Fish hasn't eaten for over a month

40 gallon freshwater
Ph 8.3
Ammonia <.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate <40
4 Tbs salt
Power Whisper 60 with charcoal filters.
I have had this basic gold fish from Walmart for about 8 years. We call him Dale. He is about 9 inches long. He used to go in and out from pond to tank during the seasons. Now for the last 3 years he has been in the the 40 gallon tank. I updated my tank info in my profile this morning.
He has not eaten for the last month or longer. I try to feed him Tetra PondFood or wardley pond pellets or flakes. I count the food when I put it in and later remove it as it does not get eaten. About a month ago he had a clear poop about 2 inches long I have seen nothing since. Also about a month ago I would see him shake his head violently from side to side.
8 days ago he has developed swim bladder disease and would stand on his nose. We feel that was a result of adding Dried Indian Almond Leaves. We added the leaves and removed the charcoal filter to try to get the ph down from 8.8. But took the leaves out and added the charcoal back in after seeing Dale floating funny. I instead changed some water with 5 gallons bottled drinking water and 4 gallons distilled water. The ph came down to what is in my profile 8.3. Originall water comes from the well and is softened. Today he is floating on his side but swims to upright himself. He also totally spazzed out this morning by thrashing and darting int the sided of his tank.
After Dale stopped eating I noticed some pealing skin around his mouth area. He still has this today.
On two separate occasions I put peeled peas in his mouth to help the swimm bladder but he spits them out. DO YOU THINK I CAN MOVE HIS TOUNG TO FORCE A PEA INTO HIM?
I don't know what else to do.........

 

 

First of all, he NEEDS a larger tank. How often are you changing the water, and what are you running as far as filters go?

Goldfish are extremely messy, and water changes are a serious business when it comes to owning them. You can't skimp. I do 50% on my 50 gallon, weekly, and the goldfish aren't even 1/4 of the way grown yet. A fish that size in a tank that small needs 75% or more probably twice a week. You should not be seeing any ammonia, ever. It's extremely toxic, and kills slowly and painfully, as you are seeig now.

Another thing you should consider is a different brand of food. New Life Spectrum Large Fish Pellets work well for my 9 inchers in the pond.

And you should stop playing with the pH. That's not helping anything at all. A stable pH is more important than a lower or higher one. Swings will kill the fish for sure.

 

My question is why are you using salt? Are you going for brackish? I also strongly agree with Akari...he needs a much much bigger tank. I would try to re-home him if at all possible...preferably to someone with a pond...he/she would probably love that. We have a panda moor and her best friend a lionhead who is deformed in a 20 gallon. Right now they are very content...overfiltered tank...50% water changes weekly..good food. We don't expect the lionhead to live long..as I said he's a bit deformed (his tail) but if he ever grows and his friend....then they will be moved into a bigger tank. Remember bigger is better. Good luck with him.

 

There are no plans on a larger tank unless I run across one at a estate sale. I will stop trying to change the ph. It is 8.8 out of the tap. I will consider a different food BUT, he is not eating. I read another thread on this not eating issue from user name anz, but the thread was closed and poster did not post an outcome.
It seems I am not changing the water enough. I used to change every couple of weeks. As of the last month I have been changing weekly, but only 25%.
I will increase the amount to 50% twice a week. I have Tetra AquaSafe and Tetra EasyBalance for water conditioners. I also have Nutrafin Aquaplus but all of this started when I used the Nutrafin and I no longer trust it. It is brown and looks to have mold spots on the inside of the cap.

What about the not eating and swim bladder?

Double Whisper charcoal filter.

 

8 years old, wow that's an old fish.
I would say you have been doing something right if he has been thriving for 8 years. The tank may be small so there may be some ammonia toxicity due to inadequate water changes but not too sure if this is the reason behind his current behaviour if your levels are on the lower side.. I would also stop using salt as well.
It could just be that he is just getting old and this is part of the dying process.
good luck

 

Salt was added for reasons on the box. Improve gill function, promote disease recovery, reduce stress.

 

If you can't get a larger tank, then you need to rehome him. It's really not fair for him to live in such a small tank. He needs room to move around and be a goldfish! He's not that old. He's got just as many years a head of him, provided he's given the care he needs.

The first step would be to use your regular water durring water changes, and change the water as stated above. You don't want any ammonia. Leave the pH alone unless you have worked at everything else and he does not improve. In some cases, pH is actually the issue. You should look into getting Prime. It's a great water conditioner. Removes all kinds of nasties. I don't trust the NutraFin conditioner either, don't worry.

If/when water changes alone done work, try an antibacterial medication.

