kaze88

Please help! What are my options. I do not want to lose this fish.

Symptoms:
-both eyes protruding
-what looks like internal bleeding (on side, front section of body)
-scales splitting (can see individually)
-i dont know if he's bloating or not because he has grown quite a bit

Diagnoses:
-dropsy
-other infection
-dirty tank

Tank Info:
-been using for 4 years
-70-80 gallon
-no test kit
-no plants
-yes filter system (still using original rocks, occasional wash)
-changed water once a month. since last year been changing every two weeks. changed water twice this week, today included (wednesday)
-fish pop. always less than 20, more than 10.
-feeding twice daily
-there have been deaths from ammonia poisoning but fewer after changing water more frequently

Should i just put him in the freezer? i don't want him to suffer. please help asap! thank you and happy new years

btw i'm aware of my past negligence.. after losing several fish i promised i wouldn't kill any more fish by being irresponsible.

Nick G

Welcome to Fishlore! What kind of fish is it? Need to know that first!

agabr123

Please don't put him in the freezer! That is actually a slow and painful death for a fish. Clove oil and a shot of vodka (I think) is what people in this forum seem to think is the best option.

You also should be doing water changes every week. Do you have a quarantine tank so you can separate the sick fish?

You said that you do not have a test kit, do you know what the levels in your tank are for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate?

Could you post a picture of your fish, that might help the other members in a diagnosis. What kind of fish do you have? Is it a new fish or have you had him for a while?

Sorry about all the questions, but it will help the other members in being able to figure out what is going on. Any other information you can provide would be wonderful.


And welcome to fishlore!

kaze88

i currently have him in a bucket of fresh water with some aquarium salt and a heater.
i have no idea about the levels of toxins but im pretty sure it's not zero.
i had this fish for a few months i cant really remember. i will get a picture and try to classify him. thanks for the quick replies!

agabr123

euthanasia

Here is a thread on euthanasia and the best options, should you decide to go that way.

How long has your fish been sick?

kaze88

i scared him and bubbles came out of him after he moved...
the colour is definitely not normal...

heres the type of tetra he is.

and here's the sick one

Nick G

Red gills are a sign of ammonia poisoning. Do you know what your ammonia level is?

kaze88

i dont know ammonia levels but shouldnt be too high because of recent water changes

Nick G

If your tank isn't fully cycling you're ammonia levels will be too high. How often are you doing water changes?

kaze88

every 2 weeks sometimes more (just to take out waste)

kaze88

i will read more about the cycle and buy plants and whatever necessary but is there anything i can do for my fish?

what makes me think that it's not ammonia poisoning are it's bulging eyes and split scales, but im not an expert

Nick G

Try changing 50% of the water in the bucket daily. If it's ammonia poisoning this will dilute the ammonia in the bucket for 24hrs. If it's an actual disease he'll need medicating. I'm not much of an expert on fish disease but there are other members on here who are.

kaze88

thank you for your help.

agabr123

I agree with nick goody, those look like ammonia burns.

kaze88

Bad news, he's dead.

If anyone is able to figure out what was wrong please post, thanks.

agabr123

I'm sorry for your loss.

Nick G

Sorry he's dead. If I were you I'd get the water in your tank tested for Ammonia. You can get an API Master Test kit from the pet store. If you find that you have Ammonia in your water then you'll need to perform daily 50% water changes to dilute it until your tank is cycled.

betta-cat

Did you remember to pre-treat the water when doing partial water changes? I've had fish die when I neglected/forgot/didn't remember to treat the water. Our water has high chlorine/choramine levels and needs treatment or death is sure to follow.

Good luck in figuring this out and best wishes for future successful tanks.