I need help! I have a comet goldfish that shares a 2.5 gallon with one other goldfish. I kno it has swimers bladder, but its fins are completely shredded. Soo much that it strugles to swim at all and the shredding is extended to his body. I think infecton has set in. Im not sure if i should let nature take it course or if its not too late to help,or make him confortable! The other fish is completely healthy. Wat do i do!???

Hi pyshfood and

If you could answer as many of the question in the red box as possible, it'll help pinpoint the exact reason.

Just off the top - a 2.5 gallon is way too small for even 1 fish. Comets neet roughly 20 gallons each (or at the very least - 10 gallons while they're small) to remain healthy and I suspect water quality may be the biggest issue you face.

Is there any way you can upgrade to a larger tank for your fish?

For now, I'd recommend doing an immediate waterchange - say 50% and add 2.5 teaspoons of pre-dissolved sea, rock or aquarium salt.

Try to match the temperature and ph exactly while using a dechlorinator.

Please post back as much information as you can (ie. filtration, aeration, water parameters, type of dechlorinator you use etc) and we can take it from there although if they do remain in a 2.5 gallon bowl, then their chances, sadly, aren't too great.

So please post back soon

First, it would help if you could answer as many questions as you can that are in the red box at the top of the page.

The other thing that could help is that if you could move your fish to a larger container. 2.5 gallons is too small for too goldfish. Ideally, they should have between 10 - 20 gallons of water per fish. I know that sounds like a great deal of water, but goldfish are very messy fish and in order to keep them healthy, they need a lot of water.

What you could do for now is buy a large Rubbermaid type tub. Get one approx 15 gallons or so. Fill it with water and use your dechlorinator (a very good water conditioner is Prime). Allow the water to get to the same temperature as your tank (I am assuming with a small tank it is kept at room temperature). Add 1 teaspoon of salt per gallon. Use aquarium, kosher, sea, coarse or pickling salt (a salt without additives). After this dissolves, you can add your fish.

I would change about 50% of the water every couple of days. Try and match the temperature as closely as possible and re-add any salt that you take out. So, if your container is approx. 15 gallons, and you remove 7 gallons of water, add 7 teaspoons of salt (dissolve the salt in dechlorinated water before adding).

Providing very clean water for your fish will probably help heal his fins. Also, it help his swimbladder issues, since high nitrites and nitrates can affect that.

If possible, you should look into buying a larger tank for your fish.

I hope this helps, and please feel free to ask questions.

Jen and I answered at the same time