white matter on head of oranda and lionhead?

Question

my oranda and lionhead developed white matters on its head which seems to slowly eat away the soft tissue that it grew on. could this be fungus? pls advice me some treatments and tips to prevent it from happening again. please do it fast before my fish's heads completely disappear : )

Answer 1

exactly what does it look like? The wen on your goldfish's head (if males) are proned to getting a "scab" usually around sexual maturity and it should be left alone.

without actually looking at the your fish, it is difficult to tell. usually, white spots or ick spread throughout the entire body in just a matter of days when a cycle has completed.

As for fungus, In most cases, fungus is a secondary infection. If a fish has an open sore caused from injuries or even a recent disease which may have penetrated the skin, the lack of mucus covering would leave the sore unprotected. During this period of time the wound would be open to a secondary infection from fungus. To prevent fungus avoid overcrowding, remove sharp objects from the tank, use a jar or container to catch your fish( I don't like nets), and try not to frighten your fish. Symptoms: The fish has patches of white or gray fuzzy puffs(resembles cotton) attached to its skin. There may be excessive mucus on the fish's gills or surrounding the wounds. Treatment: If medicated quickly, fungus is easy to cure. There are several fungicide medications available. Most include drugs such as: acriflavine, neutroflavine, copper sulfate. Fungal medications are sometimes applied directly to the patch of fungus present on the fish. This is generally done with a cotton swab.
Salt will do nothing for a fungus infection.

Only you will be able to tell if it is his maturity, a fungus or ich. A picture would be helpful here.
Here is more on ich and how to treat it.

Is it white spot disease or is it Ich? You need to know the difference between the two since they are treated differently.

Cryptocaryoniasis, White Spot Disease or Marine Ich is caused by an infestation of the ciliated protozoan Cryptocaryon irritans. Although Cryptocaryon becomes a parasitic organism at one stage in its life cycle like Oodinium and Brooklynella do, and it progesses less rapidly than these other ich diseases, in a closed aquarium system it can reach overwhelming and disasterous numbers just the same if it is not diagnosed and treated upon recognition.

Unlike Oodinium and Brooklynella that typically attack the gills first, which allows these ich diseases to advance into life-threatening levels quickly as they go unnoticed, Cryptocaryon usually appears at the onset as salt-sized white spots visible on the body and fins of a host fish, and when the organisms become parasitic, it is then that they move inwards to the gills. Because crypto is more easily recognized in its beginning stage, this makes it much easier to treat and cure before it gets out of control.

Aside from the appearance of the white spots, fish will scratch against objects in an attempt to dislodge the parasites, and rapid respiration develops as tomonts, mucus, and tissue debris clogs the gills. Fish become listless, refuse to eat, loss of color occurs in patches or blotches as the trophonts destroy the pigment cells, and secondary bacterial infections invade the lesions caused by the trophonts.

Although copper is very effective on Oodinium, and it works well to eliminate crypto organisms in their free-swimming tomite stage, it is not as effective on the Cryptocaryon trophonts that burrow deeply into the tissues of fish. A combination of freshwater and formalin treatments adminstered by means of dips, baths, and prolonged treatment over a period of time in a QT is recommended

Reinfection will occur no matter how effectively the fish have been treated if Cryptocaryon is not eradicated from the main aquarium, which can be accomplished by keeping the tank devoid of any fish for at least 4 weeks. For fish-only aquariums hyposalinity can be applied, and to speed up the life cycle of the organisms, elevate the tank temperature to 85 degrees for 10 days to 12 days. For treating reef tanks, FishVet No-Ich Marine, Ruby Reef Kick-Ich, and Chem-Marin Stop Parasites are Cryptocaryon specific remedies that are said to be "reef safe". Several days prior to returning fish to the main aquarium, clean all filtering equipment, change any filtering materials, and do a water change.

Remember to remove all filters media and turn off protein skimmers when treating for any types of Ich.

Although many over-the-counter remedies contain the general name Ich or Ick, carefully read the product information to be sure it is designed to specifically target and treat "Cryptocaryon"

Brooklynella hostilis - these protozoa reproduce asexually by means of simple binary fission through conjugation, which is why they are able to multiply so much more rapidly than Cryptocaryon (White Spot), and Oodinium (Velvet Ich), and why it can kill fish within a few days and even hours upon recognition

Most similar symptomatically to Oodinium, this too is a parasite that primarily attacks the gills first. At the onset fish may scrap up against objects, rapid respiration develops, and fish often gasp for air at the surface as the gills become clogged with mucus. Fish become lethargic, refuse to eat, and colors fade, but the most noticeable difference that sets Brooklynella apart from Oodinium is the heavy amount of slime that is produced. As the disease progresses a thick whitish mucus covers the body, usually starting at the head and spreading outward, skin lesions appear, and it is not uncommon for signs of secondary bacterial infections to arise.

