Question
QUESTION: I have 11 fish in a 1000 ltr pond
3 koi, 3 shubunkins and 5 sarasa comets. All fish bar 1 comet are feeding well, water is ok
1 comet has been lethargic for 2 weeks and has begun to grow fatter, the fish mopes about and rarely eats if at all (at least it appears that way when the others are feeding)
could she be pregnant (I can't sex any of the fish....don't know how) or is it something worse?
if pregnant, how long before eggs/live fish appear?

any advice appreciated

ANSWER: John,

I need to get a little more precise with the description of the symptoms.  When you say "growing fatter" does that mean that the abdomen swollen and deformed, but no raised scales?

When the abdomen is swollen or deformed, but NO scales are raised, that's almost always a cancer or egg impaction of some kind. Cystic kidneys, or uterine cancers will often be recovered from these. The smaller the fish, the better the surgical odds are for the fish.

Unfortunately, unless it's a very expensive fish, the best solution is to simply discard the fish.

Good luck,

John



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks for the answer John, the fish died later that day, from your answer, I would imagine it was egg impaction

Answer
John,

I just re-read your first question and noticed that you have a 1000 ltr. pond not a 1000 gal.  That's an awfully small pond for 11 fish.  You might consider reducing the population by about half.  That will help the overall health of the others.

Good Luck,

John