# Floating oranda! Any help appreciated.



## mimirose (Apr 11, 2011)

Im sorry I sure you get this all the time but I really want to help this fish live if possible. I will try and answer as many questions as I can from the Lupins List.

Almost 3 weeks ago I took on 2 oranda gold fish from my daughter's special school. It was aproaching school holidays and they backed me into a corner basically and said they were going to leave them there "and see how things turned out" (for the next 8 weeks) If i didnt take them. So I took them and they are beautiful. However I am not knowledgable about fish.

Please before you get too angry at me Im a single mother of a child with autisum there is only so much i can do (and afford) I hate living creatures to be in pain My heart is in the right place even if these gorgeous fish deserve a better place to live.

1.
I had an old tank it's probably not big enough ( 31cm Lgth x 17 cm wdth x 19cm deep) my plan was to look for a bigger cheap second hand one.

2.
No water testing done I know. I will get done if needed I used de-chlorenater drops and an oxy-neaturilser shell (both new)

3.
Sorry I dont fully understand I have a human water filter to process water from tap then there is the above mentioned de chlorinater drops and neutrilser shell 

4 . 
Around 3 weeks I previously had fish live in there for several years when I was really young (it was throughly cleaned before adding new fish

5.
Two oranda goldfish for 3 weeks typical standard goldfish size

6. 
no quaentine as there werent any other fish in there

7.
I dont know the temp sorry they were happy till now!

8. 
Two Plants from fish shop One pretty green one with white stripes the other is a long green "strip's' the girl from the shop told me goldfish love to eat, but i havent seen them eat it

9. 
Watererks Accent pump 200 liter ph capacity It is quite old but it seems to go i had a new airstone and plastic tubing on it but they seemed to be gulping for water and when i took it off they seemed happy again so i have been running it without the airstone.

10.
I dont have a heater because I read on the internet these goldfish like cold water and I live on the sunshine coast in australa. For us cold weather is dropping to 25 degrees in the middle of winter. We go to the beach all year around here. I need to buy a new filter for sure. I thought this did both. Sorry.

11.
Tank is setup next to a window so recieves natural light at all times of day. I thought the flow of air would help keep the tank oxygenated.

12.
Last water change less then a week ago cunfused as to wether i should do this straight away or if i will add 'stress' to fish i dont know what " vacuum the substrate" is sorry.

13.
I feed them with 'Goldfish Aquarium fake food' only opend 3 weeks ago bought new from shop 3 times a day as it says on packet.

14.
My pump was accidently turned off overnight (3yr old child) I woke up to find one upside down gulping he swims somtimes the right way (when i put food in he tries really hard and then starts floating upside down again)

The other has a little white patch on his head (wen ?) where his head was out of the water while gulping but other then that he is feeding fine.

15.
No treatment I was wondering wether I should feed him some de-shelled peas to help pass the air. (floating fishy) If so can I defrost frozen peas? for freash peas are hard to find here (because our weather is so hot) Not feed him? The internet info can be confusing. 
The one with a white patch on his head (is it called a 'wen' ive been reading?) do I need antibiotics for him? or is it fungus? what do I do?

Since writing the he seems to be swimming the right way up and seems ok. Maybe he wont die. What should I do to help them.

Also the teacher from the other class wants me to take her one gold fish as she had the same plan to leave them over the holiday and see what happens (ie let the fish die slowly) should I take this other fish on? Will it kill the two I already took? or is it better I just take him so he doesnt die and quickly find a bigger tank?

I feel guilty which ever way I turn see?

Thankyou so much for your help.


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## GwenInNM (Feb 2, 2011)

mimirose said:


> Im sorry I sure you get this all the time but I really want to help this fish live if possible. I will try and answer as many questions as I can from the Lupins List.
> 
> Almost 3 weeks ago I took on 2 oranda gold fish from my daughter's special school. It was aproaching school holidays and they backed me into a corner basically and said they were going to leave them there "and see how things turned out" (for the next 8 weeks) If i didnt take them. So I took them and they are beautiful. However I am not knowledgable about fish.
> 
> ...


I'll be no help, I know nothing about goldfish. Someone with that knowledge will I'm sure offer some help. You have a big heart, and may just need to say "no" and let this other teacher take that fish to a local fish store for them to take. I copied this I found. Probably not much more than you already have found.

The Oranda goldfish survives quite well in a tank with temperatures between 65 and 72°F so doesn't really need a heater unless you let your house become very cold in the winter. These fish are omnivores and you should feed them a variety of flake foods as well as some fresh and frozen foods. A good-quality flake food every day is a must and you might also consider brine shrimp or blood worms as a treat, however, live foods might present the danger of bacterial infections and parasites so you might want to stick to frozen varieties. 

