BoxOfMushrooms
- #1
This is a follow-up to my previous post --> Pearscale swim bladder issue, considering antibiotics 29 Gallon Tank - | Goldfish Forum | 477256
Tank
What is the water volume of the tank?
5 gallons (hospital tank)
How long has the tank been running?
2 days (jumpstarted with Tetra Safe Start)
Does it have a filter?
Yes
Does it have a heater?
Yes
What is the water temperature?
74F
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)
1 young pearlscale goldfish
Maintenance
How often do you change the water?
First water change will be on the 20th
How much of the water do you change?
It will be a 100% water change
What do you use to treat your water?
Seachem Prime
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water?
Bare bottom tank, only changing water
*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish?
No, I used Tetra Safe Start
What do you use to test the water?
API Master Kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0.25 (I just caught this and added some Prime)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7.6
Feeding
How often do you feed your fish?
I've been fasting him since I added him to the hospital tank on the 18th, but he was previously being fed once a day.
How much do you feed your fish?
Usually a piece of Repashy Super Gold slightly less than 1 cubic centimeter in size. For the past week he's been getting food mixed with KanaPlex and Focus.
What brand of food do you feed your fish?
Repashy
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods?
Once a week or so he used to get frozen brine shrimp
Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish?
About 2 months (acquired late September)
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms?
He's been floaty for a while, but he developed red patches two weeks ago, and he developed new symptoms (growths) either last night or today
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms?
Floating and unable to swim downward, red rash-like patches on left side of underbelly, left fin, and left gill, clear lumps/growths/bubbled scales on underbelly and upper right side, doughnut around left eye, dropsy
Have you started any treatment for the illness?
He's in a hospital tank, 5 gallons with 1/2tsp per gallon epsom salt, a heater, and undergoing the treatment on the KanaPlex bottle (1 scoop per 5 gallons for 3 days), twice daily epsom salt baths (previously 1/2tsp per half gallon for 20 minutes, now 1/2tbsp per half gallon for 20 minutes)
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase?
He had a tendency to idle in a nose-down position, but otherwise no floatation or swimming issues.
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all?
He's been spending more and more time floating near the top of the tank. He seems to still have an interest in being active, as he tries to swim pretty frequently even when no one's nearby to make him think he might get food. He's just motionless now because he physically can't swim downward. He can swim around on a horizontal axis just fine except he remains tilted to the right when he does.
Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)
Per my previous post, he'd always had a tendency to point nose-down when not actively swimming. I got him from King Koi, who seem to have very mixed reviews. He's my second fish from them, and as my first fish got bigger and less zippy I noticed she has a sharp bend in one of her tail fins. I figured King Koi must have just sold me two "defective" fish, one with a bent tail, the other with a nonfunctioning frontal swim bladder. (Guess who's not buying from them again)
To preface, I think this may have been a solvable situation a few weeks ago for any other fish or any other experienced keeper. The issue I've encountered is he's a pearlscale, and he's one of the two first goldfish I've tried to properly keep since I was a little kid, so I just didn't notice anything to worryingly abnormal until fairly recently. He may have been developing dropsy slowly for a while now, but because he's already round with prominent scales I didn't catch it until the little scales along his spine and tail started to lift about 2 days ago.
He's been getting more and more floaty very slowly since I got him. Very, very slowly. I really didn't notice a thing wrong until one day he was suddenly upside-down at the top of the tank. I'd done the fasting and feeding peas and brine shrimp thing a few times in response, because I figured pearlscales are just more prone to swim bladder problems, so I adjusted his diet and feeding routine to take extra care for his swim bladder. He was always a little more floaty after feeding, so I switched to feeding once a day. It seemed to work well until eventually it just didn't. He just kept floating, and then he developed red patches. I then figured he must have a bacterial infection that was causing swim bladder issues and resulting in constant floating since the diet usually worked, so I bought Kanaplex and Focus, mixed it with his food, and fed this for about 4 days. His floating problem got a little better, and the red patches went away. This was about two weeks ago right after my first post.
I then fed him normal, unmedicated food for a few days. Then the red patches came back, so I resumed feeding him his antibiotic mixed food and separated him from his ranchu tankmate with a divider because she was starting to bully him. I think she sensed he was getting weaker. About 4 or so days ago he also had a little white-ish cottony growth on his forehead. I thought it was fungal and treated the main tank with Pimafix, and it went away.
