My Goldfish Wounded Over Night [help]

dear fish expert,

my goldfish experience a really weird symptom, my ranchu was having white poo and flashing a couple time in the substrate, so last night I tried to give him minced boiled garlic since I suspect he would have internal parasite.

a couple days ago I tried to feed the whole tank pealed peas, I think i'm a bit overfeed them because suddenly there's bubble on top of my aquarium (please see the attachment), I do 50% water changes and clean my canister (just the mechanical filter) but the bubbles has not gone, but weirdly if I feed my goldfish with mizuho high growth the bubbles temporarily gone.... then after a while it reappear

this morning I find him wounded all over his body,wen and tail (please see the attachment), I suspect he bumped (because of flashing behaviour) into the rock since I find his scales in the substrate near the rock... and it seemed that he got diarrea...

is this some kind of aeromonas infection that appear because the goldfish immune system drops?

my tank is fully cycled but I haven't tested it with nitrite and nitrate tester (I have ammonia alert and it shows yellow <0.02 ppm) , I put 0.1 % salt also to my tank and i've done50% water changes 2 times a week

the fish appetite is still very high and nothing shows weakness of the goldfish.

this morning I quarantine him with pomate and salt..

could someone help me on this ??

 

thank you for moving my thread, i'm sorry this is my first time posting here...

 

Welcome to Fishlore. I'm sorry you're having trouble with your fish- they're beautiful, by the way. I'm not an expert on Goldfish, but might be able to give some general advice, and I'm sure the real experts who will see your post will want to know the answers to a few questions-

How big is the aquarium?

How long have you has the tank running and are any of the fish new? Are the seven pictured normally in there?

You say it's fully cycled, but can't test for nitrite and nitrate. How do you know it's fully cycled? (You also say that you're showing ammonia, but a cycled tank should have zero ammonia.)

What is the temperature of the tank?

If you turn your air stones off do you see an oily film on top of the tank?

 

thank you for the reply I really appreciate it..

the tank is around 50 gallon 90 x 40 x 55 cm (height) (it seemed quite overcrowded)

if I turn off my air stone I don't see much oil, there's some but not much, the top of my aquarium is covered with something very light grayish color (I don't know this is the water color or oil)

my aquarium has been up and running for over a month (tbh i'm assuming it is cycled) apologize for that... new fish was coming last week quarantined for 2 days only ( my bad) and that white goldfish is the new fish... can I increase the water change frequency to rectify the situation?

I saw a couple times my smaller goldfish nibble the bigger one... is this a sign of stressed goldfish?

the temperature is around 80-82 F degree, right now i'm removing the sharp stone to avoid this kind of things in the future

yes 7 of them are normal in the picture (if I understand your question correctly, i'm sorry English is not my first language)

 

I think part of the problem is that you're overstocked. The rule of thumb for fancy goldfish is 20 gallons for the first fish, and 10 gallons for each fish after that, which means that your tank can only hold 4 fish comfortably. Your tank is also a bit warm for goldfish. I see you're in Indonesia, so I'm guessing there isn't much you can do about this right now, though, if you can, you might cool the tank by running more air through the air stones, or having a fan blow across the top, both of will give you some evaporative cooling. (I would NOT do anything radical, like adding ice to the tank, as this can shock the fish.)

These things may be stressing your fish, making them more vulnerable to disease. Unfortunately, I don't know what disease your fish has, though I suspect you may be right that there's some type of parasite. I hope some others have ideas as to exactly what is wrong and how to treat it, but good conditions with less stress will keep the other fish's immune systems strong. I would also suggest that knowing the actual numbers for nitrite and nitrate will help eliminate some things. You don't need a 'chemistry experiment' test kit. Test strips would be fine, because when there's trouble with a tank the water is always the first thing that's suspect, because most of the time, if the problem isn't the water itself, then poor water conditions may have contributed to the problem and it's nice to know.

The greyish film on the top is fish waste, and should be skimmed off.

Good luck.

 

thank you,

I keep my tank in my bed room with air con I hope it will help to make to water cool down.. I will try to minimize my overstocked by reduce to 4 or 5 goldfish only.

what can we do if we know there's parasites in our tank? do we medicate all of the fish or increase the water quality and hope the immune system will recover the fishs health?

 

I think with parasites you'll need to medicate, though I'm only guessing your fish has parasites.

I know API General Cure has a good reputation, but I don't know if there's anything better.

Does someone else want to add something here? I haven't had a goldfish since I was six years old, and a lot has changed.

 

To me it looks like ammonia burns. The tank is bordering on overstocked with the size they are but full grown it will be. Get some parameters numbers as soon as you can, I don't think that tank is cycled which would be causing the problems. Also, goldfish can nip each other, they're playful, but keep an eye on it that it's nothing more then a friendly nibble.

