The madness never ends......I finally cleared up my algae bloom, medicated my fish for eye cloud w/ melafix for 10 days, put the carbon and UV back on.

Both of my fish are acting weird! the one w/eye cloud will every once in a while start twitching (he also hasn't eaten for the past 4 days.)

The other swims around with his mouth open really wide and looks like he's gasping for air, but doesn't go to the top of the water. I just noticed today when he really gasps wide, his gills open really far out! I have no idea why this is happening. He's been like this even before I started medicating, but seems to be getting worse. He also just started darting back and forth today.

30 gal., 350 Penguin Bio-wheel, Hydrosponge w/airstone, Clarifier Excel UV Sterilizer; use Prime water conditioner.
Params:
Nitrate= 10-20ppm
Nitrite= 0
GH= 75
KH= 80
pH=7.0

Earlier today my pH was low (6.2-6.4) so I added just 1/2 tsp of baking soda to the 30 gal. The readings above are as of right now.

Please help! I can't stand to see them suffering!

I dont know if maybe you raised the ph too fast or not but i think you might have some sort of gill parasite, maybe flukes. have you had the fish long? and if you have had them a while then is there anything new you introduced to the tank such as live plants?

I think all those behaviours could be attributed to the low pH. How are your ammonia levels?

also, check the fishes mouth to make sure there arent any rocks stuck.

I've had this goldfish for 2 years...set up the 30 gal tank 3 months ago. Nothing new introduced in the tank. In fact, after getting rid of the algae blooms, I took out all of the decorations, so now just have gravel and equipment.

I not sure what flukes is, but I looked at his gills and they look red which is good.

Ammonia = 0....

I don't think there are rocks stuck in his mouth (when he opens really wide I don't see anything in there)...he's been doing this for probably 3 weeks now, but just increased last night. Both of my fish are acting weird, they both stay looking towards the back of the tank the majority of the time (under the filter or by the water pump.)

After reading some of the posts about baking soda, I added way less than recommended for my tank size. If the pH is affecting them, should I try crushed coral?

Sorry I'm so scattered w/ my thoughts...just seems like they will never get better again....

Oh, also I was thinking of doing the .3% salt addition (1 tsp per gal.; divided into 3 every 12 hours). Do you think this would be helpful? If there isn't a parasite, would adding the salt hurt one or both of the fish?

I think if fish swim into the current of the filter then thats a sign of gill trouble either gill flukes or bacterial gill disease.
do you have lots of aeration in the tank as well?
I dont know about raising the ph and hope someone helps you with that soon.

I have a dual Biowheel filter (350 Penguin) as well as the current coming out of the UV filter AND the air stone that is in the hydrosponge....seems like a lot of surface agitation to me.....

BTW, what is flukes? What do u think about adding the salts? Also I wanted to add crushed coral for the pH today. Do you think adding both at the same time will counteract each other?

Can anybody help with this?..........

Hi blackstripe - if it were me then yes, i'd definitely go ahead and salt.

Try to keep the ph stable at all times and see if the salt helps their condition.

When you say yawning - does the mouth remain open? or is it like one massive yawn?

Just on flukes, they occur pretty well everywhere but are microscopic and there's 2 classes, gill flukes and skin flukes. Gill flukes lay eggs under the gill cover which are then swept into the water. The eggs then hatch and tiny larva can infect a new fish. Skin flukes produce live young which then set about parasitizing the host immediately.

Flukes are notorious for causing ullcer disease as they dig deeply into the epidermis and gill tissue but they also carry pathogenic bacteria. The main causes of fluke infestations are overcrowding, stress and poor water quality... so, very nasty all round

Thanks JenW...I started by adding 1 Tbs. every 12 hours, but I can't find a salinity test in any of my lfs...I found a hydrometer that supposedly measures salt in the water, but not sure how to compare the readings.

Sorry for being so ignorant, but what would the reading be at .3%? The markings on this meter shows 1.05 to 1.00...Any ideas?

Well for a 30gal - that's 30teaspoons (or 6 tablespoons) which equals 0.1% then 12 hours later, another 30 teaspoons/6 tablespoons (0.2%) and 12 hrs after that, the final 30 teaspoons/6tbsp giving you a grand total of 0.3%

Then when you do waterchanges, try to measure out the amount of water removed and replace the salt removed... it'd be best to try and keep your salinity at 0.3% for 3 weeks, then see how they fare.

If you see any deterioration, or different symptoms, then it may be time to think of another treatment, but for now, perfect water and salt should hopefully see some improvement

Any news on your fish, BlackStripe?

Thanks for checking on us, Ranchu!

Just checked the water params:
pH= 7.6
Ammonia= 0
Nitrite= 0
Nitrate= 7

Water looks great, but fish do not...Started to treat them with Maracyn-Two (by Mardel), this is the 4th day...but no change. In fact, BlackStripe (my fish that was not sick with the swollen gills) is now hiding in the corner on the ground. O.R. ("Orange Roughy"- the one with the swollen gills and gasping) still looks the same. They are still not eating...

I am moving in a few days and am scared to transport them while they are sick...any advice?

Now O.R. is swimming with his tail above his head....it seems like they are slowly dying.....can anyone help?