Instead of getting better when feeding Kanaplex, this time he got worse, and I noticed his scales were lifting and there was a raised doughnut ring around his eye, so yesterday (November 18th) I set up and moved him to his current 5 gallon hospital tank which is being treated with 1/2 tsp per gallon of epsom salt and Kanaplex according to the treatment on the bottle which is to add 1 scoop per 5 gallons every day for 3 days. I figured just feeding the antibiotic to him wasn't enough this time, and his dropsy probably needed more consistent exposure to epsom salt to reduce the swelling.
The red patch on his underbelly and base of his left fin looks pretty bad, and he has a bit of red on his left gill. It doesn't look too bad and hasn't gotten worse, but it's on his gill, so it worries me.
He's also had these pronounced, bubble-like scales on his belly for a few days now. At first I thought they were damage from his tankmate's nipping before I got the divider in, and then I thought they were lifting scales from dropsy, and now I have no idea what they are. I've never seen or heard of anything like this, but they've been developing further for the past two days. At first it was just the few on his belly, but I just now noticed he has a cluster on his upper right side. I think they just developed today, because I didn't see them when I gave him his epsom bath yesterday evening and took a really good look at him. They're clear, scale-like protruding growths. They're circled in green in the photos.
At this point I have no idea what's going on with him. I'm afraid to start any new treatments because now I just don't think I know what I'm treating for. I'm moderately sure he something bacterial going on because of the red patches, and the epsom salt is for the dropsy, but I don't know what I should do for the floating or these growths.
He doesn't seem to be in pain, at the very least. His fins don't seem to be clamped, and he's eager to explore. He's already picked favorite spots in his new abode and likes to swim around to check on them or hang out every now and then. He still has an appetite, because he begs when I sit by the tank and he tried to bite my fingers when I had to fiddle with the filter (he's trained to hand feed).
Important to note, there's absolutely nothing wrong with his tankmate, the ranchu. There's been absolutely no change in her behavior and nothing physically wrong or different about her. I'll keep monitoring her, but it seems whatever's wrong with the pearlscale is only affecting him.
I'm very scared for my poor fish. He's a good fishy, and he deserves better than this. Please help me.
Tank
What is the water volume of the tank?
5 gallons (hospital tank)
How long has the tank been running?
2 days (jumpstarted with Tetra Safe Start)
Does it have a filter?
Yes
Does it have a heater?
Yes
What is the water temperature?
74F
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)
1 young pearlscale goldfish
Maintenance
How often do you change the water?
First water change will be on the 20th
How much of the water do you change?
It will be a 100% water change
What do you use to treat your water?
Seachem Prime
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water?
Bare bottom tank, only changing water
*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish?
No, I used Tetra Safe Start
What do you use to test the water?
API Master Kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0.25 (I just caught this and added some Prime)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7.6
Feeding
How often do you feed your fish?
I've been fasting him since I added him to the hospital tank on the 18th, but he was previously being fed once a day.
How much do you feed your fish?
Usually a piece of Repashy Super Gold slightly less than 1 cubic centimeter in size. For the past week he's been getting food mixed with KanaPlex and Focus.
What brand of food do you feed your fish?
Repashy
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods?
Once a week or so he used to get frozen brine shrimp
Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish?
About 2 months (acquired late September)
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms?
He's been floaty for a while, but he developed red patches two weeks ago, and he developed new symptoms (growths) either last night or today
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms?
Floating and unable to swim downward, red rash-like patches on left side of underbelly, left fin, and left gill, clear lumps/growths/bubbled scales on underbelly and upper right side, doughnut around left eye, dropsy
Have you started any treatment for the illness?
He's in a hospital tank, 5 gallons with 1/2tsp per gallon epsom salt, a heater, and undergoing the treatment on the KanaPlex bottle (1 scoop per 5 gallons for 3 days), twice daily epsom salt baths (previously 1/2tsp per half gallon for 20 minutes, now 1/2tbsp per half gallon for 20 minutes)
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase?
He had a tendency to idle in a nose-down position, but otherwise no floatation or swimming issues.
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all?
