My comet Aqua's fins have a small rip on them.He also has some white spots on his fins(not like grains)And he has really tiny red streak a little smaller than this .
I dont have any test kits except amonia
The amonia's reading is
0-0.5

Hi Whirlwind.

Off the top, if your test kit ever shows any ammonia at all (ANY). You must do waterchanges to reduce it. Then you can go from there.


Ok, i'v got a few questions for you to answer so we can get to the bottom of why your tank has ammonia in it:

Tank size?

How many fish and how big?

Name and model of filter?

How long has the tank been up and running?

Can you describe how you go about filter maintenence?

How often do you do waterchanges and how much when you do them?

What is the ammonia level from your tapwater?

Can you go get the rest of the required test kits you need? (nitrIte, nitrAte, pH)


Post back soon.......

Tank size:10 gall

How many fish and how big:4 fish,not sure how big.(I know I'm oversotcked.I'm planning on getting a tank on my b-day which is around 2 weeks away)

Name and model of filter?I dont really know the model but the GPH is 100


How long has the tank been up and running?3 almost 4 months

Can you describe how you go about filter maintenence?Once a week I take out the blue pad rinse it clean and put it back.I also change the pad every 4 weeks.I clean out the tube and filter once a month.

How often do you do waterchanges and how much when you do them?Since I have an overstocked tank,I do around 40% a day.

What is the ammonia level from your tapwater?0 Ppm

I'll try to get more test kits but no one's going to be able to take me there so I cant get them tested :/

Well, you already know why your tank is showing ammonia don't you? Keeping 4 goldfish in a ten gallon tank will often reap readable ammonia levels. You should continue to do large waterchanges every single day until you get your larger tank for your birthday. By the way, are you planning on a 30 gallon or bigger? 30 gallons should be fine for your goldies for quite some time but they will eventually need a larger tank.

Can you get a product called Prime? Its a dechlorinator that is frequently found at most local fish shops. It not only dechlorinates the water, it also makes ammonia and nitrItes safe for your fish until your filter can remove them. If you can get this stuff, i suggest double dosing it at every waterchange.

Now, can you describe how you clean your filter when it needs it?

Post back soon.

Paul

Look at this thread, tell me if it is similar:
http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=26602

Well,I take the pad and they spray it with the water until it's good and clean.Around once a month I'll take the whole filter and rinse it out and then put it back.
It's not like your thread.There isnt a hole there but a rip.
The tail fin has a tiny rip on it.I also forgot to mention his fins are almost always clamped.I'm hpoing(badly) to get a 55 gallon for my goldies :/

Hmmm, perhaps you should review these two links for some good pointers on the nitrification cycle, filters and keeping them running properly:

tanks and cycling

filters and maintenence

I think you'll see that you are in a rather precarious situation with being overstocked.

The bio-filter area in your filter is most likely confined to a sponge or the filter cartridge (wichever it is). When you take the sponge/cartridge out of the filter and spray it with water from the tap (chlorine), you are killing off a very large amount of beneficial bacteria that keeps your goldfish in clean water (ammonia free). When you take your filter off the tank and clean it out 100%, you are essentially causing your filter and tanks bio-filter to stumble and this is causing the ammonia to rise (and most likely nitrItes too).

So, you should make it a proirity to get the rest of the test kits you need. Otherwise, you cannot know how much water you need to be changing everyday, til you get a larger tank. Otherwise, try to get the product I told you about (Prime) and use it with every daily waterchange you do.

Good luck and post back with any questions you may have

You did not read the whole thread then. My hole turned into a rip as well.
I just bought Melafix and I will if this helps. I was using PimaFix last week. I took the charcoal out but left the Ammonia chips in.

oh,thanks for the advice!
I'll also try to get a bottle of Primafax or Malafax
Thanks for the help

Whirlwind, please, try to keep the same thread going here. Otherwie, people will be asking the same questions of you over and over.

Are you performing large daily waterchanges? If not, you should be. You should be doing 50-75% waterchanges EVERY SINGLE DAY with dechlorinated, temperature matched water. This is the only thing you can do for them besides get a larger tank and larger filter.


If you cannot afford another tank and filer right now, I highly suggest that you pick the best 2 goldfish out of them all and give the other two to someone else that has a large enough tank to handle them. Or a local fish shop for resale. Otherwise, you will keep having sick fish. You cannot cure symptoms like this in a tank that is overcrowded like yours. They will just keep getting sick.

