I think my fish might have hemroids..

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jessie1

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Apr 5, 2009
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Ok guys, I have been baffled by this scenario and it was bugging me, so figured enlisting expert help was the only cure for my problem.

So I have a 45 gallon tank ( at work ) this is already an established tank and been fine for last 6+ years, I have been gradually adding fish and removing dead onces everyonce in a while ( not due to sickness but freak accidents like my employee forgetting to put the white filter media in a bag and fish swallowing it and it coming out of the side of the fish)

So this gold fish in the tank ( i have had it for a bout a year now ), for some reason its swollen on the anal area and the anus has also been swollwen and bloody. I have done some googling and found that it could be a infection from eating something bad or the lungs expanding.. but I figured id ask.

here is a video ( its the whiteish goldfish ).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4D34mzeXZo
 

CWO4GUNNER

USN/USCG 1974-2004 Weps
I chat quite a bit with my LFS fish super on Tuesdays when new shipments come in and she is there. One theme she always remarks about are goldfish getting sick from top feeding and swallowing air causing bladder diesease and she uses a turkey baster to insert the food into the water table rather than sprinkling on top, so you might take that into consideration. You might also consider haveing just one knoledgable concerned person (employee) take care of the fish so that their is consistancey and perhaps getting them some basic formal trainging as well. This smight go a long way in avoiding unusual problems.
 

7itanium

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Jan 31, 2009
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I chat quite a bit with my LFS fish super on Tuesdays when new shipments come in and she is there. One theme she always remarks about are goldfish getting sick from top feeding and swallowing air causing bladder diesease and she uses a turkey baster to insert the food into the water table rather than sprinkling on top, so you might take that into consideration. You might also consider haveing just one knoledgable concerned person (employee) take care of the fish so that their is consistancey and perhaps getting them some basic formal trainging as well. This smight go a long way in avoiding unusual problems.

I have also heard the theory about the fish gulping air... I personally dont believe it for a second (here is where people yell at me)
 

Flaringshutter

Befriend a feeder!
Oct 17, 2006
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jessie, this is definitely not a result of swallowing air or from eating something bad. bleeding and swelling at the vent are usually a result of a parasitic infection - very common for new fish and especially common in tanks where fish are coming and going often. If you are not quarantining the new fish you are adding, they can bring parasites into the tank and infect your current fish.
I hope you are referring to a fancy type goldfish, not a common or comet goldfish. Can you let us know what your current stocking on this tank is?
If this is a parasitic infection, you will need a strong anti-parasite medication like praziquantel or formalin. If you are able to take some photos and post them, that would be extremely helpful. Net the fish and gently hold it still if you need to, in order to get the clearest photos possible.
 

jessie1

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Firstly, I apologize for posting it in the newbie forum.

secondly, Wow thanks for your helpguys, for some reason the swelling went away today (I have a feeling it was constipation). I have a reason to believe these are not regular goldfish, I think they are KOI.

the stock (its been the same stock for over a year now)

2) black moore gold fish
3) koi/goldfish (2 adults,one is the one i wrote about in original topic, one medium sized)
3) black neon tetras ( yes i am aware that they are not compatible but i have no choice, they were hand me downs, and i cant put them in my main tank at home because of guppies/platys)

I had a very very shy common pleco that passed away a few days ago.


that should be it.

could it be at all that the fish was pregnant, gave eggs(yes I googled once again and found that they lay eggs) and the other fish ate them. The fish is back to normal now.
 

Kashta

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Jun 24, 2008
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Hi Jessie. The newbie forum wasn't a bad choice for your thread and most newcomers to the site post general fishkeeping questions in that area. I just moved this here to our coldwater section since your questions were more specific than that and relate to goldfish/koi. This way, more of our experienced goldfish keeping members would see your post and be able to offer their input.

What I saw of this fish in that video looks much more severe than her just carrying a belly full of eggs. As I read your post, I thought she was probably just full of eggs and there was nothing to worry about. Then I watched the video and I could see the shape and extent of this as she moved around.

The fish I have that spawned twice earlier this year didn't look that bad in the vent area. The vent opening was slightly distended and pinkish... but not as much as this and never bright red, inflamed, or bleeding. The round fullness around the vent area was also not misshapen as your fish appeared to be. A fish that size would also drop anywhere between 500-1,000 eggs in a single spawn. Even if those fish were very hungry, all the eggs would not have been eaten in such a short amount of time that you would see no trace of it the next day.

I'm delighted to hear that the swelling has gone down already. That's very encouraging. But I would not be surprised if you see this problem flare up again very soon. You have several big fish in a small tank for this type of fish. Even with massive filtration and frequent water changes, these have grown large enough now to produce an ultra heavy bioload that even a cycled, mature tank of this size won't be able to handle.

The inclusion of that pleco in the same tank, which is another high waste producing species, would only have made this worse. Let us know more about how the pleco died and what symptoms or behavior it displayed before it's death? I suspect that event is directly related to the problem this goldfish or koi/goldfish has.

Of course, all of these conditions can lead to a range of different health concerns... illness, bacterial infection, parasites. I would aleady rule out her being gravid or even egg-bound for the reasons noted above. If constipation was a factor in this, that means we should look more closely into their diet and water quality. What kind of food are you using and how often are they fed?

