fat fish

[sandraseales]

hi
i have a well established pond full of gold fish of various ages some of them have really fat bellies ,i first thought them to be pregnant but they have been like this for a couple of months now. Does anyone have a clue what this could be , they are eating normally .How long are fish pregnant?

[wildwood]

Some of the breeds naturally have fat bellies, especially the fantails. Many goldfish are now crossbred so unless you got them from a serious breeder, they will probably a bit of everything.
It is getting a bit late in the season for goldfish to breed so it is unlikely that they are full of eggs. If they are they will either lay them if there are males present, or re-absorb them. Nothing to worry about.
If they are that fat that the scales on the side stick out that means a serious ailment, probably infectious. In that case you need to catch one and take it to a fish shop for a diagnosis and possible remedy.

[sandraseales]

thanks for that,
i have read that it might be dropsy but their scales are not raised so im still not sure, and also they have been like it for months and if it was dropsy they only last a couple of months at the most. i now know that they dont get pregnant they just carry eggs but still not vsure for how long?

[cris r]

Have you tried giving them bloodworm they could be constipated this causes fish to bloat

[tombrandy]

change the food,its different for summer,autumn & winter

[sandraseales]

ok
thanks for your suggestions i will try them, I have taken one of the fish out of the pond and apart from her belly being rounded i cant see nothing else wrong so i hope it isnt nothing serious ,

thanks again.xxx