Keep in mind that you are not being fair to your goldfish. If you really care for them, you should do as I suggest and either get a larger tank or bin to house them or you should give some to someone that can. I know it will be hard for you to do, but I really feel its the only way to keep ANY goldfish happy in your tank at all.

Post back soon.

Sorry
I do around 50-75% every day and I'm planning on getting a bigger tank on April 3rd -_-
It's my B-day.
So,I'm waiting.Thats why I dont want to give any away just yet :/

Well, Thats sounds very promising.

But that doesn't help your goldfish right now. they REALLY need to be in a larger tank/bin than that, even if its just a plastic starage bin without a filter. i suggest at least a 20 gallon container. In an uncycled container, you have to do 100% waterchanges at least once a day. Maybe twice depending on if the ammonia is rising that fast.

Even if you cannot get a large container for them (temporarily)you simply must fix the source of the problem before you can expext them to get better. If you cannot find or get a larger bin you might want to start doing 50-75% waterchanges twice a day. Once in the morning and once at night. This way, you will be even more sure that ammonia isn't building up. also, reduce the amount of food you are feeding them, this will help keep ammonia levels lower.

Are you still using salt in the water you add to the tank?

I'm afraid that this is all you can do for now. Without test kits for all the levels, that is.

So, start looking around for something larger to house them in so that ammonia doesn't build up so quick.

Post back soon.

OK, my torn fin is falling off slowly. I guess this is the Melafix working? It seems as if it is good before the tear, but after the tear, it is red and streaked, but falling off.

My b-day is coming up exactly next week.Since it's so soon I'll feed them less food and do 50-75% twice a day.I still put salt in the tank and I clean the glass every day aswell because of the amonia stuck on it.I just checked the amonia level,and it's still around 0.5.

Thats good that your doing your waterchanges. This is important.


The stuff that you see growing on the glass is actually beneficial bacteria. This is the stuff that converts ammonia to nitrItes and then into nitrATes.

How well do you undestand the bio-filter (beneficial bacteria) and how it works?


Are you going to get the other test kits you need when you get your tank?

how are your goldies acting lately?

Are they eating, pooping normal?

Any black spots, sitting at the surface?

How about the torn fin, see any healing?


Post back soon.

Oh,they are!!The lady at the store told me that it's amonia that I need to clean.Oh,and I meant to say I clean the glass once a week.I'm starting to get the bio-filter things so I'll be more careful next time.
I'm also going to try to get the master test kit.
All my goldies except Aqua are fine.They'r constipated though so I'm working on that.They all also poop fine,except for Aqua again.
No black spots at the surface.
The fin dosn't look like it's healing.He still usually stay around in one spot.And it look's like he's trying to swim but just stays in the same spot.His red vein like things on his tail dont look ant better either.
I bought my fish some pellets and they all eat it fin except Aqua.He'll take one in and spit it out.Over and over again.I put some of the tropical flakes in the water and he ate them fine.

Okay, so Aqua seems to be the only one that isn't doing to well , huh?

Wanna try to give him a salt dip? I believe it will help him a little.


I suggest a 1.5% salt dip for up to ten minutes. If you like, I could walk you through it.


I think whats happening with your little guy is that his gills are getting burned by the ammonia. This causes the gills to produce excess slime to coat the damaged spots. Excess slime in the gills is probably the leading cause of not eating (that and internal bacterial infections). Since your funds are limited and you can't get any medications for internal infections, All you can do is try the salt dip/s.


Post back and let me know what you think.....

I've heard of salt dips but i dont know exactly how to do them.I'd be happy if you could tell me

Oh, and keep in mind that ammonia, nitrItes and nitrAte are IN the water, not ON things in the tank. Try reading through the two pages I linked you to earlier. Believe me, you'll want to read them 3 or 4 times at least. The better you understand it, the better off your fish will be in the future.

If you have ANY questions at all about ANYTHING you read on those two pages, don't hesitate to ask. I'll be happy to explain it better........

He's doing a little better!I'm slowly waiting for my b-day to come.It feels like eternity!
Every once in a while he'll un-clamp his fins and sometimews keep it like that for a long time.He keeps doing it for longer and longer!!I'm exited & hoping he'll make it!I went to look at him right now and his fins arn't clamped at all.So,I think he's getting better