My Oranda Goldfish Eats Peas!

My poor little Simon has been a bit sick lately :( My Mum wakes up in the morning and before coming downstairs to the kitchen (where Simon lives) asks "is he still alive?". I too have been quite worried about him. If you remember back to when I got him, and posted the video- well, he doesn't look like that any more. He developed fin rot on his back fin, ammonia burns on his head and dorsal fin, and now I believe he has swim bladder problems. Typically, I've been doing extensive research into all his conditions and how to treat them. Did you know, for instance, they can develop something called 'ick'? It's when they look like they've been sprinkled with salt. There are many other ailments they can pick up, but I was looking at his three in specific. Overall, I've learned one begot the other, which was a sign of something else, that explained something other thing. What I've decided (in my expert opinion :D), is that when I cleaned out his tank, he was getting stressed, which kicked things off. I have learned that stressed degrades the mucous membrane that protect his skin, and against infection. Because he was stressed by the stone hoover, this membrane broke down and he was vulnerable. I feel this is where he got his fit rot to start. Later on, when I was away doing my exams, despite my parent's best efforts, the tank wasn't clearing, and went quite green. (We later learned the filter wasn't turned up enough). All the sites I've looked at have said that poor water conditions aggravate any ailments your fish has. I don't think the water helped my Simon's fin rot, and ended up loosing his right fin, and the bottom half of his gorgeous fanned tail. The poor little guy now deserves a disabled parking badge :) Needless to say I was changing his water and feeding regularly...too much as I then found out. After he developed these little black marks, as though someone has outlined him in black, I did more research. I found out this was due to ammonia poisoning. The site said that fish are ammonia producers, and when they produce too much it burns their skin. Too many fish in pond or tank can do this, or the amount of food they eat; The more they eat, the more ammonia they produce. This is why I think I was feeding him too much. I read it was better to feed them small meals throughout the day, rather than one big one. I guess they weren't small enough. Finally, he's been swimming around...oddly. Not in a straight line, and flipping around a lot. This can be attributed to swim bladder problems- an organ that regulates buoyancy. In Oranda fish this is quite common, because their gut is a bit compacted. Therefore, if you overfeed them, feed them too much flaked food, or if they swallow too much air, they become constipated (which I think he is), and their guts become blocked.
So far, I've cleaned his tank completely, treated the water with ammonia reducing stuff, I'll stop feeding his for three days, then start feeding him peas. Yes, that's right...peas. This should clear his blockage. I'm also continuing to medicate him for his fin rot.
I shall keep you posted on his health.
xox

Fiona's Visit

I had a great visit with my friend Fiona from Montreal. She and I hung out a lot while I was there last Summer, and we had a blast! Therefore, when she said she's be coming over the UK to visit her parents in Scotland, and pop over to see me- I was thrilled :D We rang bells, had pub lunches, and generally chilled out. xox

DONE!!!

This isn't going to be a long posting, but just to say that I finished my second year exams today :) I'll post what ever photos I've been taking when I'm back in OX.

xoxox