nectarine

Hi, I have a young pearlscale without headgrowth. He (or she's) been in my tank for at least 6 months. Lately, he's been going upside down -- now I know fish like this are prone to swimbladder problems and constipation. For the last three days, I've been feeding him a pea a day to help with constipation. Unfortunately, the problem hasn't gone away (yet, at least).

He's still very lively and can swim upright. He can reach the bottom of the tank to get a pea, but it requires more effort (sometimes I hang it on a string near the top).

Right now, he's sharing the 10-gallon tank with one full-grown molly. Unfortunately, I've had to separate them because the molly was making a meal of the pearlscale's tail, so they each have about 5 gallons to swim in (until tomorrow, when I'm getting a separate, larger tank for the pearlscale.

Advice or ideas?

Update: fish finally seems to be getting better! He's pooping a string of bubbles and swimming upright easily!

Hello. I've merged your posts to save some space.
Thanks!
Ken

gremlin

Sounds like he had a bit of gas that he was having a problem dealing with. The peas finally helped. What is the pearlscale's normal diet?

nectarine

Tropical flakes.

thorpbrian

I'd start feeding him a sinking pellet made specifically for goldfish. Having to come to the surface for flakes will lead to goldies swallowing more air and having more swim bladder issues.

gremlin

Even the floating pellets are better than flakes. They float just below the water line so there is less chance of the goldies swallowing air when they eat.

nectarine

ah, thanks guys I'll go look for that at the pet shop.

aquarist48

Hello. So glad to hear that your Pearlscale is feeling much better. I've moved your thread to the "Cyprinids/Includes Goldfish" section of the forum. It may help others down the road that may encounter the same problem.
Thanks!
Ken

nectarine

Hey, my pearlscale is sick again It seems to be constipated (it's tummy looks a little big, and it's scales are sticking out) but this time, it's not floating. It rests, sideways, on the bottom of the tank, still breathing, and sometimes, it swims around a little bit... but it's been this way for about 4 days. I've put some peas in there, but if he's eaten them, it hasn't helped. I think that, a couple of days ago, I could see through his body to one of the peas...

Any advice?

aquarist48

Hello Nectarine. Sorry to hear that your Peral is ill again. Can you post your readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Tank temperature, pH?

If the fishes scales are popping out or if it looks like the fish is pine coning, unfortunately, it may be "Dropsy". The more information you can give us the better. Too, if you have the means to post a photo that would be a great help to other members too.

Best wishes!
Ken

iloveengl

Oh, dang, I was hoping everything was all better.

Have you checked your water params? Is this the 10g tank? What fish are in it with the goldie? They produce a ton of waste, and the ammonia build up can lead to health problems.

I'm sorry nectarine. I hope your pearlscale feels better.

nectarine

Testing... so far have done Nitrates: somewhere between 5 and 10.

It's a 20 gallon, now, and he's in there with a fancy black moor and a molly. The other fish seem to be perfectly fine.

Can't seem to get a good picture from this angle.

gremlin

It could very well be ammonia issues. 3 fancy goldies really should be in at least 40 gallons. What is the ammonia reading? and how often do you do water changes?

nectarine

Ammonia appears to be between 0 and .25

I've only been changing the water every couple of weeks and have been using one of those treatments that's supposed to keep the water clean for 6 months. I didn't really believe that was a good idea, which is why I've been changing it, anyway.

Nitrites are at 0. Do these kits expire?

Hello. I've merged your posts to save some space. There is an "Edit" key at the bottom of every thread that you can use for corrections and or additional thoughts should you not have any responses.
Thanks!
Ken

gremlin

Yes they do. Are using a liquid test or test strips? Test strips are notorious for being wrong.

In a 20 gallon tank, with three goldies, you should probably be doing your water changes every 2-3 days (at least).

nectarine

pH is at about exactly 7.

I'm using an aquarium pharmaceuticals liquid test kit. Do those expire?

I don't have the tank temperature, but the tank isn't exposed to sunlight, and it's about 70-72 degrees in my apartment on a regular basis.

Well, I did a 20% water change. I added some nutrients, and I treated the water with a treatment for ick and gasping of breath.

Do you think I should put some food by the fish, or would it be better to let him digest?

Ken was here

Elvishswimmer

It might be dropsy:
http://www.happy-goldfish.com/dropsy.php

If you check on the printed number on the sides of the bottles (not the one on the label, like I did) it will say something like this:
LOT 26A0609
The last 4 numbers indicated the month and year it was manufactured. So for me it would be June 2009.
The kits are good for 2-3 years I think.

Good luck and hope he pulls through!

nectarine

oh, wow. they are long expired.

gremlin

Room temp should be fine. The test kit should have an expiry date printed on it somewhere. The liquid kits are usually more accurate than the test strips. What is the ammonia reading? You say you added nutrients - what nutrients? As for food, it will not hurt your goldie to go several days without eating anything. It can actually help if the problem is constipation.

At this point, I would test for ammonia, stop feeding for a couple of days, then try a just a piece of pea (no regular food). Then fast for a couple of days and try another piece of pea. Hopefully, by then, you should be able to tell if it is working, or not. If not, then we can try something else. If there are no signs of ICH, I wouldn't put ich medication in. If the fasting and pea doesn't help, then maybe a course of melafix. It is a good all-round medication for goldies. It does have a strong, almost menthol, odor, but it works fairly well for a lot of ills. It is hard to tell with pearlscales if they have Dropsy or not, because their scales are already kind of bumped up. If you can get a picture, it really would help.

nectarine

Alright, healthy pearlscale:





Unhealthy pearlscale:

gremlin

It looks like the scales are sticking out a bit more than they should. Have you tested for ammonia yet? It could be dropsy or ammonia poisoning. The gills look a bit reddish in your pics, but not sure if the red is actually there or a result of the lighting. What is the ammonia reading?

nectarine

Well, I tested for ammonia, but apparently, my kit is expired. I guess a trip to the pet store is in order, tomorrow, for a new kit and the above-mentioned medicine.

The fish's gills are red, but that's the way they've always been. The person at the pet shop said it was characteristic of this kind of fish.

gremlin

Red gills is not "characteristic" of any kind of fish. Normal healthy dark pink is fine. Red is usually a sign of ammonia poisoning. Do post your ammonia readings, and plan on doing daily 30 - 50 percent water changes, at least until your fishie feels better.

nectarine

Ah, the fish's gills were pink, not red, although I may have used the word "red." Unfortunately, he didn't make it through the night

I seem to have a lot of tiny long-shelled snails in the tank. They're not unhealthy for the fish, are they?

gremlin

I'm sorry your goldie didn't make it.

Snails are not really unhealthy for fish that I know of. They can actually help by eating the extra food and the algae. My goldies will eat snails sometimes.

Goldwing_Don

Sorry for your Lost.

nectarine

Thanks, guys... he was my cutest fish, by far.

I've noticed that we have some extremely tiny little baby snails in there... I kind of wonder if he might have swallowed one and gotten it stuck because of the way they're shaped (which is the long, pointy spiral).

aquarist48

Hello Nectarine. Sorry that you lost your Pearl. I know it isn't easy. It is a possibility that he could have tried to swallow a tiny snail. Gold fish will put anything into their mouths that they can. This is one reason I have river rock in my GoldFish Tank. The rock is too big to fit into the fishes mouth.
Best wishes!
Ken