You should also get a better filter. I'd reccomend a small canister, since you seem unwilling to upgrade for whatever reason. You'll want 4x the turnover at the least. More is would be better, though. There are some cheap ones on Amazon and eBay that are nice. AquaTop's and SunSun's to name two.

 

Goldfish can live 20+ years when cared for properly. It's not old age. Consider New Life Spectrum, and look for it on Amazon. There are generally sellers with good prices. NLS can tempt even the pickiest of fish. I would recommend adding garlic to his diet as well. Give him peas for the swim bladder issue. Up the water changes and strongly consider going to a larger tank for his sake.

 

I put a pea in his mouth on two separate occasions which he spits out. He does not attempt to go for food. I was thinking of trying to open his throat/tounge with a wet Q-tip to ensure a pea goes in. Do you not recommend a force feed?

I am glad to hear he is not old.

 

You can try very small pieces of pea. I feel like force feeding him would make feeding time seem traumatic though. You could try, I guess.

 

50% water change today. Vacuumed the gravel as I did it like always. Added 40 ml Tetra aquasafe per directions. The filter I have is a Power Whisper 60 with charcoal filters which is supposed to move 360 gph. I'll order some NLS and Prime linked to amazon to help fund this site.

 

I would not force feed as he could choke to death on the pea!

Just do the two 50-75% wc's a week to start with.

Do not add anything to the water except water conditioner. PRIME is what you need. It will detox the ammonia and will keep your fish safe.

Maybe you can get some frozen food from petsmart such as krill or bloodworms. That might perk his interest in eating!

Also try finding some seachem garlic guard, it will buid up his immune system to make him stronger to fight off disease. Vitachem would be great added to the water also! Its vitamins for fish! NEW LIFE SPECTRUM is the BEST food you can get for your fish. You may want to check in to this as well.

But honestly, right now, he needs clean clean water!!! If there is gravel in the tank, vacuum it also. Also take your filter and rinse it well with some of the aquarium water put into a clean fish bucket. Do this at least every other week for that size tank. Do not change your filter unless its falling apart! If you do then you are just throwing away the good bacteria your tank needs to be stable. Also please read up on the nitogen cycle! This is really a critical part of tank keeping! If your tank is not cycled and you have ammonia or nitrites then the fish always suffers! A good test kit is needed also. API master test kit is what you need. Amazon or kensfish has them pretty cheap. I hope you take all this into consideration. Its what your fish needs for sure to survive!

I hope your fish starts to feel better but he needs all of the above to feel better. Hope things turn around soon!

 

NLS and Prime has been ordered, ETA is Thursday. I would like a suggestion on water temperature, please.
Yesterday I noticed red lines, like blood veins running thru his bottom and tail fin. The ends look to be deteriorating away. Could this be fin rot? I took a picture for you guys and gals to see. BTW, thank you for your help.

 

The tail could be due to ammonia posioning, can you test for ammonia and nitrite and nitrate, and what are you using to test. I suggest you click on the words nitrogen cycle and read it, it could save your fish's life. Also I highly recommend you stop trying to force feed your fish. I can almost gaurentee you are doing more harm than good.

 

Thanks Cory. I have not forced fed him other than put a pea in his mouth as he floated to the top, two separate occasions. It was gentle. Here are my readings tonight from the API FReshwater Master Test Kit.
It looks as if I still have some ammonia in the tank. It is not zero but it is not above 0.25 ppm.
Nitrite is zero.
Nitrate is hard to tell, it looks closer to 40 than 80 but the colors blend so much.
I am anticipating on doing another 50% water change on Thursday. Hopefully the Prime will be in the mailbox.

 

I previously rinsed my filter under tap water. I will now be rinsing in a separate bucket using the tank water.

 

Septicemia is caused by poor water conditions. I'm 99% sure all his issues are related to this. This is why larger tanks have been continually recommended. You're on the right track, but the next step would be to get him something twice the size, be it in your home or someone else's. Untill you get the Prime I'd recommend daily water changes. Then you may be able to jump to water changes every other day with Prime inbetween. I'd still do them daily regardless.

Rinsing your filter media in tap water definattely wasn't helping the ammonia issue. Don't do that anymore

 

I think I should also stop vacuuming the gravel so deep during water changes. I have been going down all the way the the plastic tray on the bottom (2"of gravel). Maybe just the surface? Without any disturbance?

 

I think I should also stop vacuuming the gravel so deep during water changes. I have been going down all the way the the plastic tray on the bottom (2"of gravel). Maybe just the surface? Without any disturbance?

I ALWAYS go all the way down to the bottom of my gravel. Any decaying poop or food will cause an ammonia spike.

