White blotches - not Ich - suggestions please!

[AlisonD09]

Hi All,

I have two orange orandas in a 35 litre (I think) tank. Both fish have developed one strange white blob; one fish has it on its side and the other on its tail. The blobs are way bigger than salt or sugar grains so pretty certain it's not ich. The largest blob is an irregular oval shape and is around 4-5mm long at the widest part.

The fish are also behaving in an odd way. The larger one used to be quite chilled out but greedy and now when I feed them he darts around the tank and cant seem to see the food pellets. The smaller one used to be very poor at competing for food and also quite hesitant at coming for food, now she will grab the majority of the food pellets and is quite determined to eat them all.

I am afraid I dont know the parameters of my tank. I am buying a test kit today and will update!

I change 10 litres of water every week and treat the water with Interpet tapsafe and a squirt (less than 5mls) of Interpet filter start. The fish also get around 6-10 Tetra goldfish sticks over the course of a day.

A lot of websites are suggesting stress is the problem - am I changing the water too often? Too little? Feeding too much? Too little?

Also, I have been offered 2 cloud mountain minnows by a friend who is moving, I dont want to take them if they will get sick as well.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you
A.

[Little Embers]

WELCOME Alison

Thanks for all the info.

Stress from various sources usually brings on most diseases...it is possible a fungus....any chance of getting a picture? Does the blob look fuzzy? It isn't natural colouring coming through/changing?

Your tank is too small for goldfish (35 litres is only about 10 gallons I think), even if they are still small they produce a lot of waste. Goldfish require at least 20-30 gallons each, and they grow very large. I do think you may be overfeeding and I would halve that amount. I would also provide a more varied diet for them.

This calculator can help you find out exactly what size your tank is:
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/conv...calculator.php

What type of filtration do you have?
How long has the tank been up and running? Are you using the Interpret filter start to help cycle the tank?
How often do you syphon the substrate?

I wouldn't do anything for now except keep up with the partial water changes (I would suggest doing it twice a week), until you know what your parameters are....I'm glad you are getting the test kits.

This probably isn't what you are describing, since you say it is on their side and fin.

It is easy to sex Orlanda Goldfish during the breeding season since the head of the males become covered with white dots. (Don’t mistake this phenomenon with ich). These dots are called breeding tubercles.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/goldfish/oranda.php

[AlisonD09]

Hi little Embers. Thanks so much for your reply, it realy helped. I have reduced their feeding and upped the cleaning as suggested. After reading your suggestion I had a good long look at the marks. The tail marks are smooth and irregular and look more like natural colour changes (does this happen?). The marks on their sides actually look more like missing scales. When they turn side on I can see the dent where a scale has been pulled off. The bigger one does barge and chase the smaller fish sometimes so perhaps they have had a fight and lost a scale each?

I have an interpet filter which came with the tank with the internal carbon and white filters. The tank has been up and running since mid Feb. I let it settle in for around 3 weeks then got the fish. I have a manual pump/siphon which I use to clean the stones every time I do a water change. I dont take the stones out of the tank just move them about and suck up the water.

Feeding wise I have flakes and also frozen daphnia which I give them now and then, is this varied enough? There is also live plants in the tank which they dont seem interested in, should I drop in cucumber or something?

thanks again!
A.