Hi,
This is my first post, so will thank everyone in advance for ANY help you can give me.
I just noticed my wonderful old (at least 8 years) goldfish, Bubbles, has lost a large amount of scales on his/her right side. Bubbles is a very large goldfish: nearly 7 inches long and about 2 inches wide.
Bubbles has always lived in an outdoor pond, and has 4 other goldfish he shares his pond with.
I'm fairly observant, and keep a close eye on the fish, so this is a very recent phenomenon with Bubbles. I could see the scale lying at the bottom of the pond today.
He also seemed a little subdued. NOt his usual self. (He's actually very friendly.)
I can't see any kind of injury or redness where he's losing scales.
The pond is nice, clean, and protected. I use a rudimentary filtration system. It's a well-established pond (about 100 gallons, so not big) and there are no sharp edges in it. Everything seems to be very smooth and mossy under the water.
The other fish SEEM to be okay.
I live in Washington State and we've had a very weird spring/early summer, with cooler-than-normal temps. But Bubbles has weathered it all before, so don't think it's a factor.
I do remember a few years back that the other fish were chasing Bubbles around and I thought that maybe there was spawning going on, but haven't really noticed anything like that going on lately. (Although it's very possible. I'm not out there checking them every single day.)
I don't want to lose him, he's/she's such a great fishy.
Anyway, I need all the help I can get. I added some Stresscoat to the pond today, but don't know what else to do.
I've looked online and have heard about something called Myxosporidiosis (SP?), but don't know if this is what I'm dealing with.
Again, any suggestions will be gratefully listened to!
Thanks very much...
This is my first post, so will thank everyone in advance for ANY help you can give me.
I just noticed my wonderful old (at least 8 years) goldfish, Bubbles, has lost a large amount of scales on his/her right side. Bubbles is a very large goldfish: nearly 7 inches long and about 2 inches wide.
Bubbles has always lived in an outdoor pond, and has 4 other goldfish he shares his pond with.
I'm fairly observant, and keep a close eye on the fish, so this is a very recent phenomenon with Bubbles. I could see the scale lying at the bottom of the pond today.
He also seemed a little subdued. NOt his usual self. (He's actually very friendly.)
I can't see any kind of injury or redness where he's losing scales.
The pond is nice, clean, and protected. I use a rudimentary filtration system. It's a well-established pond (about 100 gallons, so not big) and there are no sharp edges in it. Everything seems to be very smooth and mossy under the water.
The other fish SEEM to be okay.
I live in Washington State and we've had a very weird spring/early summer, with cooler-than-normal temps. But Bubbles has weathered it all before, so don't think it's a factor.
I do remember a few years back that the other fish were chasing Bubbles around and I thought that maybe there was spawning going on, but haven't really noticed anything like that going on lately. (Although it's very possible. I'm not out there checking them every single day.)
I don't want to lose him, he's/she's such a great fishy.
Anyway, I need all the help I can get. I added some Stresscoat to the pond today, but don't know what else to do.
I've looked online and have heard about something called Myxosporidiosis (SP?), but don't know if this is what I'm dealing with.
Again, any suggestions will be gratefully listened to!
Thanks very much...