 

I ALWAYS go all the way down to the bottom of my gravel. Any decaying poop or food will cause an ammonia spike.

I do too, but if you're concerned about disturbing the bacteria down there, I heard someone say that they only do one half of the tank at a time. Makes sense I think. I typically just vacuum random spots though.

 

I do too, but if you're concerned about disturbing the bacteria down there, I heard someone say that they only do one half of the tank at a time. Makes sense I think. I typically just vacuum random spots though.

I have heard that too, I never worried about it, most of the BB is in the filter media and my snails are poop machines so it wasn't really an option to not do everywhere lol.

 

I've always vaccuumed the whole gravel bed, all the way down. The only exceptions are my planted tanks. I don't vacuum near the plants, just the open area in the middle in those. Everyone has a different system, though, and I'm sure it depends on stock level and the parameters of the water right from the tap, along with other things.

 

50% gentle water change today with vacuuming all the way down into the gravel. Added 40 ml of AquaSafe as per the directions. I found my amazon order for Prime will not be here until a WEEK from Thursday. Ugh. I will be heading into St. Paul I 3 days and will search for a pet store that sells it.
Dale liked his water change today. He was a little active, swimming back and forth and then going back to his head stand, but pulling out of it more than yesterday. Certainly less lethargic.

 

Glad to hear he's feeling better keep doing those water changes!

 

Dale had a clear poop tonight. I snapped some photos. I scooped it out of his tank and put it in a baggie. If I examine it under a microscope at work I would not know what I am looking for, if anything.
Still doing the head stand, he is a little more over center which worries me. Friday morning he gets a water change.
Any input regarding the clear poop would be appreciated.

 

50+% water change this morning. Dale did not seem as peppy as the last water change. I added 40 ml of the AquaSafe.
Took these reading befor the water change...
PH 8.3
Ammonia < .25 ppm (It looked better than 2 days ago)
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 20 which is down from 2 days ago.

 

I previously rinsed my filter under tap water. I will now be rinsing in a separate bucket using the tank water.

Had you always been doing that? The chlorine in the tap killed the beneficial bacteria every time you rinsed, so you basically kept the tank cycling over and over. I cannot imagine that was healthy for the fish.

I'm going to agree with the others. The fish needs a much bigger tank. While he may have been living, he hasn't been thriving or as healthy as he could be in cramped living conditions.

I hope you figure out what's wrong with him, and will keep my fingers crossed that he gets better.

 

I have well water so there is no chlorine in the water. Although, I have been changing (trowing out the old replacin with new) charcoal filters when I did clean the tank.
Thanks for your support.
Rusty

 

No chlorine in the water? What's killing the bacteria in the water so that it's safe to drink?

Generally you don't swap out the carbon that often as it also houses the beneficial bacteria. Same with filter pads... you never change those out unless they're falling apart. You can clean them though (like you said above) in a bucket of dechlorinated water.

Did you drop the carbon bag in the water and let it sit there for a month to collect BB before changing it out?

 

I guess the aquifer 130' below the ground does not contain any harmful bacteria, regarding drinking water. This is the well that was drilled for our homested. I remember when we were little my mom gave us floride tablets as ther is no floride in the water either. That is City water, what I have is country water, in a sence. My water is filtered with a 20 micron sediment filter and softened with a Kenitco water softener.
I have never conditioned my filter bags in the tank as you mentioned. I will make a note of that though.

 

Ah, I see. Thanks for explaining.. I love learning new things!

 

I got back from Pet Smart today with Prime ready to change the water again in the morning only to find Dale had passed. Rest in piece old fella.
Thank you everyone for your help and support.

 

Aw, I'm sorry. I suspect the ammonia is did him in.

 

So 20 days ago I bought a betta. Turns out it had dropsy. It got pale and started pineconing.
It never wanted to ate and I started treating him for dropsy

Fast forward a week or two and he's fine. No more pineconing, no bloating, full color. Still not eating. He seems very lazy though

I figured it was that he couldn't see the food, so I put him in a container to feed him. He ignored it, so I placed him back in the tank.


I've been doing 30% water changes every other day since he started pineconing.
He has a 10 gallon tank


What do I do?

 

Temp of the tank? Do you have a filter?

 

All my tanks are kept at 80°F, and yes, I have a cycled filter

 

Im.. really not sure what's wrong. He could just not want to eat, or not realise it's food because he was fed something else.

Or it could be an issue on the inside that you can't see or notice

 

Is he by himself?

 

He's alone in a 10 gallon tank.

I also tried feeding him a variety of foods like bloodworms, pellets, flakes, peas, and some mosquito larvae (heard it works)