Suggestions range from copper, malachite green and other remedies, with some recommended being used in conjunction with formaldehyde. However the general consensus is these types of medications are either largely ineffective or do not work at all, and that the best and most effective treatment for Brooklynella is formaldehyde alone. Typically a standard 37% formalin solution (shop & compare prices) is mixed with either fresh or saltwater in a separate treatment container, initially all fish are given a quick dip or a prolonged bath, followed by continued treatment and care in a QT. Of course the longer fish are exposed to the formalin treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this "disease". Whether to administer a dip or a bath to start with is something you will have to determine yourself, but there's a very simple way to do this.

Since these are Free swimming parasites which are in watersources, come attached to our fish etc. The only way to ensure NO ICH is to get a UV Sterilizer and addit to the tank. The UV Sterilizer kills the free swimming forms of various ich and other parasites.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

Others are certainly right that it's impossible to diagnose the problem without a photo or at least considerably more information. However, ulceration or consumption of tissue is a strong indicator of a bacterial problem. Some few parasites and virii will cause a visible ulceration but given that you also mention white coloration, I would suggest a bacterial infection. The various parasites that cause this appearance are quite rare and the virii have no treatment.

The infection could be from an internal or external source. You don't mention any boils or raised areas which would indicate an internal infection erupting to the surface. So it's more likely an external or skin level infection.

The two most common bacterial infections seen on the skin of a fish is Columnaris and Cytophaga or Myxobacteria, the causes of fin rot. As you don't mention any fin damage and fin rot would certainly also appear on the fins, I'll suggest that's most likely not the cause.

That leaves Columnaris as the most likely cause, although a whole host of other bacteria exist that could cause the problem you are seeing. Columnaris most often has a fuzzy appearance much like fungus after it has developed for a few days. Early in the infection it does not have this appearance. Columnaris can also be a systemic infection and appear with no fungus like appearance. The thing to usually look for in columnaris is that it grows in a perfectly round spot. As we are dealing with a goldfish wen here, that would be very hard to tell as the wen folds so much it would mask this round appearance.

I would suggest you treat with a systemic antibiotic. Currently one of the very best on the market is Furanace. It is absorbed better than several of the other common antibiotic treatments. Columnaris responds quite well to Furanace at the surface level and Furanace is the only antibiotic that I am aware of that has been proven to treat it systemically. Oxytetracycline is also effective against columnaris at the surface level.

Best of luck with it

MM

Answer 3

A salt bath can kill off the fungus, if it is that, and goldfish actually prefer a little salt in their water. Use aquarium salt if you can, otherwise you could use a pure salt that has no iodine or addatives. Use about 1tbsp per gallon, but slowly add it in over the course of a day or two so as not to stress the fish. Have the water like this for 10 days or untill 3 days after all visible signs of fungus have disappeared, then do a 40-50% water change.

If your fish turns out not to have a fungus this treatment is considered a cure-all and should work on whatever ailes your fish so long as its an infection or parasite and not something like a tumor.

Bad water quality can stress the fish and make them more suseptible to becoming ill. Keeping up with water changes and maintaining the quality of the water will help keep them from coming down with anyting.

Answer 4

From the description, this could be a number of ailments with too broad of a range of causes (fungus, bacteria, virus, or parasite) to diagnose accurately without being able to see the fish and know more about symptoms or conditions in which it's kept.

Some suggestions:
Is the white area "fuzzy"? This could be a "body fungus" (Saprolegnia), Columnaris (a bacteria), or Epistylis (a parasite). See info on treatments in references 1, 2, and 3 below

If not fuzzy, see fish pox, furunculosis, lymphocystis, myxosporidiosis, and trichodina in 2 and 3 below.

Reference 4 only has some of the more common ailments, but shows photos of some of the conditions mentioned by other answerers. This might be useful in confirming or eliminating some of the possibilities given.

If any that I've listed seem a possibility, you can google more info on that topic. With any of these conditions, it's important to keep the water quality as high as possible - water changes remove excess nutrients that can stress your fish, but also remove any pathogens/parasites from the water. Until you are able to come to a diagnosis, continue regular water changes to help your fish.

Answer 5

DanielleZ is correct. The Wen can and does get a scab like cap on it when the fish comes into sexual maturity.

It could also be a fungus or ich. Since we cannot see the fish you will have to decide what it is.

Answer 6

As the Oranda grows, there are cases when the redness on the head of the fish disappears and it becomes a complete silver colored fish.

Answer 7

ick