You will notice that the wen on these fish grows in stages typically during the fall and spring. You might want to keep an eye on it as it can be prone to bacterial infections as fungi and bacteria can settle in the folds of the hood. If you notice it becoming red or raw, you might want to take steps to clear out any infection that has sent in. 

Oranda goldfish tend to be bottom feeders but will swim in all areas of the aquarium. These are egg layers and can spawn pretty readily if the conditions in your tank are acceptable to them. They are a fairly inexpensive fish but can be a bit delicate and, therefore, may not be a good fish for novice aquarists. 

good luck! Hope it works out for all of you.


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## mimirose (Apr 11, 2011)

Thankyou I have read most of that but I appreciate your understanding and taking the time to post. After a water change (and the pump on) he seems quite ok maybe he 'pooped' air out as he is not floating upside down anymore, thank goodness.


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

Goldfish require about 20 gallons for the first fish, and ten for each fish after. You will need at least a 30 Gallon tank. Also goldfish are very messy and since the tank isn't cycled they will require very frequent water changes. You never mentioned the water change schedule…


And, YES take that goldfish from her! It is abusive and cruel to let the fish just die. It sickens me someone would do that. Even if your setup isn't perfect right now, it is certainly better than dying of ammonia burns. You should say something to the school board to outlaw class pets since they aren't even taking care of them.


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## marian1949 (May 22, 2011)

If you take on the other teacher's fish, you should have at least a 30 - 50 gallon tank. Take the tank away from the window, as it will get too hot there for goldfish. Never let sun shine on the tank. You need a good filter and one or two bubblers. Every week, change 25% of the water. Also, the gravel needs to be vacuumed when you change the water. To help the fish, use Aquarium Salt - it's a natural health supplement. Put 3 tbsps. in, for a 30 - 40 gallon tank. Shelled peas, thawed from the freezer, are fine. Also, for constipation, put one cube of thawed out Brine Shrimp in the tank. You don't need a heater. Remember, each goldfish needs 10 gallons of water to live happily.


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

marian1949 said:


> If you take on the other teacher's fish, you should have at least a 30 - 50 gallon tank. Take the tank away from the window, as it will get too hot there for goldfish. Never let sun shine on the tank. You need a good filter and one or two bubblers. Every week, change 25% of the water. Also, the gravel needs to be vacuumed when you change the water. To help the fish, use Aquarium Salt - it's a natural health supplement. Put 3 tbsps. in, for a 30 - 40 gallon tank. Shelled peas, thawed from the freezer, are fine. Also, for constipation, put one cube of thawed out Brine Shrimp in the tank. You don't need a heater. Remember, each goldfish needs 10 gallons of water to live happily.


Goldfish are extremely messy so change at least 50% once a week, twice if the filter is cycling.


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## marian1949 (May 22, 2011)

*Floating Oranda.*

Changing 50% water weekly is too much. 25% is sufficient when the water is back to normal. There is such a thing as cleaning too much, causing you to kill off the good bacteria. Also, never clean the filter thoroughly by scrubbing it. Clean the filter media in aquarium water only. You can change 25% twice weekly, though.


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

marian1949 said:


> Changing 50% water weekly is too much. 25% is sufficient when the water is back to normal. There is such a thing as cleaning too much, causing you to kill off the good bacteria. Also, never clean the filter thoroughly by scrubbing it. Clean the filter media in aquarium water only. You can change 25% twice weekly, though.


No it is not. 50% weekly won't make it too clean. I change at least 50% of the water weekly on all of my tanks and the cycle is steady and there are no disruptions. With a fish as messy as goldfish, at least 50% really is recommended. 25%, especially when cycling, is too little. Cycling produces many chemicals that can be toxic to fish, so large water changes are necessary to keep the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate to a minimum.


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## marian1949 (May 22, 2011)

*Floating Oranda.*

I said 25% when the water is good, once or twice a week. Do you notice that equals 50% a week*???*


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

marian1949 said:


> I said 25% when the water is good, once or twice a week. Do you notice that equals 50% a week*???*


I didn't notice that, but the point is that 50% of the water should be changed weekly and a 50% water change is okay, it won't harm the cycle. That is all I am trying to say.


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## marian1949 (May 22, 2011)

Amen!


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## kane chisholme (Mar 17, 2011)

Not trying to be bossy or annoying but putting the tank in direct or too much sun light can make algae grow alot more so just a tip incase it gets bad, you will know why


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