He's been spending more and more time floating near the top of the tank. He seems to still have an interest in being active, as he tries to swim pretty frequently even when no one's nearby to make him think he might get food. He's just motionless now because he physically can't swim downward. He can swim around on a horizontal axis just fine except he remains tilted to the right when he does.
Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)
Per my previous post, he'd always had a tendency to point nose-down when not actively swimming. I got him from King Koi, who seem to have very mixed reviews. He's my second fish from them, and as my first fish got bigger and less zippy I noticed she has a sharp bend in one of her tail fins. I figured King Koi must have just sold me two "defective" fish, one with a bent tail, the other with a nonfunctioning frontal swim bladder. (Guess who's not buying from them again)
To preface, I think this may have been a solvable situation a few weeks ago for any other fish or any other experienced keeper. The issue I've encountered is he's a pearlscale, and he's one of the two first goldfish I've tried to properly keep since I was a little kid, so I just didn't notice anything to worryingly abnormal until fairly recently. He may have been developing dropsy slowly for a while now, but because he's already round with prominent scales I didn't catch it until the little scales along his spine and tail started to lift about 2 days ago.
He's been getting more and more floaty very slowly since I got him. Very, very slowly. I really didn't notice a thing wrong until one day he was suddenly upside-down at the top of the tank. I'd done the fasting and feeding peas and brine shrimp thing a few times in response, because I figured pearlscales are just more prone to swim bladder problems, so I adjusted his diet and feeding routine to take extra care for his swim bladder. He was always a little more floaty after feeding, so I switched to feeding once a day. It seemed to work well until eventually it just didn't. He just kept floating, and then he developed red patches. I then figured he must have a bacterial infection that was causing swim bladder issues and resulting in constant floating since the diet usually worked, so I bought Kanaplex and Focus, mixed it with his food, and fed this for about 4 days. His floating problem got a little better, and the red patches went away. This was about two weeks ago right after my first post.
I then fed him normal, unmedicated food for a few days. Then the red patches came back, so I resumed feeding him his antibiotic mixed food and separated him from his ranchu tankmate with a divider because she was starting to bully him. I think she sensed he was getting weaker. About 4 or so days ago he also had a little white-ish cottony growth on his forehead. I thought it was fungal and treated the main tank with Pimafix, and it went away.
Instead of getting better when feeding Kanaplex, this time he got worse, and I noticed his scales were lifting and there was a raised doughnut ring around his eye, so yesterday (November 18th) I set up and moved him to his current 5 gallon hospital tank which is being treated with 1/2 tsp per gallon of epsom salt and Kanaplex according to the treatment on the bottle which is to add 1 scoop per 5 gallons every day for 3 days. I figured just feeding the antibiotic to him wasn't enough this time, and his dropsy probably needed more consistent exposure to epsom salt to reduce the swelling.
The red patch on his underbelly and base of his left fin looks pretty bad, and he has a bit of red on his left gill. It doesn't look too bad and hasn't gotten worse, but it's on his gill, so it worries me.
He's also had these pronounced, bubble-like scales on his belly for a few days now. At first I thought they were damage from his tankmate's nipping before I got the divider in, and then I thought they were lifting scales from dropsy, and now I have no idea what they are. I've never seen or heard of anything like this, but they've been developing further for the past two days. At first it was just the few on his belly, but I just now noticed he has a cluster on his upper right side. I think they just developed today, because I didn't see them when I gave him his epsom bath yesterday evening and took a really good look at him. They're clear, scale-like protruding growths. They're circled in green in the photos.
At this point I have no idea what's going on with him. I'm afraid to start any new treatments because now I just don't think I know what I'm treating for. I'm moderately sure he something bacterial going on because of the red patches, and the epsom salt is for the dropsy, but I don't know what I should do for the floating or these growths.
He doesn't seem to be in pain, at the very least. His fins don't seem to be clamped, and he's eager to explore. He's already picked favorite spots in his new abode and likes to swim around to check on them or hang out every now and then. He still has an appetite, because he begs when I sit by the tank and he tried to bite my fingers when I had to fiddle with the filter (he's trained to hand feed).
Important to note, there's absolutely nothing wrong with his tankmate, the ranchu. There's been absolutely no change in her behavior and nothing physically wrong or different about her. I'll keep monitoring her, but it seems whatever's wrong with the pearlscale is only affecting him.
I'm very scared for my poor fish. He's a good fishy, and he deserves better than this. Please help me.
