Goldfish missing scales.

[mosdurf]

I recently put 4 fancies in a fully-cycled 55g tank. 3 ranchus - 2 females, 1 male. 1 telescope. They've been in there 1 day and one of them has already laid eggs. The male has been chasing the females relentlessly and one of the females appears to be missing scales on one side. There is a patch about a 1/4 missing and I can see pink flesh where the scales were. I also found some of her scales in the substrate. Is this a "normal" occurrence during breeding and will the male's chasing stop? She seems to be doing fine other than the missing scales - swims around, forages, and is pretty active. Should I be worried? Should I treat the tank with salt to prevent infection where the scales were lost?

 

[jlk]

No salt necessary. Scales will regrow in time, however, you need to make a concerted effort to keep the water pristine to aid in healing. Eggs and milt can have profound affects on water quality. I would recommend big wcs daily right now and continue on a hefty wc schedule while she recovers and heals.

Unfortunately, males can be quite aggressive in their breeding attempts resulting in stress and injury (or worse) to a female. Spawning is a huge energy drain on the female in particular and she will need time to recover in addition to a high quality diet. There honestly is not a way to prevent this behavior (or injury) aside from separating the males from the females into their own tanks.

 

[mosdurf]

Thanks. I'll do ~50% WCs for the next couple weeks and then see how she does. I have an AC110 and an Eheim 2217, so the filtration should be able to keep up with the waste under normal circumstances, but I don't want to take any chances until I see her healing.

 

[jlk]

She will be fine! Don't worry too much and do not panic if it appears like the scales are not growing back (they are!). Just make sure she gets a break from the boys.