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dmsitsme

Bloated / Impacted Comet Goldfish

dmsitsme
14 years ago

I have a goldfish female that is getting so large, it's really starting to worry me. She is about 5 years old, I know her egg laying habits, etc. She is one of my largest fish at the moment, habitat is 1800 gallon pond, I've tested the water, all is great. Changed foods three times.

All summer her belly has continued to grow, I assumed filling with eggs, however, in the last two weeks, she has gotten EXTREMELY large. I've searched the internet, she doesn't have dropsy, she eats like a hog and is swimming happily with all the other fish - no difference in mobility or actions. I did net her out of the pond today and gently pressed her abdomin from front to back, only yellowish liquid came out every now and then. She looks like she's going to explode! What could this be? I'm thinking impacted eggs, but I don't know what I should do about it. A vet is not an option for me and from what I've read, eventually, impacted females re-absorb their eggs. I don't know how much bigger she could possibly get. Any ideas?

Comments (5)

  • goodkarma_
    14 years ago

    Have you tried checking out the Koivet forums? That site is very helpful. Hopefully someone will come to your aid soon. Best of luck.

    Lisa

    Here is a link that might be useful: Forum

  • horton
    14 years ago

    dmsitsme, I have posted a link below to a Google site where there is lotys of information on swollen up /egg impacted goldfish.
    You should read most of the articles on the first page.

    I have fed frozen peas, with the skins removed, to bloated fish and it has helped. Isolate the fish and slowly bring the water temperature up to about 70°F by adding small amounts of warm water at a time. This has relieved Swim Bladder symptoms.
    One of the articles mentions the use of Epsom Salts.
    Watch the dosage, it is a quarter teaspoonful to five gallons of warmed up water, again at about 70°F.
    Allow the fish to swim in the treated water for two or three days. The fish can be fed a few de-frosted [skins removed] peas whilst in the Epsom Salt bath

    If it is truly egg impaction, there is not much you can do.
    Surgery is advised.
    "Horton"

    Here is a link that might be useful: Egg bound /swollen fish

  • horton
    14 years ago

    I meant to mention that, I had a goldfish that was big and round, it looked like a football.
    I tried the peas and Epsom salts treatment on it, but it never changed a thing.
    The"Fat Boy," as we call him, ate everything he came across and swam around happily with the other fish for about ten years before he [could have been a she?] died during one winter.
    Some fish are just meant to be fat.
    "Horton"

  • dmsitsme
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Follow up - Jessica my pond comet died today. She kept getting bigger and bigger, today she was floating upside down, etc. I did a 'fish autopsy' and found that she had very large tumors on her liver! Basically, it didn't even look like a liver, both lobes were like massive wads of bloody tinged jelly - it was very gross. The masses were so big, that one lobe filled my hand. Her egg sak was full and perfectly sized, her colon was not impacted and her swim bladder was normal. The cause of her demise was clearly the tumors. I'm bummed and couldn't eat dinner after that! I'm glad I did it though, a cause like that wasn't documented anywhere. Thanks for the posts. I did go to the websites mentioned before I came on here to no avail. I also knew that she wasn't just fat, bloating like that in three months isn't fat - it's a serious problem. Take care.

  • horton
    14 years ago

    Sorry you lost the fish but I don't suppose there was much you could have done to save it. By the sound of things the tumor was pretty far advanced.
    Thank you for doing the update and letting everyone know what you found out by doing the autopsy. That was a task many people would not have ventured into.

    Questions about swollen/bloated fish come up pretty often on this forum and it is a difficult call to make, as to what the root cause may be. Usually people can only comment and make suggestions from what they have learned from their experiences with their own fish.
    Koi-Vet used to have more information on this subject and possible causes, but the site has really changed quite a bit from what it used to be. There does not seem to be the free information available nowadays as there once was.
    "Horton"

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