Tiny Black Moor Sitting At Bottom

Hey all!

I saw what I think is the tiniest black moor I have ever seen at Petsmart. I waited a week so I didn’t make an emotional purchase and actually thought about it. I finally gave in and got the little guy.

He’s a black moor less just over an inch from head to tail. I got him yesterday and he is just sitting at the bottom. He’s swimming to keep himself in place but he’s not lively like the other goldfish friends in his tank.

I am thinking it’s just stress and am going to give him a day, but does anyone have any ideas? Do you think the other goldfish could be stressing him out? He’s going to be coming with me to a 20 gallon soon so he will be able to get a break but I’m not sure if he’s actually sick and I should be returning him to the store.

Any ideas? I did a water change two days before I got him and my test results are pretty much in check. Ammonia is a little high but I’m hoping that will change with my next partial soon.

Thanks everyone!
Bailey

 

Lucy Accidental duplicate post. Please delete.



Do you know about cycling a tank? Did you cycle the tank or is this a "fish in" cycle? If you did cycle the tank, when did it finish cycling? What do you mean, "Ammonia is a little high..." Any ammonia can kill or reduce your fishes immune system leaving it vulnerable to any number of diseases or illnesses. Goldfish are dirty little waste machines. You need to keep the water pristine at all times.

What is your Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate numbers?

What size tank is this and how many fish and of what sizes are in there?

How often do you do water changes, what is your pH and tank temp? What water treatment do you use? There should be zero ammonia period!

 

really should not add more fish until ammonia and nitrites are consistently 0.

was he sitting at the bottom while at the store? how was he behaving at the store before you bought him?

when you say he is swimming to keep himself in place, is the current too strong?

 

Did you know about tank cycling before adding fish or is this a "fish in" cycle? If you did cycle the tank, there should be zero ammonia. When did the tank finish cycling (how old is the system)? What do you mean, "Ammonia is a little high..." Any ammonia can kill or reduce your fishes immune system leaving it vulnerable to any number of diseases or illnesses. Goldfish are dirty little waste machines. You need to keep the water pristine at all times.

What is your Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate numbers?

What size tank is this and how many fish and of what sizes are in there?

How often do you do water changes, what is your pH and tank temp? What water treatment do you use? There should be zero ammonia period!

I hope you find this Goldfish Caresheet helpful to help your new friend and his tankmates:

Goldfish Care Sheet

 

Did you know about tank cycling before adding fish or is this a "fish in" cycle? If you did cycle the tank, there should be zero ammonia. When did the tank finish cycling (how old is the system)? What do you mean, "Ammonia is a little high..." Any ammonia can kill or reduce your fishes immune system leaving it vulnerable to any number of diseases or illnesses. Goldfish are dirty little waste machines. You need to keep the water pristine at all times.

What is your Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate numbers?

What size tank is this and how many fish and of what sizes are in there?

How often do you do water changes, what is your pH and tank temp? What water treatment do you use? There should be zero ammonia period!

I hope you find this Goldfish Caresheet helpful to help your new friend and his tankmates:

Goldfish Care Sheet

I’ve had this tank up and running since May. I have three other goldfish with him in there. One oranda(3.5”), one black moor (2”), one pinkie goldfish(2”). I have them in a 36g currently. But this fish I’m asking about will be coming back to my dorm to a 20 gallon where he will be by himself.

I don’t know what would cause the ammonia to be like this. I’ve been doing water changes at least once a week if not more. The ammonia is sitting at 0.25ppm when tested with my Masterkit. It’s been like this for three weeks now. I’ve been doing water changes with aquasafe but also put Prime into the water because I was told that will help keep the water in check. Ph is high at 8.2 but my water is hard because of where I live. ITE is 0ppm and ATE is 20ppm. I’m wondering if I’m not using the test kit right. I’m thinking of going and buying test strips to supplement because I’m having trouble with the kit. The tank sits around 70. There isn’t a heater and the room they are in gets cold at night.

He was acting weird at the store. Didn’t overly run away from the net, I almost asked for the other one in the tank just because of that. But I didn’t.

Thanks
Bailey

really should not add more fish until ammonia and nitrites are consistently 0.

was he sitting at the bottom while at the store? how was he behaving at the store before you bought him?

when you say he is swimming to keep himself in place, is the current too strong?

Nitrites are tested as being 0 whereas ammonia is tested as being 0.25ppm. Is this normal?

I don’t think so. He is hovering about a centimeter off the tank bottom. It’s weird for sure.

Thanks
Bailey

 

I think the main issue is your ammonia problem. You need to change out 25% of the water daily until that issue goes away. Prime makes the ammonia "harmless." It usually takes 24 to 36 hours for that effect to go away, so if you change the water daily with Prime as a conditioner, your tank will be doing much better. Ammonia means there's too much waste in your system. You need to dilute the ammonia.

Please read the water changing tips here for goldfish specifically:

Goldfish tank water changes

I believe that water is the most important aspect of Fishkeeping. Understanding your water, it's pH, hardness, alkalinity/acidity and then matching fish to your water.

With your little Black Moor, it could be that he wasn't too spunky in the tank at the store because he/she is dealing with some issues already. It could be parasites, genetics, or his/her previous care. It's hard to say. I'd just focus on the water conditions first and see what happens from there!