my fish are recovering and when (if successful) do I change the water back to normal.
Thanks for reading this far.:help:

I will try to get some pics of the 2 maybe by 2morrow.
 

kelly82

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Jun 1, 2007
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your tank is very over stocked (are they common single tailed slim lined fish or twin tailed egg shape bodied fish?), which wont be helping the water quality, as for the disease, im not sure, my red cap oranda has a few small red veins in his tail but thats it, and hes always had them, he lives with 2 other fancy goldfish in a 50 gallon tank. whether the red spot on its tail is due to you using rain water from your roof or not i wouldnt like to hazard a guess. i hope someone more knowledgable comes and replies soon.
 
I read somewhere that using rain water was not such a good idea. If I remember correctly it has to do with the rain collecting pollutants from particulate in the atmosphere etc.

Im sure in nature they have built up a tolerance to this, but in "captivity" they are used to nice processed and conditioned water.

I'll try to track down my references...but in the mean time maybe someone here knows more.

My big common has red blood spot on her tail too. I have tried salt and anti biotics. My water is clean and cycled as well. It got a little better but never went away all together. She came from a pond and has suffered fin damage from the little neighborhood s**** throwing rocks into the pond. :mad2: She is happy and it hasn't spread, so I let it be.

Now...I think I'll get an alligator for the pond. :evil_lol:
 

macfacker

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Pixz

Hi Thanks for the input, these are the two that have been most affected by the Fin Congestion. Just couldn't get good pictures.
The White has started shredding its Tail in Ribbons.
While the Oranda you cant really make out, as he always gives his good side while posing. you can only slightly make out the Red in its Tail thats the Caudal Fin further away.
Have ordered some Medication and hopefully will get it before the weekend.

White .jpg Oranda.jpg
 

Kashta

Always Niko's fault.....
Jun 24, 2008
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It sounds like a combination.. which is what generally happens when a tank is overstocked. You know the tank isn't large enough for that many goldfish.. so you do massive water changes all the time, trying to compensate for this and keep the water clean. This sounds good at first, but you should get this set up so you only need 10-20% water changes every week. Needing to do 80% water changes on a weekly basis is real high and that puts a lot of stress on the fish. The ever-present stress factor weakens their immunity and the first time something else comes along that you didn't anticipate.. bingo, you've got a tank full of sick fish. Nature has a way of doing this. It's a self-correcting thing.

If a lake or pond somewhere gets overrun with some kind of species and that ecosystem can't support them all... this overpopulation will either starve to death or die off from other problems. We like to think we're in control of these "mini" ecosystems we set up in the living room. But if we can't provide the right conditions ourselves.. nature will step in at some point and the whole system collapses.

With that in mind, it's hard to know if the rain water is the cause of them getting sick.. or just a trigger for this that stems from the overcrowding. The best you can do now is treat the fish for this the best you can. Hope they recover soon. In the mean time, see what you can do to solve the overstocking problem. Is that why are you're such large water changes? The book reference you cited said a 50% water change when you treat for this, but you did one at 98%. Do you have a test kit to find out what the water parameters are? Is the tank cycled.. well established?

Let us know how the fish are doing. They are quite hardy fish that usually bounce right back from minor problems if we're able to catch it in time. Hope it works out well for them and you.
 

macfacker

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Jan 1, 2009
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Update

What do I say, the fish have improved and the fins are not scarred at all.

But just to let everyone know, the Goldfish weren't that big when I got them they were pretty small, and water changes were done less randomly and only about 25% at a time. They grow so fast and before u know it, they require more & more water changes.
M currently working on a 40Gal tank that I hope will take care of the problem. The fin congestion was indeed caused by the rain water collected from the roof, it just ain't safe.
I used Melafix, which is an all natural Antibacterial remedy for the treatment of aquarium fish diseases, like fin & tail rot, cloudy eye, mouth fungus, fungus and promotes the regret of damaged fin rays and tissue.
Did quite a good job, I would recommend it to any1.
 

Flaringshutter

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Oct 17, 2006
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excellent news macfacker. two things to add - melafix is an excellent natural antibacterial and it's always the first thing i turn to in cases of fin rot. after clean water, of course! it's likely that some chemical on your roof was washed down by the rainwater and sickened the fish.
if you have frequent problems with interruptions in your tap water supply, you may want to set up a collection system that you can store and bring out when it rains. a plastic sheet, anchored a few feet high on each corner to a pole or stake, with a hole cut in the middle and a tub set beneath the hole, will safely collect rain water. you still run the risk of the rain water being a different pH than your tank, so you may want to test the water before making your water change, but it's the safest method possible. just be sure the plastic sheet is clean every time.
 
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