Now what? Goldfish turning red all over?

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geekboy

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So I woke up this morning to notice a sudden and alarming change in one of my older comets. This fish is about 4 or 5 years old, and had a fairly major infection (of something like septicemia) a little over a year ago.

Seemingly overnight, every thin-scaled area seems to have turned rosy pink.



I have just a few moments before leaving for work, but it also seems like a younger male oranda is pestering and chasing her a lot. The color change wouldn't just be a mating thing, could it?
 

Somervell

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I don't think so, unless she is getting injured by spawning. Did you check your parameters? The fact that it is radiating up the tail causes concern. Could it be septicemia again?

I think if it were my tank, I would do a water change, isolate the fish and observe for a bit. If it didn't improve in a few hours, I would treat with an antibiotic pronto. On second thought, I think I would treat with an antibiotic pronto, and I am not one of those "jump on the medication bandwagon" people.

I have had completely white goldfish spawn, and I have never seen a color change like this.
 

geekboy

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Agreed, I think I'll the the isolation tank ready. The previous illness (as discussed in http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=199172 ) was a more typical bout of hemorrhagic septicemia. I wonder if the lengthy recovery and exposure to meds might have caused organ (i.e. kidney) damage.

The odd thing is how the color seems to be showing through with the blood supply. I can't imagine anything systemic like this can be a good thing.

She was eating normally and seemed to be unconcerned, if perhaps a little more listless than usual. Last I saw, it looked like multiple other goldies were teaming up to chase and pester her. It seemed like they were all focusing their attention on her vent area, but it could have been cooincidence. I believe this might be to only female in the tank, which is why I mention this.
 

geekboy

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My father reports that every other goldfish is now full-on bullying the female, practically pinning her in the bottom corner. I won't have a chance to do anything until this evening, so this may not end well.
 

geekboy

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Color is unchanged. Whatever caused the chasing behavior has apparently passed, and everybody is behaving themselves now. No obvious injury or ill effects.

Mrs. Red Head is acting normally, even active and eager for the evening feeding.

Water parameters are Amo:<0.25 (as low as I ever see it), Nitrite 0, Nitrate about 80ppm. I performed about a 30% water change.

I should probably isolate this fish, but I'm a bit stubborn about hospital tanks. I filled my backup tank just today, and I hesitate to stress the patient by throwing it into a lonely, small, unfurnished, uncycled death chamber. Perhaps I exaggerate. Perhaps I'll regret hesitating if whatever caused this spreads.
 

geekboy

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The redness began to fade in a day, and two days later it has almost completely gone. Back to normal almost as quickly as it came on.

Weird, is all I have to say. It's like somebody was sneaking him treats full of red food dye.
 

Somervell

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Honestly, the only other time I have seen this in a white fish is when there was ammonia toxicity. Very, very strange. Keep us posted. I have had to remove females from tanks where males are aggressively ready to spawn. I would be prepared to do this for a while if necessary.
 

geekboy

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I just remembered that I never finalized this thread -- the fish returned to normal, no worse for wear. She is one of my oldest goldies (around 5 years) and has been more prone to infection and injury, yet always seems to rebound.
 

Bubbles2112

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I love a good ending! Glad your goldie is okay--she is really pretty!
 
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