Constipated Goldfish

[joe]

Hi. This forum rescued me when my common goldfish “Dave” of 7 years took a turn a few years ago and recommended the medicated wonder shell for some infection on the top of his fin. Anyway, many years later I find myself in a new situation. We recently switched food from Hikari Goldfish to the American Aquarium Herbivore maybe a week ago and I just noticed today that Dave was swimming erratically. Something I noticed right away was that he looked a bit bloated and his stomach distended a bit by his anus. And no other way to put it… his anus is inflamed and popping out a bit. I feel that he might be constipated. He’s at the bottom now breathing normally, but fins are clamped and there’s a sprinkle of poo particles slowly making their way out. I was going to try salt in the tank and fasting for 2 days. Maybe some Epsom salts. I want to try peas but if he’s distended I don’t want to put more food in his stomach. Any ideas? Here are some pics. ibb.co/Z8J2m4W ibb.co/M99HxRN ibb.co/8YDSfTW

[Carl]

Hi Joe;
I think some NaCl salt in the aquarium at 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons as well as a fish bath with both NaCl and Epsom salts would be a good idea.
www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2009/07/fish-baths.html

I also agree with fasting for a couple days.

Please make sure to soak all dry foods fed to goldfish for 5 minutes, especially dehydrated fish foods.
Please read this article for more on the subject:
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/ProperGoldfishFeeding.html

Excerpt:
"Try and feed your goldfish at least two or more times a day (if more often, feed less per feeding).
Also soak your fish food in water for at least 5 minutes so that it does not float, which will prevent your goldfish from ingesting air (which can cause digestive problems). Dehydrated and all dry foods also should be soaked, even if they do not float, as they can still trap air, in particular dehydrated fish foods."

[joe]

Carl- You came through, again. Thank you for your knowledge and support. Dave feeling a ton better after following all your advise.