Sick Common Goldfish

[dwayne13]

We stressed our goldfish out when we changed too much of his water. It has been three days since and he is getting worse. His fins were already slightly damaged from when he overcame fin rot 4 months ago but it seems they may be getting worse. I noticed a little red on the edges of his top fin and a white dot on his back fin? His water conditions are good. The ammonia and nitrate levels are perfect. Ph has always been a bit high but it has never been an issue.

After another day the spots on his fins are gone but he is just laying on the bottom of the tank now. It is a 10 Gallon tank. He is 2 years old. He won't eat and rarely moves.

What should I be doing. There are no signs of any specific disease and I don't know how to help him. I have an old 5 Gallon tank that I could use as a hospital tank? Do I use the same filter, or add rocks to it or even need to use a hospital tank as he is the only fish in his current tank?

Any info or suggestions are appreciated

 

[funkman262]

How big is the goldfish? My comet goldfish outgrew his 10 gallon tank pretty quickly. If he's too large from the small tank, he could be feeling cramped and (i'm sure others can give you a lot more information on this) he can become deformed. That's my opinion but hopefully others can add to it.

 

[dwayne13]

Hes not to big for the tank. Hes only about 2 1/2 inches long

 

[funkman262]

After 2 years? Mine was much larger than that after 1 year. Supposedly, goldfish grow depending on the size of their tank but just because they're small, it doesn't mean they haven't outgrown it. I'm going to stop there with the hopes that somebody else can help your fish. I wish you and your fish the best of luck.

 

[dwayne13]

ya I dunno that's just how big he is.

 

[gremlin]

Your goldie needs to be in a larger tank. The outside of his body stopped growing because of the smallness of his home, but the insides keep growing. This can cause all sorts of problems. At 2 years old, he should be well over 6 inches. I have goldies in my pond that are three inches long and they aren't even a year old yet. His growth has been stunted and that damages their insides. Even with perfect readings (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, < 25 nitrate) your goldie can still get sick from being in too small of a tank. The fin rot 4 months ago was most likely caused by stress. The red in his fins is another sign of stress - it is also a sign of ammonia poisoning, but if your ammonia reads as 0 then it most likely stress. Move your goldie to at least a 20 gallon tank (larger is definitely better) and you can treat with Melafix if you would like. Melafix is a good all around wound healing medication for goldies - kind of like neosporin for people.

A few questions - what kind of goldfish? what exactly are your reading when you test and what type of test do you use? what type of food do you feed, how much, and how often? Any pictures?

 

[dwayne13]

I have a Ph indicator in the tank and some testing kits for nitates and nitrites. If I was to get him a 20 Gallon tank now would it even make a difference? Once a fish is sitting at the bottom does he stand a decent chance. If so I would definitely get a bigger tank. I don't know if it is a specific kind I think it is just a common goldfish. All oarnge in color. I feed him Omega One Flakes.

 

[dwayne13]

sorry I feed him once in the morning and once at night. Not too much but it takes him about 2 min to eat it all.

 

[dwayne13]

It seems to be breathing very heavily as well

 

[gremlin]

I have a Ph indicator in the tank and some testing kits for nitates and nitrites. If I was to get him a 20 Gallon tank now would it even make a difference? Once a fish is sitting at the bottom does he stand a decent chance. If so I would definitely get a bigger tank. I don't know if it is a specific kind I think it is just a common goldfish. All oarnge in color. I feed him Omega One Flakes.

I am going to suggest a liquid test kit as it will be more accurate. I see you do not mention a test for ammonia - you really should get one. API Master Test Kit is an excellent liquid test kit that will test for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Moving him to a 20 gallon tank now would make a difference as it will give him room to start growing again and will also help to control ammonia in the water. He will also need a filter and an air pump to help add oxygen to the water.

sorry I feed him once in the morning and once at night. Not too much but it takes him about 2 min to eat it all.

I am also going to suggest switching from the flakes to pellets. They are cleaner and easier to feed. Drop in 3 or 4 pellets - they should be eaten within a couple of minutes (or sooner). Any that are not eaten after two minutes can be removed, let them dry and feed them the next time. You can do this once or twice a day. Any more than that and the excess food will just rot in the water and cause more ammonia to build up.

It seems to be breathing very heavily as well

The breathing heavy is most likely due to not enough oxygen in the water. A good filter and and air stone will both help to add oxygen to the water. Also, because of the cramped tank causing stunted growth, it is possible that your goldies lungs are cramped. This would also make it difficult for the poor thing to breathe.

If you have a picture of him/her it will help us to know what type of goldie you have.

 

[dwayne13]

Until I can get a 20G tank should I remove his plant decoration to give him more room

 

[dwayne13]

sorry I have an liquid ammonia test kit as well. Ammonia levels are good

 

[dwayne13]

.

 

[gremlin]

Until I can get a 20G tank should I remove his plant decoration to give him more room

You don't need to take out the plant. Just try to get a larger tank as soon as you can. Craigslist may have some good deals. You can also check your local newspaper for yard sales.

sorry I have an liquid ammonia test kit as well. Ammonia levels are good

By "good" I hope you mean the ammonia reads at 0. Anythiing else is not "good".

The picture is a bit blurry, and of course with him laying on the bottom it is difficult to tell, but it almost looks like he may be a fantail. That would classify him as a fancy goldfish and a 20 gallon should be fine for him (although a 30-40 gallon would be better - then he could have a friend). If possible, try to get a 20 gallon long instead of a 20 gallon high. That way there is more side to side room for swimming.

 

[funkman262]

The picture is a bit blurry, and of course with him laying on the bottom it is difficult to tell, but it almost looks like he may be a fantail.

haha I was thinking that too but didn't want to throw it out there because knowing me, I'd be wrong lol