Avoid medication for now, it looks like ammonia to me so LOTS of clean water. But most important, get those numbers.

 

To me it looks like ammonia burns. The tank is bordering on overstocked with the size they are but full grown it will be. Get some parameters numbers as soon as you can, I don't think that tank is cycled which would be causing the problems. Also, goldfish can nip each other, they're playful, but keep an eye on it that it's nothing more then a friendly nibble.

Avoid medication for now, it looks like ammonia to me so LOTS of clean water. But most important, get those numbers.

I know ammonia and nitrite can both cause flashing and other weird behavior, and the OP should certainly check his numbers to be sure (and you're right, I hadn't even noticed the red tinge around the gills which really does look like burning, so another big water change ASAP is important), but would it also explain white feces?

 

I know ammonia and nitrite can both cause flashing and other weird behavior, and the OP should certainly check his numbers to be sure (and you're right, I hadn't even noticed the red tinge around the gills which really does look like burning, so another big water change ASAP is important), but would it also explain white feces?

If s/he was stressed from burns, that in turn makes him more likely to get parasites and other issues. That's kinda how I understand it. Ammonia burns is just the start of a potential mess. (But I'm no fish doctor. haven't had sick fish in years)

 

thank you for the feedback,

the reddish around the gill is the wound because he flashed on stone/rock, I will get the water parameter today it seems like ammonia burn I agree, yesterday we do 70% water change, and we'll check the water parameter today, so anything above 0 for ammonia and nitrite will alert as water change indicator?

I will also provide surface skimmer to reduce the biofilm in the surface.

thank you once again.

 

thank you for the feedback,

the reddish around the gill is the wound because he flashed on stone/rock, I will get the water parameter today it seems like ammonia burn I agree, yesterday we do 70% water change, and we'll check the water parameter today, so anything above 0 for ammonia and nitrite will alert as water change indicator?

I will also provide surface skimmer to reduce the biofilm in the surface.

thank you once again.

Red around the gills is a big sign of ammonia burns. In a cycled tank, you should have 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and 5-20 nitrAte. Once nitrAte gets to high that's when you need to do a water change. 20-40 is alright but pushing it. Above 40 it starts getting to high and you need to do water changes.

 

my nitrite level is < 0.3 mg/l (my test kit can't detect 0, this is the lowest number) is this mean I have 0 nitrite? I use Tetra test NO2 and it shows bright yellow color

I don't have ammonia test kit yet it is very expensive here in Indonesia its around 40 USD, but I have ammonia alert from seachem and it shows <0.02 ppm

I also don't have nitrate test kit yet but since I do 2 water change in the past 2 days I assume the nitrate is also very low in number...

does this number can conclude anything?

does rotten peas causing bio film and foamy surface? (2 days a go I fed peas and i'm afraid one of the pea burried under my sand substrate)

I have clean my canister and siphoned my gravel, but the foam is still there after around 6 hour prior water change...

is this because i'm adding 0,1% salt? or is it because i'm using bacteria starter?

nb: my aquarium water doesn't smell at all

 

The ammonia alert is fine. You don't need a special test kit for ammonia.

So far, it looks like what we know is you've got some small amount of ammonia and possibly some nitrite, though both are low- but this is after a large water change. At this point I'm inclined to agree with 2211Nighthawk that perhaps it was just a tank which hasn't fully cycled. It really isn't that unusual for tanks to take six weeks or longer to fully cycle.

As to whether you will want to treat for parasites, this has to be your judgement call. Medicines can be quite hard on a fish. Is the poop still white after the water changes?

The problem with not being able to test for nitrates is that if they were present we would know the cycling process was well along, so right now we're not sure if the cycling has stalled or not. I'd continue to add beneficial bacteria starter with every water change. A tip when using it- shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it. Shake it until you feel silly, then shake it some more. This tip got a stalled cycle started in one of my tanks.

Neither a missing pea, nor your bacterial starter, should cause biofilm on the top. This is likely caused by fish waste. Goldfish tend to eat a lot because they're trying to grow, which means they produce a lot of waste. I'm not sure if you need to go the the expense of a surface skimmer. If you take care of your stocking level, then periodically skimming it with a large spoon might be enough. How big is the filter you're using, in terms of gallons (or liters) per hour? And what type of biofilter medium are you using?

 

as for filter i'm using
1. Jebo 828 canister filter 1200 L/H with mechanical filter sponge and bio filter ceramic ring + crystal bio + purigen
2. UGF filter with power head 700 L/H

my tank is around 198 L without water or 170 L water only

the poop is still white but mix with normal poop.

is it possible that my hard water irritates the goldfish skin so that they are flashing?

