Oranda floating after feeding

[JustinFoo]

Hi all, I've posted this question when I was doing the member introduction. I thought the problem had passed 2 days after that, but now it's back again.

My little calico oranda seems to have this problem where he floats for a good 8 hours after feeding. He seems to be okay the next morning and then when I feed him again, the whole vicious cycle starts again. He tries to get to the middle of the tank, and then floats up (arse first) and stays the correct-way-up at the top of the tank.

Here's some info on the tank.
140litres with a gold fantail (6yrs old), a calico oranda (recent) and red cap fantail (recent). I also have 2 white clouds and a black widow in there from my old tank and they are really little.

Water parameters are ph 7.4, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate < 5ppm.

Normal feeding Monday - Friday, fasting on Saturday and peas on Sunday.

I've tried giving the fish the NLS sinking pallets today and still no difference. Just wondering what else I can do to help the little fella? Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Fishkeeper26]

Could it be swim bladder disease?

[Mr. Limpet]

Including the 2 links I sent you on the other thread, here's one that has some additional info. Goldfish: Swim Bladder Problems

How are you feeding the peas and what kind (fresh, frozen, etc.)?

[JustinFoo]

Originally Posted by Mr. Limpet

Including the 2 links I sent you on the other thread, here's one that has some additional info. Goldfish: Swim Bladder Problems

How are you feeding the peas and what kind (fresh, frozen, etc.)?

Frozen peas, deshelled... Thanks for the links!

[JustinFoo]

Frozen peas which I de-shell and break up the insides for the fish.

[Mr. Limpet]

Originally Posted by JustinFoo

Frozen peas which I de-shell and break up the insides for the fish.

Sounds right for the peas. If I remember right, it's been having this issue from the start, right? In the link I posted there's a comment on the swim bladder being defective at birth and just gets worse as it grows. It may just be something that's not going to resolve itself. AFAIK, there's no real cure for SBD and peas are the #1 recommendation to stop (cure) it.

[Hubert90]

Originally Posted by JustinFoo

Hi all, I've posted this question when I was doing the member introduction. I thought the problem had passed 2 days after that, but now it's back again.

My little calico oranda seems to have this problem where he floats for a good 8 hours after feeding. He seems to be okay the next morning and then when I feed him again, the whole vicious cycle starts again. He tries to get to the middle of the tank, and then floats up (arse first) and stays the correct-way-up at the top of the tank.

Here's some info on the tank.
140litres with a gold fantail (6yrs old), a calico oranda (recent) and red cap fantail (recent). I also have 2 white clouds and a black widow in there from my old tank and they are really little.

Water parameters are ph 7.4, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate < 5ppm.

Normal feeding Monday - Friday, fasting on Saturday and peas on Sunday.

I've tried giving the fish the NLS sinking pallets today and still no difference. Just wondering what else I can do to help the little fella? Any advice would be much appreciated.

I have an oranda and I know Ur problem. What kinda pellets are u feeding it? Floating or sinking? And are u pre-soaking ur pellets for 10-15mins? Let me know

[JustinFoo]

I tried soaking for longer today and that seemed to help. Thanks!

[JustinFoo]

Oh and I am currently feeding them the NLS Thera A sinking pellets. Is your Oranda still having that problem? Am just wondering if it is going to be a constant problem or if he will outgrow it... If there is such a thing...

[Hubert90]

Originally Posted by JustinFoo

Oh and I am currently feeding them the NLS Thera A sinking pellets. Is your Oranda still having that problem? Am just wondering if it is going to be a constant problem or if he will outgrow it... If there is such a thing...

My oranda still gasp for air but he doesn't get swim bladder disorder. I'm still trying to figure out y he gasp for air everytime I feed him hikari lionhead that sinks and it's presoaked. No way in over feeding either. So I'm gonna change over to nls goldfish and see how it goes.

[JustinFoo]

Originally Posted by Hubert90

My oranda still gasp for air but he doesn't get swim bladder disorder. I'm still trying to figure out y he gasp for air everytime I feed him hikari lionhead that sinks and it's presoaked. No way in over feeding either. So I'm gonna change over to nls goldfish and see how it goes.

Mine isn't gasping though... His mouth is definitely always under the surface of the water. It's just that he's floating. No idea what else to do now...

[jsoong]

This sounds like not so much swim-bladder but gut problem. For whatever reason, the food is giving the fish gas, so he is floating after eating because of a belly full of gas.

Fancy goldfish is rather prone to this. Certainly pre-soaking the food is a good start. You can also try putting the food under water so the fish is forced to eat from the bottom (prevents fish gulping air with the food.)

