# oranda question



## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

someone asked me to take their oranda because their kid is not looking after it. She said it had a 5 gallon tank. I went and picked it up. This is what she told me. 
She never uses water conditioner because it is allergic to it.
It hasn't been cleaned in over a month. 
it used to be orange but it got sick, lost all its scales and finnage and turned pale pink when everything grew back in.

The tank was totally bare except for blue gravel.

The tank turns out to be about 3 gallons. 
i did a 50 % water change this morning using water conditioner.I gave him some live plant in his tank, bought him some quality goldie food instead of walmart food and cleaned the gravel good. 
He has a few mucousy bits coming off him so i have added some meleuca to the water. I gave him some spirulina which he gobbled down.
he seems ok, picking around the plants and into the gravel.Currently he is swimming thru the plants as if he is playing.

I know he needs a bigger container, but I am afraid that if i get him one he will grow too big. She says if her daughter promises to look after him she wants him back. i guess I can't very well tell her she can't have him.
If she finally agrees i can keep him I plan on getting a rubbermaid tote for him. I really don't have room for him anywhere. Currently he is on my orchid stand.
I already have too many tanks to look after and the living room is crowded with the 2 tanks in there.
I was wondering about keeping him in the basement or front bedroom in the tote with another goldie. The temperatures there will be about 50 degrees in the winter. Is that too cold?
Any thoughts? Any info i need to know about orandas BESIDES the too small of a tank issue. Apparently he has been in here for about 3 years.
he seems sociable.
What about the story she tells of his color loss?
mousey


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## garfieldnfish (Jan 18, 2005)

Sounds like an abused oranda and since she gave him to you, I think you can do with it as you choose. Unless this is a valued friend, I would refuse to give him back. I have never heard of a fish being allergic to conditioner but who knows. You used it and he seems fine. 
50 is a little too cold for fancy goldfish.
If he lost all of his scales and finnage I seriously doubt he would still be here today. And if he lost all of his fins they would not have grown back. Goldfish do change colors. My oranda was pure white with a red cap when I bought him, now he has some gold on his body and in his fins. Like most fish a good environment will bring out more intense colors, a bad one can make them loose their colors. My guess is the poor conditions made him loose his color and not a disease. It's a tough little fish you have there. Spoil him a little, he deserves it.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

Thanks, we are going to get him a bigger container. I cant even get the top off this plastic tank as it is so corroded on with water scale. When he starts to grow he will not fit thru the little slot at the top.
Already ,just in 2 days he has a bit of orange color in his tail. He is a real sweety., he has not yet savaged the plants i gave him but did enjoy a piece of algae tablet.
He has 2 small java ferns in with him a a little piece of hornwort.
Mousey


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## garfieldnfish (Jan 18, 2005)

One goldfish saved.


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## Niki2105 (Apr 12, 2005)

Im glad that the lucky fish found you and that you are willing to take care of him properly and get him a bigger tank and whatnot. Since you were given the fish and will be giving him a better home I would refuse to give him back if they decided they wanted him again, apparently they didnt take very good care of him the first time and i would bet he would end up dieing the second time around. Im sure the the fish is not allergic to water conditioner i have never heard of anything so rediculas. Like garfieldnfish said goldfish do change color, i have one that use to be a pretty orangy pink and it took a big growth spirt and is now all white. If the fish had lost all its scales and fins im sure it would have died even though both can grow back but if the fish was to lose all its fins at the same time im pretty sure it wouldnt be able to swim so it would have died. If i were you i would buy him a 10 gallon tank or a rubbermaid tub that would be that size or bigger for him and im sure that 50 degree water in the winter would be no problem. he might slow down some and you would have to feed him less but as long as the water wasnt so cold ice formed im sure it would be fine. Or if you were worried about it being too cold you could add a heater to the tank to keep it a warmer temp durring the winter, thats what i did.


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## garfieldnfish (Jan 18, 2005)

Fancy goldfish can't tolerate temps that low from what I have read. Comets and commons would be fine but the fancys have lost their hardiness a bit.
The java fern will be ok but if he developes a taste for grazing, the hornwort will take a beating. My goldfish love duckweed. I grow it in 3 different tanks to feed to them and my minnows and even so this stuff grows like crazy they have no problem keeping up with the supply. Cabomba is also a favorite grazing plants for goldfish. I always have a little salad bar in my 2 goldfish tanks.


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## Niki2105 (Apr 12, 2005)

My goldfish were fine when there tank went down to 55 degrees.. and i did say that if she was worried about the temp she could get a heater. I have heard about people keeping them in there ponds over the winter. Mousey if you have anyother questions or concerns try www.goldfishparadise.com they are very knowledgeable about goldfish and can help you alot.


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## x-Golden-Lucy-x (Jan 14, 2006)

If hes been in that 3 gallon tank for that long his growth will probably be stunted so he wont get big, he might manage a bit of growth if he is moved to a larger tank but as long as he is in there he isnt going to grow.


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## BlueMaxx (Jan 10, 2006)

My goldfish are in a barrel pond out side50 degrees if not cooler they are doing just fine.
Goldfish are fancy "carp" Nothing wrong with carp, just wouldn't want to eat one...but 50 is fine have a airiator for the little feller, I love orangas!! Ihad one for almost 3 years then he died. other then that glad he is home with you


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## x-Golden-Lucy-x (Jan 14, 2006)

Bluemaxx, you realise you are wey overstocked with 5 goldfish in a 20 gallon barrel?


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

He is very happy today. The tank went thru a mini cycle on the week end and now is 0,0 for toxins. he has a piece of mopani and two java ferns, and a small bit of hornwort. he is very busy munching down greens. has a slight bit of color coming onto his body in the tail area. 
Could he have been starved for light? he was kept in a relatively dark area and never had a light on.
Oh I took the tank apart and found it is actually 5 gal.I couldn't get the top off as I found it had been siliconed on
mousey


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## BlueMaxx (Jan 10, 2006)

they are only about 2 in each they have been in there for about a year. Doing fine.


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