I would also suggest you start testing the tank water using a liquid test kit. Let us know the actual results you get for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Because of the mix you have in there between cold/temperate water fish and tropicals.. I should also ask the temperature at which you keep this tank.

Let us know whatever else you notice or wonder about and we'll do our best to give helpful suggestions.

Welcome to the community! I'm glad you've joined the group.
 

jessie1

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Apr 5, 2009
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Thanks Kashta

I am beginning to think it is something serious going on in my tank.. to answer a few questions.

1) They are fed once ( some times twice ) in the morning at 8 a.m for the past year atleast, ( except monday I feed them at around 6.pm )

2) They are fed ONLY goldfish flakes ( topfin kind ) for as long as I have had the fish in my possession.

3)The pleco we had for over 6 months now, it showed no symptoms or anything at all. It was the same size for as long as I remember ( compared to my other common pleco that I got a bout a month ago and its getting massive ). One thing that mightve caused the problem was that I was not aware to feed them algae discs. So all he fed of was the algae and recently we scrubbed everything and cleaned the aquarium after taking 40% of the water out. So it had nothing to eat and died of starvation( that is my only guess ).

4)I got the water checked about a week ago and the ammonia was .5 ( atleast thats what I recall from a petsmart ( lfs ) around this area ). He said that it seemed normal at the time.

5) The temperature its kept at is 78 degrees and its been at the same temp for a while.

6) I do need to invest in a good water test kit.

7) Yes I am aware that the fish are too big for the tank and I might just donate them to petsmart.

Thanks once again I appreciate it.
 

Flaringshutter

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Oct 17, 2006
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Hey Jessie,
I agree with Kashta about the many different problems this fish might have. You definitely have comets, not koi. Your fish look to be about 2/3 their adult size, so they still have room to grow. It's important to get them into a bigger tank as soon as possible, but please DO NOT donate them to petsmart. They will probably get much worse care than you are expecting, as petsmart employees in general know little to nothing about actual fishkeeping. If you are not able to provide them with a larger tank, consider posting on craigslist or even the classifieds here, to find a fishkeeper with a large aquarium or pond.

TopFin goldfish flakes are actually not a good diet for goldfish. Since goldfish are omnivorous bottom-feeders for the most part, a high-quality sinking pelleted food is best for a staple. You can supplement this with romaine lettuce, parsley, cucumber slices, cooked peas, even cooked carrots. Green vegetables are excellent for clearing out goldfish digestive systems and will help with any constipation they might have.

At the very least, your fish seem active and are still eating, and that's a great sign. To make a precise diagnosis you'll need to take a close look at the vent on the sick fish. Do you see any worms or threads protruding from it? Is it bloody inside or just swollen? Does the fish have blood-streaked fins?

Best of luck to you. Let us know.
 

jessie1

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Apr 5, 2009
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Thank you guys, I dont know what to say, you know? I grew up by the saying there is no free lunch,, but you guys are helping out ( and others on this site have also helped regarding other problems.)

Flaring shutter, Thank you for clarifying as some lady ( customer ) shes a fish keeper and she kept saying its a koi ( these fish were there before we took over the business) so I dont know what it is but now I know.

Tommorow I will get a video with closer look of the vent and maybe you can help me, although I have posted an ad on craigslist regarding the adoption of the fish.

Thank you once again, I just want to make sure that the fish is healthy before I let go.
 

Turbosaurus

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Dec 26, 2008
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Hi Jessie,
I am not a cold water fish keeper, but I have at times been grossly overstocked...

in a tank that is six years old you should not have ANY ammonia readings. Just one thing- don't "change" your filter media, and don't rinse it in chlorinated water. Either will cause a temporary spike in ammonia. If thats the cause. don't worry. If you haven't done either of those things then your ammonia is likely just from being overstocked. No matter what's wrong with the fish, clean healthy water is the best thing you can do for them, and that means 0 ammonia.

I am sure the goldfish keepers will chime in, but 78 sounds warm for goldfish- although I don't know if its really detrimental. To keep it that warm, you must have a heater, right? if so, I would imagine you're going to want to turn down the heat. Do a search on the goldfish forum or post another thread for appropriate temps and see what the experts say. I keep my amazon cichlids at 78ish, that's gotta be warm for goldfish.


If the problem is overstocking, you can try to just say no when they come to the glass begging for another breakfast. Another thing you can do in an overstocked tank is add live floating plants. They will help keep down the nitrogen wastes too- especially ammonia, until you can figure out what's the deal. They make a huge difference. As an added bonus a lot of goldfish will eat the plants which adds some good high fiber greens to their diet. I just tossed out a massive amount of water lettuce today- I wish I would have come across your post first. You may want to head over to the swap and shop section and ask for floating plants- duckweed (from what I hear, they will eat it like crazy- so it may not last long enough to help clean the water) or water lettuce - anything you can find that will float on top- and don't let anyone take you for a ride- the stuff should be dirt cheap, it grows LIKE CRAZY and someone out there has a pond full of it and will be willing to help you out.

Good luck to you, its really nice to see people who want to take the best possible care of their fish. Of course we'll help you!
As for free.... have you not got the bill yet for all of our expert advice;-)
 
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