My Goldfish's Bum

[rgrling]

I've had a large calico ryukin in quarantine for over a week now because of a red swollen bump on its anus. Water parameters are fine and I've added salt, paraguard, kanaplex, and anti-bacterial fish food without improvement. Could anyone take a look at the pictures and tell me what I'm dealing with here? (be warned the closeups are graphic)

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

From what I've read, the possibilities are:

1. Camallanus worms (although there are no worms sticking out at the moment)
2. Internal bacterial infection
3. Constipation (to the point that the food is rotting inside)
4. Prolapse (where the intestine is pushed out of the anus)

For what it's worth, the fish seems pretty content; dorsal fin is erect, swims around actively, decent appetite. there is very little poop coming out of him, and only white stringy stuff when it does appear.

can anyone please help with a diagnosis?

[BelieveInBlue]

White and stringy despite eating well = almost always a sign of parasites. Camallanus would be my 1st choice. medicate some food with an antiparasitic and feed it to him and see what happens; camallanus is tricky tho, so you'll need to do a bit of research to find the right type of med 4 it. I've never had 2 deal with it (*sigh of relief, knock on wood...), so I can't tell you which med to use, but there are tons of sites on google tht'll tell u

Also, if it is constipation, i think starving him for a day or two then feeding mashed peas will clear the blockage.

[rgrling]

I thought white stringy poop was indicative of internal bacteria infection?

I picked up some levamisole from Pat and dosed it last night. No changes in the redness or size of the bump as of this morning, will monitor after work.

The fish is a picky eater; it refused to eat my homemade gel-based food containing Hikari BiFuran medication but gobbles up Jungle Anti-Bacterial Food. Here are the meds I have in my arsenal right now:

- Seachem Kanaplex
- Seachem Paraguard
- HIkari BiFuran
- Jungle Anti-Bacterial Food
- Levamisole

The tank currently contains salt, Kanaplex, and Levamisole. Should I soak the Jungle food in Levamisole before feeding? And do I need to look into other anti-parasitic meds or food (i.e. PraziPro?)

[Elle]

Looks like when our guppies had callamanus. How long have you been dosing with Levamisole? You might try Prazi in case it's something like callamanus but not...

[rgrling]

I added the levamisole last night so I will go home and check on the status after work today.

Probably gonna stock up on prazi for prophylactic treatment as I will be getting more new goldfish from April anyways.

[Elle]

yup, I'm going to be setting up the QT tank for my new guys pretty shortly as well! What did you end up getting? I've got a blue oranda and a pom pom coming...

[bingerz]

looks a little bit like what my acei had. =/ unfortunately...he passed. hope your big guy pulls thru!

[gklaw]

Roger:

Mykiss should be a good resource close to you. He should have the med as well. April is pretty good with her goldfish as well.

[rgrling]

@ Elle: the photos of blue oranda and pom poms looked great! I have 6 fish coming in via April, so it's really important that the quarantine procedure goes well. Cannot afford to lose any fish to these worms or other pathogens.

@ gklaw: thanks for the sump, it's hooked up and running well on my tank

thanks all, I got my levamisole from Pat and he has been very helpful. I'm praying that the levimisole will be enough to take care of this once and for all, but am also researching other possible medications should things escalate.

can anyone comment on soaking food in the levamisole solution? Is there any chance of over-dosing this way?

[gklaw]

@ gklaw: thanks for the sump, it's hooked up and running well on my tank

Sure beat the DIY for sure, Now I only have a 45g tank when I need one

Hope your goldfish get well soon.