Sick Goldfish

geordielass

We bought 3 goldfish 6 weeks ago.Two are white with a bit of gold on them and the other is all gold with fancy fins.The all gold one started to go on it's side a week ago so I put it in a seperate bowl and it seems to be okay now but it's fins have started to go black.It is now spreading.The other two little blighters did seem to bite the little one occasionally so he has been bullied but I don't know how to make him better.Anyone help please??

bobshep

Geordielass - it may be that the goldfish is just changing colour (I believe in the wild they are black rather than gold). If the tail and fins are looking a bit ragged at the edges then this could be a fungal problem that needs treatment - best phone the local aquatics store for advice.

The bullying may be due to the fish spawning - this happens every few weeks or so in my tank but sometimes it can go too far. We had a fish that was really bullying one of our smaller fish so eventually we gave it to someone who had a large pond with massive Koi Carp - the bully became the small fish in a big pond and our tank became a happier place to live!

Swimming on its side could also be a sign of swim bladder disease. If it occurs again you can get a treatment from the aquatics shop. Also buy some stress zyme.

Good luck!

paul_h

I used to keep fish many years ago, from what I can remeber a fish if going on it's side indicates a swim bladder disorder, sometimes caused by a viral or bacterial infection, occasionally by constipation in fancy types. However, the blackening on the fins could also be indicative of a bacterial infection...

I would visit an aquatics/pet shop, explain the symptoms in as much detail as you can, and they should be able to give you something to help - possibly a bactericide.

EDIT - cross posted with bobshep

geordielass

Thanks for your replies guys.I did ask in one pet shop but the girl didn't have a clue.Will try an aquatics shop and hopefully get something to help it out.Poor little Nemo.

louise_1981

How long did you cycle your tank for before introducing the fish? It is essential for the fish that a tank is cycled for around 8 weeks before introducing them, Chemicals spike at around 4-6 weeks, depending upon your water type, and can make your fish sick. Also you need to make sure you are de chlorinating your water when you are doing water changes, you can get a bottle from all fish shops which does this in a matter of seconds.

I agree with paul_h as to the symptoms you have described, but be careful as young fish do change colour as they mature, I even had one fish that changed colour with the seasons!

Just re-read your original post, by the sounds of things you have been sold two different breeds of fish. one that looks like this http://www.brooklands.co.nz/gold/gold.htm

and two that look like this

http://www.brooklands.co.nz/gold/shubunkin.htm

and as someone has said the two as bullying the fancy fish (fin nipping) This can happen in any tank, but often happens with fish with longer fins such as gourami and fighting fish, and longer finned gold fish. The fin nipping causes stress too and can make a sick fish sicker.

Sorry for the long post but hope it helps

JasonLVC

It's quite scary how much bad advice some shops can give new fish owners. I've had to learn the hard way, until I found a very good aquatics shop.

Poorly fish is almost always due to water quality. For a new tank of water it must be de-chlorinated and cycled (as earlier posts have stated). I usually use Stress Coat to kill the chlorine in the water.

You must ensure you have a filter and that it is suitably ready (again, that's the cycling of the water thing mentioned earlier). By taking the fish out, he's got better probably as he's in new water and not the old contaminated water. Suggest you do a half water change with the mentioned additives.

Also suggest an anti-biotic, there are different ones to trat different problems, but it will clear them up in no time. Fish are quite resilient.

Another thing I learnt about fish is to not feed them too often. The tubs of flakes say things like feed them twice a day. The reality is I feed my goldfish twice a week with 5-6 flakes each. It sounds cruel as everytime you go near them they'll come up gasping for food, but that's just a reflex. When I first started they were fed twice a day and within days the tank went cloudly and they got ill. Did this for about 3 months until got some good advice from the aquatics folks. Was told fish eat very little and after the initial feeding frenzy, the food will sink and the fish don't tend to eat it, it rots and clouds up the tank.

Joyful25

We had a couple of fish last year, and their symptoms sound similar. We took a sample of the water to a local aquatic shop and the (free) tests revealed a high level of nitrate; I think we'd been over feeding them _pale_ although our filter seemed fine.
My mum's had one goldfish for getting on for 12 years, all she does is change the water once a week and feed it twice a day, so filters aren't for every fish I guess :think: