My Blackmoor (Sweep) is looking really bad.
He is just floating on top of water most of the time. His fins are looking all ragged and hanging down. This has happened overnight: He seemed very lively yesterday.
I sepperated from my comet 2 or three weeks ago because my other Blackmoor died in very similar circumstances but I thought he was being attacked by the commet.

Ammonia: .17ppm
Nitrates 48
Nitrites .87 ppm
No tester for Ph
Only fish in 29Gal Tank
No water additives
Feeds on Premium Goldfish flakes and occational carrot and apple.

Please help.

Hi there bigphil - it sounds like a water issue. You may need to either use some Prime to sort out your ammonia - or do some large waterchanges to bring your ammonia and nitrites to a less toxic level.

How long has your tank been cycling? What kind of filtration do you have? How long have you had your fish? What other symptoms are there? Do you use a dechlorinator at all?

It sounds like time is of the essence as he's doing so poorly and the only chance of survival is getting his water perfect first.

I'm hoping he makes it and please post back soon.

Hi thankyou for your advice.
I tranfered sweep back to the split 55 gal tank which was fully cycled and and water test done at local pet shop showed Ammonia and Nitrites as zero. But unfortunately it was too late and she only lasted another couple of hours.
Everything happened so quickly! Less than 24 hours from no sighn of sickness to death.
I have stayed up and watched her die, feeling totaly helpless and inadiquate.
After only a few weeks of fish keeping I have lost 5 out of 6 fish.
I am now left with just my comet, Sue, in a 55 Gal Tank.
I don't intend to get any more fish until I can afford test equipment and have learned alot more about care.
I am praying that sue will have a good long life in my care.

I don't know how to move this post to general disc. Can some one do that for me?
I'm going off line for a day or 2 to gather my thoughts.
I can't believe I'm getting so emmotional about fish!
But I just feel so down.

I'm very sorry Phil but it happens to the best of us. We have all lost beautiful, healthy fish to unexpected death. When something mysterious strikes it is not uncommon for more than one fish to be effected. There could be an epidemic of something going around.

It doesn't mean you are not qualified or not caring for your fish at all.

I understand your need to take stock and "gather your thoughts". It is devasting to be helpless and just watch and wait while your fish dies. Take care and be kind to yourself, I am looking forward to hearing from you again soon.

I'm so sorry bigphil I hope you'll be back real soon.

And yeah, they do get under your skin so I can understand how upset you are...

Sorry about losing your fish. I have terrible luck with Black Moors. I wonder if they are more fragile than most others. I really like Black Moors but I am afraid to get one.

I too am sorry to hear this.


When you are ready to start thinking about getting some more goldies, we will be here to answer ANY questions you may have. For the time being, here is some good reading for you to peruse:

Cycling

Filters and maintenence

Keeping Goldfish (by Emmahj)


I'm sure these links will help you very much. Stick to their suggestions and use Prime or amquel plus for your dechlorinator and you will have a great head start in keeping your goldfish happy and healthy.


Take care and I hope to see you around soon.

Paul

Big Phil - I am really sorry to hear about Sweep!


I know that feeling well - I have been feeling that this whole year long with Graham. It is a lot of new info, techniques, and equipment getting it right.

We will all be here to help keep Sue happy and healthy. The fact that you are so concerned and dedicated is a very excellent prospect for her!

You have had a lot of losses lately, the least of which are the fish right now. It is ok to feel crummy and feel sad about a fish - take some time and take stock.

I am thinking of you and hoping things will get brighter for you soon!

BigPhil,I too am so sorry about the loss of Sweep.I adore Moor'a and was pulling for him all the way.Paul suggested some sound advise.Don't throw in the towel yet.Sue is still here for you!

phil, very sorry to hear about your loss. it happens to the best of 'em, but it's always tough. i still get bummed when i lose a fish, but keep at it. the rewards of this hobby far outweigh the downs. i agree with jeanna though, i've had some trouble with black moors in the past.

unfortunately, my black moor is going through the exact same thing right now, so thank you for your post. i ran the water in my 15 gal. goldfish tank (also have a 72 gal tropical and 32 gal saltwater) through the tests and to my surprise my ph was at 7.5 (always had basic water) and my amonia and nitrite were both at 0.00. what was high was my nitrates (up to almost 75!!) which is weird because i've had a fantail, a calico, and a fiddler crab in there running for 4 months now. and no one ever thinks of nitrates as really harmful to fish.

i do have a question though, any ideas on how to bring those nitrates back down quickly. i've already got live plants in all my aquariums, and the water out of my tap has a low nitrate level. i just did a 25% water change and filter media change (30 gal. pump filter w/ carbon + sponge, no amonia remover) this morning. any help would be greatly appreciated.



justin

:)Hi Justin, The only real way to lower the NitrAtes,is through water changes. You may have to do them a little more often,until you get them down where they're reading under 20,or increase the weekly ones that you do now to a higher percent.

Devs, as always, has given some great advice!

You can do waterchanges by almost any amount without any harm to your fish. Unless, the pH of your tapwater is lower than that of your tank. If you have a good solid pH from tap to tank, ANY size waterchange is ok to do.

If your tapwater contains nitrAtes, even a little, then it is possible that you also have ammonia and/or nitrItes as well. Test for these if you havent already.....


Paul

thanks for the advice. looks like i caught it in time. his caudal fin is still pretty ragged, but the dorsal and pectoral fins look like they're healing nicely. i'm doing small water changes about every other day, so as not to upset the bacterial balance i've got going in there.

if anything the water out of my tap is too basic, which i'm sure helps in this situation; and i'm adding a little aq. salt to the new water on advice from some other strings on this very helpful website.

i checked the water in my tropical aquarium and that too had really high nitrates. so i went to my lfs here and they had this product called nitra-zorb, it's a filter cartridge kinda like ammo-lock that's supposed to neutralize nitrates; so i'm hoping that'll help too.

thanks again for the quick advice,
justin