Some fish are rather more sensitive than others, and sometimes switching brands may help. Some fish can only tolerate whole food (ie real veggies & meat) and will get into trouble with any dry pellets. <I have links to gel food recipies if you want to try cooking for your fish.>

Finally, what is the temp in the tank? Increasing temp to mid 70's might help with digestion & eliminate the gas.

[Hubert90]

Originally Posted by jsoong

This sounds like not so much swim-bladder but gut problem. For whatever reason, the food is giving the fish gas, so he is floating after eating because of a belly full of gas.

Fancy goldfish is rather prone to this. Certainly pre-soaking the food is a good start. You can also try putting the food under water so the fish is forced to eat from the bottom (prevents fish gulping air with the food.)

Some fish are rather more sensitive than others, and sometimes switching brands may help. Some fish can only tolerate whole food (ie real veggies & meat) and will get into trouble with any dry pellets. <I have links to gel food recipies if you want to try cooking for your fish.>

Finally, what is the temp in the tank? Increasing temp to mid 70's might help with digestion & eliminate the gas.

I feed mine hikari sinking pellets and I oy fee about 10 pellets for 2 goldfish one large one small (oranda being the small) I Per soak and everything. Like u said mine is fine with bloodworms and frozen food made for goldfish just not hikari. So I may try nls. Mine is set at 21 which is 70F

[Hubert90]

Originally Posted by JustinFoo

Mine isn't gasping though... His mouth is definitely always under the surface of the water. It's just that he's floating. No idea what else to do now...

U should try changing over to a sinking pellets. I believe nls has goldfish food. That sinks.

[JustinFoo]

Originally Posted by Hubert90

U should try changing over to a sinking pellets. I believe nls has goldfish food. That sinks.

I fed them the NLS Thera A sinking pellets today. I made sure that the Oranda wasn't floating before I fed them. I also soaked the pellets for a good 20 minutes before putting them in the tank. Seemed to work for the first hour or so, then BANG! Oranda is floating like a balloon again

[JustinFoo]

Originally Posted by jsoong

This sounds like not so much swim-bladder but gut problem. For whatever reason, the food is giving the fish gas, so he is floating after eating because of a belly full of gas.

Fancy goldfish is rather prone to this. Certainly pre-soaking the food is a good start. You can also try putting the food under water so the fish is forced to eat from the bottom (prevents fish gulping air with the food.)

Some fish are rather more sensitive than others, and sometimes switching brands may help. Some fish can only tolerate whole food (ie real veggies & meat) and will get into trouble with any dry pellets. <I have links to gel food recipies if you want to try cooking for your fish.>

Finally, what is the temp in the tank? Increasing temp to mid 70's might help with digestion & eliminate the gas.

I currently don't have any heater/thermometer in the tank. I live in Melbourne and it definitely doesn't get too cold here. My previous goldfish was fine without it, do you still recommend that I get a heater?

[Mr. Limpet]

I keep my Moors at 73-74 degrees and they're pretty happy with it at that temp.

[Hubert90]

Originally Posted by JustinFoo

I currently don't have any heater/thermometer in the tank. I live in Melbourne and it definitely doesn't get too cold here. My previous goldfish was fine without it, do you still recommend that I get a heater?

O an Australian. What temp is ur tank. Because below 18 celsius oranda don't do as well. So it's recommended to get a therm and heater to keep temp above 20 at the very least

[Hubert90]

Originally Posted by Mr. Limpet

I keep my Moors at 73-74 degrees and they're pretty happy with it at that temp.

Alright I will try increasing my temp. Thanks

[JustinFoo]

Originally Posted by Hubert90

O an Australian. What temp is ur tank. Because below 18 celsius oranda don't do as well. So it's recommended to get a therm and heater to keep temp above 20 at the very least

A Malaysian living in Melbourne I'll get a heater and thermometer this weekend then. I'm assuming when JSoong said get the temperature to mid-70s, he's meaning 70 degree Fahrenheit I reckon 70 degree celcius will cook my fishes :P. So around 23 degrees celcius is good for my goldies?

Oh and the Oranda is fine again this morning. I find that it's now a bit of a juggling act, trying to figure out how much food to feed. The oranda is sort of like second in the pecking order in my tank. The red cap is the fastest swimmer so gets to eat more, the oranda second, the fantail is big but eats really slowly. Hope I find a happy medium before I go off on holiday next Friday. Will need to let my housemate know how much to feed them. Don't want to come back to a tank full of dead fish :S