Weird symptoms on a common goldfish...

[Phrozian]

Hi all,

Recently Oxy (Common goldfish) passed away from a strange symptom. I was unfortunately away on a business trip when it happened...
Below is a recount of the major symptoms and treatments I've observed and administered. I was wondering if anyone else had similar experiences...

Conditions: Oxy was accompanied by a fancy goldfish in a 24L tank, both of which are about 1.5 inch in length. Water parameters are 0 ppm for ammonia and nitrites, with a constant 10-15 ppm for nitrates.

Since the very beginning, I noticed that Oxy had difficulty eating, not that it wasn't hunting down the food, it was because she couldn't open her mouth wide enough to eat the food at all. I noticed there was a gelatinous growth protruding from around her mouth, and was slowly 'sealing' it off. It wasn't a big issue since I only had to crush the food up and she was still able to eat. This continued on for 4 months with no change, and until 2 months ago, that gelatinous growth expanded and completely sealed off her mouth.

She basically couldn't breathe and was growing lethargic by the minute, and so I instantly sedated her, sterilized some clinical tools and worked on removing the gelatinous growth from her mouth. The procedure was a success, and she returned to normal. Within that day, she was more active than before and was able to make use of the full function of mouth. All seemed good.

However, within two weeks, the growth returned. This time, more aggressive and rapid. I had to perform a second procedure to free her mouth again. It was also a success and she was fine for another week or so. Then I had to leave for a business trip. The gelatinous growth was nowhere to be seen, so I thought it would be safe to leave for a week, and simply get my family to help me feed her etc...

When I returned, I saw what happened... The gelatinous growth returned, and sealed off her mouth completely. I believe she died from suffocation overnight during the time I was away...

Basically, this gelatinous growth went from taking 4 months... to 2 weeks... to less than 1 week to completely seal off oxy's mouth...

The other goldfish (fancy) in the same tank shows no sign of the same symptoms and is healthy and happy...

Has anyone else experienced this before? Was there something I should've done?

 

[dkpate]

Kudos to you first, for being able to sedate her and take it off instead of euthanizing her.
Maybe it was a tumor that got more agressive? JSoong will probably be on here sometime, and he knows alot about goldfish.
Sorry for your loss.

 

[Phrozian]

Thanks dkpate
I had to thank forums like this one for that... I was able to research on a lot about goldfishes before I took the leap and sedated her.
I still wondered whether I did something wrong, or something I could've done more to save her

 

[dkpate]

Well, to me it sounds like you did everything you could think of. you performed SURGERY! I don't know if I could do that....I couldn't even take my fish out of the tank that passed recently lol.
IMO it sounds like it was growing too fast for it to be a fungus or something like that, which makes me think it was a tumor.

 

[Phrozian]

I agree that it could be a tumour... Since the other goldfish was completely unaffected and they usually stick together like honey to the bee...

 

[dkpate]

Well, JSoong will be on here sometime, and he REALLY knows what he is talking about, unlike me LOL.
Just the fact that it grew so dang fast though! Sounds like a tumor. But hopefully he will be able to confirm that it is not something that can spread to your other fish.

 

[jsoong]

OK, I am here ... but I really don't know that much more than you, dkpate!

Phrozian - Kudos to you for all that you've done for the fish. You've gone beyond most hobbyists in skill & dedication.

I have never seen or read about anything like this, so I really don't have a lot to add. That is certainly an aggressive tumor to be growing that fast. Chances are it is a malignant tumor of some sort, but there really is no way of making a diagnosis without microscopic histology examination. <And you could not have done anything more ... a diagnosis is mostly academic .... there is no established treatment for goldfish tumors.>

I would *guess* that this is non-infectious. Most of the infectious things that form lumps (like warts, virus, parasites, etc) don't grow that fast, and fast killing organisms (bacteria, etc) don't form lumps. I would just keep an eye on your other fish & chance are he will be just fine.

 

[dkpate]

JSoong, you do know more than me! You have had goldfish, which I never have!

 

[Phrozian]

Thanks a lot Jsoong and dkpate
It's both saddening and comforting that there was nothing more I could do for my poor Oxy...
I'll keep an eye on the rest of them and see how it goes...
The only thing I was hoping was that I didn't cause the tumour/growth... Considering I used tri-sulpha tablets to fix up a fungal infection in the tank before... I read that those tablets are suspected carcinogens...

 

[dkpate]

Really? Wow, I didn't know that! I guess I will be avoiding the tri-sulpha tablets! Thanks for that bit of info.
I am still sad about your Oxy, since you did everything you could to try and save her, but in the long run, I think it's easier on her this way, and possibly you too. You did good though!

 

[Phrozian]

My apologies, the tri-sulpha tablets were conclusively carcinogenic, since not enough tests were done... However, most fungal treatments are suspected carcinogens, apparently... such as nitrofurazone

 

[jsoong]

I am not aware of conclusive proof of carcinogenicity of triple sulfa ....

Although anything in excess can be proven to be carcinogenic (eg - some of the antibiotics like nitrofurans, metronidazole, etc). Studies were done in mice using large doses. These drugs (and all the sulfonamides) had been used in humans for decades without any proven carcinogenicity. <Same can be said for things like aspartamine - the artificial sweetener. In industrial doses, it is carcinogenic, but you would have to drink a few hundred gallons of pop each day for the rest of your life to get any increase in cancers ....>

So unless there is a special susceptibility in fish to sulfas that I don't know of. I doubt that a single treatment with triple sulfa is the cause of your fish's problem.

 

[Phrozian]

Hmmm... I see...
I wonder what was the cause of my fish's problems...?
I guess I will never find out...
I'm going to look into getting a 2nd hand optical microscope... I sincerely want to be prepared incase something happens again...
The key to a treatment is its diagnosis!

 

[dkpate]

You could be the local fish vet! WOOT!

Aspartame is apparently not good if you are bi-polar either lol.