Lazarus Plath
April 9th 04, 01:41 PM
I work in a large pet store chain and today we recieved our delivery of
new fish. A Black Moor goldfish about 5 inches long ended up having a
problem none of us recognized.
History: I remember unpacking the goldfish because it stood out as a
really beautiful fish when I went to float it. I saw nothing wrong, but
about 5 hours later another worker was moving him to the sick tank.
Symptoms: The inside of the gills were packed with little balls. It
looked like caviar but smaller (2-3mm diameter), and a lighter color.
There's so many jammed in there the fish could not close its gills, I
was amazed it could breathe. The rest of the fish looked fine.
Research: None of us that looked at him had much of an idea of what it
is. Either eggs of some parasite or flukes or something similar; all
very general. I've done a little internet researching and learned about
several parasites but I'm still not coming to any conclusions.
Mystery: For me the most perplexing part is how fast it happened. The
mass inside the gills was so extreme I don't think I could have missed
it when I looked at him while unpacking. He was in a tank with 3 other
goldfish for about 4 hours and the others showed no signs at closing.
Help: Unfortunately I feal he will be dead in the morning. But if not I
want to have some idea of how we can help him and what to do if it
happens again. Any ideas?
Thanks, Lazarus
new fish. A Black Moor goldfish about 5 inches long ended up having a
problem none of us recognized.
History: I remember unpacking the goldfish because it stood out as a
really beautiful fish when I went to float it. I saw nothing wrong, but
about 5 hours later another worker was moving him to the sick tank.
Symptoms: The inside of the gills were packed with little balls. It
looked like caviar but smaller (2-3mm diameter), and a lighter color.
There's so many jammed in there the fish could not close its gills, I
was amazed it could breathe. The rest of the fish looked fine.
Research: None of us that looked at him had much of an idea of what it
is. Either eggs of some parasite or flukes or something similar; all
very general. I've done a little internet researching and learned about
several parasites but I'm still not coming to any conclusions.
Mystery: For me the most perplexing part is how fast it happened. The
mass inside the gills was so extreme I don't think I could have missed
it when I looked at him while unpacking. He was in a tank with 3 other
goldfish for about 4 hours and the others showed no signs at closing.
Help: Unfortunately I feal he will be dead in the morning. But if not I
want to have some idea of how we can help him and what to do if it
happens again. Any ideas?
Thanks, Lazarus