ashlyne

Hello, I am new to the forum. Would like to know if anyone can answer a peculiar problem with my fish. He is at the top of the tank a lot just hanging there. Not breathing heavy or in distress. He just hangs near the top of the water with his nose sticking out. Just wonder what kind of problem that could be. The pH is 8.0, amm 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 0.5 and the kh is 147.I have had a 55 gallon freshwater fish tank for about 6 months with two goldfish. Have the fishtank only half full due to swimbladder problems with the fish and only feed gel food. Any ideas what this could be?

soldieroffortune1974

Welcome to Fishlore,ashlyne.............

Most of the time when the fish hang out at the top,they are trying to get more oxygen,since the top is where the oxygen mixes into the water. I would increase aeration,and lower the temp.Goldfish are not tropical,and prefer cooler waters.The cooler temp will also keep more oxygen,even though 74 isn't warm enough to worry about oxygen defficiency.Then again,he could just be waiting for more food.Without more details,that's the best I got.

ashlyne

Hi, thanks for answering. I have a 20 to 50 gallon aqua clear filter and a 210 GPH pond pump. I have another 20-50 aqua filter I could put back in. I only have the 55 gallon tank half filled because of the swimbladder problem. Also, that fish has black spots all over him and big black marks he developed in the last 6 months. The other fish started with big black marks on him first and then he has had split fins for quite some time. They say black marks are healing signs but they don't heal up they just stay there. I have treated them with salt baths. I don't know if they could have a bacterial infection or parasitic or what.

soldieroffortune1974

Sounds like you may be dealing with a couple of different issues.Swim bladder disorder,maybe fin rot as well.Both of which can be corrected with clean fresh water.I would change the water 50% daily,adding Melafix to help repair the fins.You can add salt to the water as a tonic to rid them of parasites,fungus,bacterial infections,etc. Goldfish are good candidates for salt tonics,as long as you clean the water everyday,until they get better.It will take several weeks for them to improve.If in 1 week the black spots aren't improving and the split fin isn't healing,you may need to go to meds.

Don't worry about feeding (they can last a long time without food,and it will help reduce wastes to keep the water cleaner) keep the lights turned off,the goldfish will feel like they're hiding and be more comfortable,causing less stress,hopefully increasing the recovery.

Unless they have long,stringy clear feces,then I would rule out parasites for now,so I would stick to treatment for bacterial infections if they don't show improvement.Maracyn,Maracyn+ and Kenamyacin are good meds for fin rot and other bacterial infections.

see this thread for info: Medications-ingredients-disease treated

ashlyne

Thank you, I will look into the meds. I have tried the salt tonic, but will try again. I am kind of afraid to use the meds cause I know they mess with the bacteria in the filter. I have tried the melafix and salt about 4 or 5 months ago with the other fish and that seems to be when the other one started to develop some brown spots which eventually turned black. I never finished the treatment, because I started freaking out when he started getting the brown spots. Maybe it was a coincident. Not sure, so I get nervous trying different meds. It seemed like it affected there breathing too. I lost another fish during that last melafix and salt treatment. He seemed to have the same symptoms as this one is having. I have been changing the water at least twice a week about 20 per cent. I will look into that thread for meds and see if I can come up with a treatment that won't cause any problems in the tank. Thanks!