I hope someone can help me! My fantail has a swollen head and has done for some time, but recently I have noticed his eyes are gradually becoming hidden - soon he won't be able to see!
fantail_swollen_head3.jpg

He lives in a 30L filtered Biorb tank with a black moor which was bought at the same time but is a bit smaller, has one cloudy eye (always has) and is a bit shyer than the fantail.

I change the water/filter frequently and feed them a pinch of Tetra Goldfish Granules twice a day, some of which sinks to the bottom after a while so that the shy black moor can get some (the fantail is very greedy and will readily eat more food than the moor).

Neither of them have any problems swimming (like staying at the top/bottom or on one side).

Does anyone know what might be causing his head to swell up? Is he just overweight or does he have a swim bladder/bloat problem? How do I solve it?! Help!

Your 'Fantail' is actually a strain known as an 'Oranda', these are selectively bred to produce hood-like growths on their heads, it is perfectly normal and even if the fish did lose its eyesight, it will still be able to find food using the lateral line system.

The only thing I would worry about is the tank size, those goldfish can and will eventually grow to 15cm/6" in length, so you would be looking at a 90 x 38 x 38cm tank.

Aw bless him, he is cute. Pleccy knows his stuff!

I was going to get lionheads until I read they can lose their eyesight with their heads 'growing' so to speak but pleccy has confirmed they are still able to be their normal selves, it is nature I suppose so they must be able to tolerate it.

If he is already greedy, he shouldn't have any problems finding it!

Thank you guys! I'm so glad he's not ill! I'm going to buy a bigger tank now, poor things...does anyone know a good place to look for second hand tanks in the uk?

Preloved.com is an excellent site for anything.

I got my piggies from there!