Lethargic Oranda

[Enigma Webmaster]

We've purchased a tank some 4 weeks ago and settled 2 Blue Orandas in after
a week. They have been quite happy. Now one of them has a very fine white
'fluffy' stuff on his scales and sits at the bottom of the tank and does
nothing. The other fish is active. We've changed the water regularly and
done all the tests Ph (7.2) Nitrites(2ppm), Ammonia(0ppm) and nitrates
(40ppm) and still can't seem to find out what is wrong. We've stopped
feeding them this morning as it would appear that we may have been feeding
them a little too much.

Can someone possibly offer a suggestion as to what is wrong and how to
correct it.

Thanks in advance

KMP

[sophie]

In message >, Enigma Webmaster
> writes
>We've purchased a tank some 4 weeks ago and settled 2 Blue Orandas in after
>a week. They have been quite happy. Now one of them has a very fine white
>'fluffy' stuff on his scales and sits at the bottom of the tank and does
>nothing. The other fish is active. We've changed the water regularly and
>done all the tests Ph (7.2) Nitrites(2ppm), Ammonia(0ppm) and nitrates
>(40ppm) and still can't seem to find out what is wrong. We've stopped
>feeding them this morning as it would appear that we may have been feeding
>them a little too much.
>
>Can someone possibly offer a suggestion as to what is wrong and how to
>correct it.

if you have nitrites showing then your tank is still cycling - your
nitrates aren't low, either. Neither of these things will be helping
your unhappy fish :-(

20-25% water changes daily will help sort this out - keep testing and if
nitrates or nitrites go up you might want to change out more of the
water. Water quality will go a long way towards getting a fish better.

White fluff could be columnaris, which is bacterial, or actual fungus -
I'm not sure where you are or what meds are available to you. My
personal preference is for water changes.

(how big is your tank, btw?)

hope this helps.

--
sophie

[Enigma Webmaster]

Sophie,

thanks for the help, but the poorly fish died overnight before i could read
your comments, but we will do a 25% water change today.

As we are new to keeping fish, we're not sure what you mean by 'the tank is
still cycling' can you tell us a little more? The tank is a 33 litre biOrb
and the instructions say we can keep 2-3 fish in it but from what I've read
it seems that this tank is too small for any more than one Oranda.

Thanks

KMP


"sophie" > wrote in message
...
> In message >, Enigma Webmaster
> > writes
>>We've purchased a tank some 4 weeks ago and settled 2 Blue Orandas in
>>after
>>a week. They have been quite happy. Now one of them has a very fine
>>white
>>'fluffy' stuff on his scales and sits at the bottom of the tank and does
>>nothing. The other fish is active. We've changed the water regularly and
>>done all the tests Ph (7.2) Nitrites(2ppm), Ammonia(0ppm) and nitrates
>>(40ppm) and still can't seem to find out what is wrong. We've stopped
>>feeding them this morning as it would appear that we may have been feeding
>>them a little too much.
>>
>>Can someone possibly offer a suggestion as to what is wrong and how to
>>correct it.
>
> if you have nitrites showing then your tank is still cycling - your
> nitrates aren't low, either. Neither of these things will be helping your
> unhappy fish :-(
>
> 20-25% water changes daily will help sort this out - keep testing and if
> nitrates or nitrites go up you might want to change out more of the water.
> Water quality will go a long way towards getting a fish better.
>
> White fluff could be columnaris, which is bacterial, or actual fungus -
> I'm not sure where you are or what meds are available to you. My personal
> preference is for water changes.
>
> (how big is your tank, btw?)
>
> hope this helps.
>
> --
> sophie

[blove]

here is a site that explains cycling and your tank is too small for any
goldfish.
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html


"Enigma Webmaster" > wrote in message
...
> Sophie,
>
> thanks for the help, but the poorly fish died overnight before i could
> read your comments, but we will do a 25% water change today.
>
> As we are new to keeping fish, we're not sure what you mean by 'the tank
> is still cycling' can you tell us a little more? The tank is a 33 litre
> biOrb and the instructions say we can keep 2-3 fish in it but from what
> I've read it seems that this tank is too small for any more than one
> Oranda.
>
> Thanks
>
> KMP
>
>
> "sophie" > wrote in message
> ...
>> In message >, Enigma Webmaster
>> > writes
>>>We've purchased a tank some 4 weeks ago and settled 2 Blue Orandas in
>>>after
>>>a week. They have been quite happy. Now one of them has a very fine
>>>white
>>>'fluffy' stuff on his scales and sits at the bottom of the tank and does
>>>nothing. The other fish is active. We've changed the water regularly
>>>and
>>>done all the tests Ph (7.2) Nitrites(2ppm), Ammonia(0ppm) and nitrates
>>>(40ppm) and still can't seem to find out what is wrong. We've stopped
>>>feeding them this morning as it would appear that we may have been
>>>feeding
>>>them a little too much.
>>>
>>>Can someone possibly offer a suggestion as to what is wrong and how to
>>>correct it.
>>
>> if you have nitrites showing then your tank is still cycling - your
>> nitrates aren't low, either. Neither of these things will be helping your
>> unhappy fish :-(
>>
>> 20-25% water changes daily will help sort this out - keep testing and if
>> nitrates or nitrites go up you might want to change out more of the
>> water. Water quality will go a long way towards getting a fish better.
>>
>> White fluff could be columnaris, which is bacterial, or actual fungus -
>> I'm not sure where you are or what meds are available to you. My personal
>> preference is for water changes.
>>
>> (how big is your tank, btw?)
>>
>> hope this helps.
>>
>> --
>> sophie
>
>

[Geezer From The Freezer]

Enigma Webmaster wrote:
>
> Sophie,
>
> thanks for the help, but the poorly fish died overnight before i could read
> your comments, but we will do a 25% water change today.
>
> As we are new to keeping fish, we're not sure what you mean by 'the tank is
> still cycling' can you tell us a little more? The tank is a 33 litre biOrb
> and the instructions say we can keep 2-3 fish in it but from what I've read
> it seems that this tank is too small for any more than one Oranda.

Bi-orbs are marketing ploy. They are not good for goldfish period, even though
the box shows 3 or more goldfish on it. Cycling is the process that allows
bacteria to colonize your media. This bacteria breaks down the toxic fish
waste into less toxic nitrates. Nitrates are toxic at high levels.

Currently your nitrIte level is too high, as is your nitrAte level. Do
frequent water changes with dechlorinated water.