 

It looks like your setup is good. It also looks like your fish is getting better. I think you need to monitor the water quality carefully, and do a partial water change any time it starts to deteriorate or the fish exhibit stress.

I've never heard of hard water irritating fish so they flash. It's much more likely that it was ammonia or nitrite, both of which fish will actively try to escape.

 

it looked like your fish had ammonia burn ..its not likely your tank was fully cycled...like others have said keep a close watch on your water parameters and do water changes as needed..very nice setup...hope everyone pulls through for u!!

 

thank you @California_L33, @THE_HABITAT, 2211Nighthawk for helping me through this situation, I learn a lot about freshwater aquarium from this issue, please accept my humble appreciation to all of you and I hope my case will also help other with same case, my fishes are okay now esp the white big Ranchu he's recover and the wound is gone after 3 days, bubble/foam also gone I don't know why, but the difference I made is I don't put salt when I do water changes (I think salt cause the foam)

do you guys ever heard about putting photos plant to reduce nitrate? I search on youtube that lots of people recommends it... and I also plan to use UV sterilizer... is this a good idea? or it could damage the beneficial bacteria? but for the moment I will monitor the situation, if I get another sick fish then I will purchase one...

 

thank you @California_L33, @THE_HABITAT, 2211Nighthawk for helping me through this situation, I learn a lot about freshwater aquarium from this issue, please accept my humble appreciation to all of you and I hope my case will also help other with same case, my fishes are okay now esp the white big Ranchu he's recover and the wound is gone after 3 days, bubble/foam also gone I don't know why, but the difference I made is I don't put salt when I do water changes (I think salt cause the foam)

do you guys ever heard about putting photos plant to reduce nitrate? I search on youtube that lots of people recommends it... and I also plan to use UV sterilizer... is this a good idea? or it could damage the beneficial bacteria? but for the moment I will monitor the situation, if I get another sick fish then I will purchase one...

Awsome!! So glad they're alright and everything turned out.

Portho I think your talking about. I've heard it does wonders (but water changes are still important) but I have cats so I can't have any live plants out of the water. I've seen a lot of people grow them inside their Hang On Back filters. I don't know about UV sterilizers, usually you only need that if your having a serious alge issue and I don't know what they are priced where you are but they are not cheap by me. By my understanding they don't do anything in the way of making fish healthier.

 

thank you @California_L33, @THE_HABITAT, 2211Nighthawk for helping me through this situation, I learn a lot about freshwater aquarium from this issue, please accept my humble appreciation to all of you and I hope my case will also help other with same case, my fishes are okay now esp the white big Ranchu he's recover and the wound is gone after 3 days, bubble/foam also gone I don't know why, but the difference I made is I don't put salt when I do water changes (I think salt cause the foam)

do you guys ever heard about putting photos plant to reduce nitrate? I search on youtube that lots of people recommends it... and I also plan to use UV sterilizer... is this a good idea? or it could damage the beneficial bacteria? but for the moment I will monitor the situation, if I get another sick fish then I will purchase one...

I'm glad your fish is on the mend . Fish are often difficult to treat, especially smaller species.

The plant you're probably thinking of is Pothos- Epipremnum aureum - Wikipedia. When used in the aquarium just the roots sit in the water, and the vines and leaves are outside. It's quite pretty when grown like this, and can also be grown as a houseplant. I've personally grown it hydroponically (with the roots in water and not soil) and it does quite well, though I've never actually had it growing out of an aquarium. I'm not sure if Goldfish will eat the roots or not, but (at least around here) it's quite inexpensive. I've heard of mixed results with it lowering nitrate. I can't imagine it doesn't lower it some as plants eat nitrogen, but you may need quite a bit to effectively lower it in a large tank like that. I know one of the problems with having plants in a tank with goldfish is they eat most any plant, so it might be worth a try.

A UV sterilizer won't hurt your beneficial bacteria. That bacteria grows on surfaces and isn't free floating in the water. You'd want to wait until the tank is definitely fully cycled before installing one, though, as it would kill the bacteria you pour in the water before it finds a surface to adhere to. The only real purpose of a UV sterilizer is to prevent a water borne infection from traveling from fish to fish. This assumes that there is a source of bacterial or parasitic infection being introduced to the tank. If your water supply is clean and tank is relatively constant and you quarantine any new arrivals there should be little need, but some people feel safer with them. One word of warning, if you ever need to put medicine in your tank make sure to turn off the UV. Some medicines become toxic to fish when exposed to UV. This also means making sure you get all the medicine out of the tank before turning it back on.

Best of luck. You have a beautiful tank and beautiful fish. I hope they bring you many years of enjoyment. If you have any more problems, or just want to post some pictures, you know where we are .

 

I really enjoy and feel helped in this forum, once again thank you for helping my case, and I will try the best to return the favor to help others if I know something about their issue / case...