fish disease

[warren]

one of my goldfish bacame so fat that it was nearly round. I have never seen anything like it. It survived for about 3 years like this and did not seem to be suffering, though it did have some difficulty swimming straight. Finally it died today. I cut it open and found that it was full of fluid that looked like raw egg white. I was wondering if it was some kind of cancer or something specific to fish.

 

[bantymum]

Im very sorry to hear that, goldfish are sweet little fish, Ive never seen that disease before though I am a novice with fish.
RIP little fishy!

 

[texasgirl]

Did it look like any of these?

http://katsu2.cside.com/kingyo/ryukin/ryukin11.jpg
http://www.koi-art.com/images/goldfish/G15-Ranchu.jpg
http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/fantail/fantail4.jpg

 

[helmstead]

Sorry you lost your fish. If it was a fancy type goldfish - there was nothing wrong. They have super large swim bladders on purpose (bred to look that way by fanciers). They often have great difficulty swimming as a result - everything from the problem yours had to not being able to remain upright, not being able to dive or sometimes being bottom bound. The contents you're describing are normal swim bladder contents.

 

[Scrambled Egg]

Sorry for your loss, it upsets me too when a koi or goldfish in my pond dies. Fish are so sensitive to anything foriegn that gets in or in anyway changes their water. Hope the rest of yours are fine. I use a brand called Pond Clear from Petsmart, it keeps the gases balanced in the water, helps with the plant decomp that falls in and boosts o2 while also balancing the ph. Might give it a try, I swear by it. Darlene

 

[warren]

Thanks for your replies.
My fish did not look like any of those in the pictures Texasgirl. They are normal shape for their breed. It was an illness. Its body was long and thin like a normal goldfish for the first half of its life, but then got steadily more bloated for its last few years. it was like an orange with a tail at one end and a little pointy face at the other. I don't think that it suffered too much. It was difficult to catch at times when I wanted a closer look at it, and I think that if you can't catch the patient it can't be too bad.
I found a little white thing in its interior that might have been the swim bladder, but as I have never done a disection before I am not sure. I did not check what was in it, but I thought that the swim bladder would contain some air so that it can be compressed to make the fish sink??
Almost the whole body cavity was filled with the clear fluid, and the rest of its workings were squashed up near the spine.
I do have other fish in the pond and none of them have the same condition.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I'm sorry you lost your fish.

Bloat can be a symptom of different diseases in goldfish. Sometimes an antibiotic can help early on, if it's being caused by a bacterial infection. Often, nothing helps. I think a common cause is an infection that effects the kidneys and throws off the fluid balance in the fish.

The best preventatives are good water quality, which is always a challenge with goldfish, good quality food and quarantine for any new fish.

 

[soccerguy17]

did the scales begin to stick up? if so i could be dropsy which can cause the fish to balloon out and fluid to build up in the fishes body cavity.

 

[chickbea]

You might try out the website goldfishparadise.com. There are a lot of friendly folks on that site just like on here who may be able to help.

 

[warren]

Thanks folks.