Very Poorly Goldfish

dear all, please help,

I have a very poorly goldfish and I am out of ideas. I know this wouldn’t have started if I hadn’t let the water quality slip, I’m already aware and beating myself up, parameters are now all healthy but I can’t get him better, he is getting worse.

I have been treating as per instructions with API melafix for bacterial infection (water change first and into a quarantine tank).

After the most recent water change (instructed after 7 days of treatment as per the bottle) I have given him a salt dip (the pic). I have never had a fish get to this point and am wondering where to go from here. What should I treat him with?
Can this be treated or does he need euthanising? I don’t want to kill him but he is so red and must be in pain. It’s been just over 2 weeks.

Any help?

 

Gypsy13 she had Goldie experience and is great with fish that are sick!!

 

No salt dips! With the red skin the salt will burn him.

 

View attachment 463729 View attachment 463730 dear all, please help,

I have a very poorly goldfish and I am out of ideas. I know this wouldn’t have started if I hadn’t let the water quality slip, I’m already aware and beating myself up, parameters are now all healthy but I can’t get him better, he is getting worse.

I have been treating as per instructions with API melafix for bacterial infection (water change first and into a quarantine tank).

After the most recent water change (instructed after 7 days of treatment as per the bottle) I have given him a salt dip (the pic). I have never had a fish get to this point and am wondering where to go from here. What should I treat him with? View attachment 463728 Can this be treated or does he need euthanising? I don’t want to kill him but he is so red and must be in pain. It’s been just over 2 weeks.

Any help?

Hello Life...

I'd recommend large weekly water changes of at least 50 percent and include a small dose of standard aquarium salt. A rounded teaspoon in every 5 gallons of treated tap water. I keep a lot of different species of Goldfish and highly recommend salt. Include a bit of minced garlic in the food you feed. Get the organic kind. No additives, just the garlic and water. Feed some frozen foods. Sally's San Fran is about the best.

Good luck.

Old

 

I think I’d get some stress coat and also treat him with something stronger than Melafix such as Furan-2 or erythromycin. The Erythomyacin will be easier to find, you’ll have to order Furan-2. You can also dab 3% hydrogen peroxide on wounds a couple of times a day with cotton ball. Hopefully Gypsy13 will come along later with some ideas. Keep us posted, please.

 

Gypsy13 she had Goldie experience and is great with fish that are sick!!

Thanks

 

Welcome to FishLore! I'm very sorry to see your goldfish is sick.

What size tank do you keep this fish in? Is the tank filtered and cycled?

I think the best things you can do is treat with a real med like suggested by Goldiemom and keep the water as clean and pristine as suggested by oldsalt777 (altough I myself would recommend against using the salt). But sometimes when using meds you cannot perform water changes, so if the tank is not cycled, you will be in a little bit of a bind.

Best of luck!

 

Welcome to FishLore! I'm very sorry to see your goldfish is sick.

What size tank do you keep this fish in? Is the tank filtered and cycled?

I think the best things you can do is treat with a real med like suggested by Goldiemom and keep the water as clean and pristine as suggested by oldsalt777 (altough I myself would recommend against using the salt). But sometimes when using meds you cannot perform water changes, so if the tank is not cycled, you will be in a little bit of a bind.

Best of luck!

Hi, the tank is 200litre, cycled, mature, usually pretty stable (had a few blips, the fish is 12 years old now!). I did take my eye of the ball though, new job, busy few months with other things and I didn’t pay them attention like I should have. The nitrates were high and the CO2 was high (though I don’t know why, it’s well aerated). Nitrates much better and on the way down now and everything else spot on.

Are there any suggestions for stronger treatment I can buy in the UK? I can’t see erythromycin anywhere except for e-bay.

Also, thank you all for responding, I really appreciate your time xx

 

How high were the nitrates. Fish can usually survive high nitrates, so long as they move up slowly over time. It's the sudden drop in nitrates that usually harms a fish when you perform a large water change (or several back to back water changes) to get the nitrates lower quickly.

Also, CO2 will alter pH so maybe due to the high CO2 level the pH rapidly changed and that is what effected the fish.

 

Hello again Life...

The last thing you want to do is to subject your ailing fish to chemical treatments. They can be costly and you have no way of knowing how the fish will react. Most folks don't keep Goldfish, so they don't understand the vast difference in them and tropicals. Using a little standard aquarium salt is much cheaper and safer than chemicals. The salt will ease the stress on your sick fish and parasites and pathogens aren't able to tolerate traces of salt in water. The best thing to do is to give your fish a bit of salt and lots of pure, treated tap water.

Old

 

Well, here we have a difference of opinion from 2 old goldie keepers. I think with the severity of the burns, we need to leave salt out of the equation. Just my opinion though. Gypsy may have a differing opinion also.

 

I have two little cents to add. Methylene blue stat. This poor fish is definitely in super bad shape. The salt didn’t hurt but this poor thing needs something to counteract poisoning ASAP. Not baths not dips but in qt tub with airstone. If the redness doesn’t subside substantially within a week, euthanasia is definitely on the table. Just my opinion, and please don’t beat yourself up, he’s been exposed to too much for too long. The only chance I see for him is to counteract the poisoning. Please hurry.
I’m sorry to be so disagreeable. But this is bad as I’ve heard in quite a while.

 

I have two little cents to add. Methylene blue stat. This poor fish is definitely in super bad shape. The salt didn’t hurt but this poor thing needs something to counteract poisoning ASAP. Not baths not dips but in qt tub with airstone. If the redness doesn’t subside substantially within a week, euthanasia is definitely on the table. Just my opinion, and please don’t beat yourself up, he’s been exposed to too much for too long. The only chance I see for him is to counteract the poisoning. Please hurry.
I’m sorry to be so disagreeable. But this is bad as I’ve heard in quite a while.

Thanks for everyone’s tips. He is in a qt tank with air stone and meth blue. He has been to see a fish vet who has given him antibiotics, we should see a marked change by Monday if they are working. The next step would be surgery but discussing with the vet if it gets to this, it would be inhumane to carry on and he would look at euthanising him.

He looks less red since being in the meth blue but still isn’t moving around much. Hopefully the meth blue and antibiotic jab will work.

(Just out of interest due to the above debate, the vet recommended salt baths of 1 hour a day, 0.5oz salt to a gallon of water).

 

Thanks for everyone’s tips. He is in a qt tank with air stone and meth blue. He has been to see a fish vet who has given him antibiotics, we should see a marked change by Monday if they are working. The next step would be surgery but discussing with the vet if it gets to this, it would be inhumane to carry on and he would look at euthanising him.

He looks less red since being in the meth blue but still isn’t moving around much. Hopefully the meth blue and antibiotic jab will work.

(Just out of interest due to the above debate, the vet recommended salt baths of 1 hour a day, 0.5oz salt to a gallon of water).

Tell your vet I love him dearly! I try to restrict myself here because it causes such a debate. I’m hoping for the best and thinking you’re super awesome for taking your finbaby to the vet.
Please please keep us posted?