Red Cap Oranda

fessel28

Registered Member
Jun 12, 2006
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I'm on this to find out a problem that I'm having with my fish. My fish is a Red Cap Oranda, and I've had him for about 3 years, going on 4. He' been doing great and stuff. There are two problems that I've noticed.

1.) He seemed to have lost all of this reddish orange pigment in his cap and rest of his body. I've checked everything possible that might be wrong. There is another goldfish in there that has lost the same color. I thought that it was quite odd to see this considering I've never seen it before. Could anybody tell me if that's a serious problem? And what I can do to help it, if there is a reason? THe fish seem to be doing fine without the color.

2.) My second question is: My oranda lately has just been like doing nothing. He floats to the top, and he looks like he is about to die. Not belly up or anything like that. He tries to swim to the bottom but gets to tired and then floast back tothe top. I hope nothing is seriously long, but I got him when I went to college and wouldn't want anything to happen to him cause I'd like to keep him as long as possible. He eats, but has a hard time doing that. His side fins don't seem to work at all, if any. :(

I thank you all for your time for those who read this. I appreciate it!

Andrew
 
We need to know a bit about how they are being kept in order to answer your questions --

How big is the tank?
Are there only two goldfish? How big are they and what else is in the tank?
What type of filteration are you using?
How often do you do waterchanges and how much?
What are your water parameters: ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and pH?
Has this tank been cycled, or is it a new tank?

As for color loss, it's common in goldfish, however we need to rule out any problems as per above before we can say if it's "normal" or not.

Roan
 
Just so you know, most golds will change thier coloration while progressing into an adult. They actually start out grey.
 
dorkfish said:
Just so you know, most golds will change thier coloration while progressing into an adult. They actually start out grey.
Yes, but he's had them for 3 years. They're beyond progressing into adults.

Roan
 
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