Is my fish sick?

[Vixrose]

Hi! I’m brand new to this forum and new to pond keeping in general. I reluctantly inherited a pond with 4 goldfish a few months ago from the previous owner of my house. The pond was in bad condition and I did the best I could to set up filtration and make it habitable. Everything has been going smoothly for 2 months and the fish have grown more confident. However, I came down to feed them when I noticed the most active fish laying on the top of the pond seemingly tangled in the plants. I thought it was dead but it was moving slightly- I managed to free it but all it does is float on the bottom of the pond. All of the other 3 fish are healthy and active with no problems. I noticed that one side of the fish is slightly bloated. Normally the fish are pretty skittish so the fact that I can catch it with a net without really moving is really worrying. I’ve tested the water and everything seems fine so I think the problem is this specific fish. Is there anything I can do?
(I’ll attach photos but it’s really hard to get a good photo of the swelling- it’s on the left side of the fish)

 

[Vixrose]

If I need to add any additional information please let me know.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome! Where do you live?

If you would, please add the size of the pond, type of filtration you have, have you added any chemicals to the pond, have you done any water changes and / or “cleaned” the pond, (if you added water, did you use a dechlorinator), (there’s more, but just came in from pulling weeds and my brain is fried…..)……. Are these fish the only ones, or have you added any recently?

You didn’t mention water testing. If you haven’t done so already, would recommend you get a water test kit (liquid rather than strips), and test for ammonia, pH, nitrites, nitrates, KH, and GH (those last 2 will come as a separate test kit). Your water might test fine, but it’s a good idea to get your baseline parameters. When reporting test results, please use the number of the result rather than “fine,“ or “OK.” It’s very helpful for us to know the actual numbers.

Not an expert on fish health, so I really don’t want to speculate. Most of what we see are situations where the bulge is symmetrical (same on both sides when looking down on the fish), which is usually either egg binding or dropsy. Your fish seems to have a bulge only on one side…..which might mean a tumor. It’s good that your other fish aren’t exhibiting any symptoms.

 

[Vixrose]

Hello and welcome! Where do you live?

If you would, please add the size of the pond, type of filtration you have, have you added any chemicals to the pond, have you done any water changes and / or “cleaned” the pond, (if you added water, did you use a dechlorinator), (there’s more, but just came in from pulling weeds and my brain is fried…..)……. Are these fish the only ones, or have you added any recently?

You didn’t mention water testing. If you haven’t done so already, would recommend you get a water test kit (liquid rather than strips), and test for ammonia, pH, nitrites, nitrates, KH, and GH (those last 2 will come as a separate test kit). Your water might test fine, but it’s a good idea to get your baseline parameters. When reporting test results, please use the number of the result rather than “fine,“ or “OK.” It’s very helpful for us to know the actual numbers.

Not an expert on fish health, so I really don’t want to speculate. Most of what we see are situations where the bulge is symmetrical (same on both sides when looking down on the fish), which is usually either egg binding or dropsy. Your fish seems to have a bulge only on one side…..which might mean a tumor. It’s good that your other fish aren’t exhibiting any symptoms.

Hello, thanks for replying! I live in the south west of England, if that’s any help? I’ve been using the testing strips and I’m aware that the liquid is better so I will order the kits. I don’t know the exact size but it’s certainly around 50 gallons- so not particularly big. I haven’t added any chemicals or added any water very recently. I do water changes twice a month and did add a small amount of water about a week ago (using a chlorine remover) but I’ve been away since. The fish in the pond are the only ones (4) and I don’t think they’ve been in there together more than a few months before I arrived but I could be wrong. The fish is moving around a bit but now seems to be hanging around the surface which I’ve never observed it to do before. It also has trouble swimming downwards and seems to lean on its side as it swims. I am leaning more to the idea that it’s a tumour rather than dropsy but I’ll be closely observing it and my other fish. Also on the filter, it’s an AllPondsSollutions (all in one kind of thing) CUP-305 meant for up to 2000L (if that’s any good? I bought it as quick as I could because the pond was in a pretty bad state). It seems to have been doing a good job for 2 months. Hopefully it’s something that can be cured or something the fish can live with, I’ll feel awful if it dies. Thanks again for responding!

 

[j.w]

and welcome @Vixrose

 

[Vixrose]

Hi! I’m brand new to this forum and new to pond keeping in general. I reluctantly inherited a pond with 4 goldfish a few months ago from the previous owner of my house. The pond was in bad condition and I did the best I could to set up filtration and make it habitable. Everything has been going smoothly for 2 months and the fish have grown more confident. However, I came down to feed them when I noticed the most active fish laying on the top of the pond seemingly tangled in the plants. I thought it was dead but it was moving slightly- I managed to free it but all it does is float on the bottom of the pond. All of the other 3 fish are healthy and active with no problems. I noticed that one side of the fish is slightly bloated. Normally the fish are pretty skittish so the fact that I can catch it with a net without really moving is really worrying. I’ve tested the water and everything seems fine so I think the problem is this specific fish. Is there anything I can do?
(I’ll attach photos but it’s really hard to get a good photo of the swelling- it’s on the left side of the fish)

Just an update: unfortunately this fish must of died some time last night as I found it dead this morning. I’ve checked it over and there is no obvious sign of illness apart from that small swelling on its side. So rest in peace little guy