Several weeks ago, our 7 year-old goldfish flopped her way out of the tank. She must have been laying there for a while, b/c by the time we got her back in, she sank like a rock. She eventually came around, but has developed a lot of problems since then.

Her symptoms are - one side completely stripped of slime coat - instead of the gold color, it is completely white and has developed cotton-like growth. She also has fin rotting, and the most recent symptom which has developed in the past week is a slow "blackening" of her body - her "good" side has gotten bloctchy with black marks, and the outline of her entire bad side is black. It actually has a burnt-like look to it.

While the first week or so she was lethargic and didn't swim at all, she has recently started swimming to go get food, which she is now eating. however, she still "sits" most of the time at the bottom of the tank.

We started her on Melafix for a while, then changed to PimaFin since it helps to get rid of the cotton-like growth. No real changes though since then...

Any suggestions????

She is quarantined in a 2 gallon tank, eating the normal flake food, we change the water quite often b/c of the medication. she's about 3 1/2 inches long.

If you could answer all the questions in the red box a mod will be able to help you sooner. How are your ammonia levels? The black could be ammonia burns. If you find that the ammonia levels are high, change about 50% of the water to lower it. The burns will heal on thier own once the water is perfect. Just answer the questions in the box and we'll be able to help you out better. Most problems occur because the water isn't perfect and the stress from being out of the water might have made you fish susceptable to problems caused by the water. Good Luck and

Did I just read this post in another section of the board???????

I did. Please make sure that you only post one thread, this will help us to not get confused. I will merge the 2 threads into one, that way all the info is in one place.

Thanks.

sorry 'bout that!

I am in the process of going about testing the ammonia and pH levels in her water. I think we were changing the water way too much, and I didn't realize that was actually harming her by interfering with the ammonia/nitrate cycle. For now I am sticking with some very small water changes.

Here are a couple of pics that show her bad side, as well as the black lining.
http://community.webshots.com/album/480671775Lqblod

(please let me know if link doesn't work)

again, any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

Ok, first of all a 2 gallon tank is too small for her to be recovering in. She needs 10 gallons of water, especially in her crucial state. So if you can either buy a 10 gallon tank or a rubbermaid container, that would be a good start.

What kind of filter are you using? Is the tank well aerated? When you get a chance make sure you post water params as well, so we can see if there is ammonia in the tank (which could be the cause of the black markings) and if your tank is cycled, etc.

Melafix can help with minor injuries and can repair damaged fins, but by the looks of it, your fish has some sort of fungus growing on its side and perhaps a related bacterial disease. Most likely caused from the stress of jumping out of the tank and/or water quality problems. Maracyn 1 and 2 are broad spectrum antibiotics that treat for fungus and bacteria diseases. You can use both at the same time (1 and 2). When you use them, make sure to remove carbon from the filter and do not do any water changes (enless your water quality is poor) until the 5 day treatment is up. Than do a large water change 30-50% and wait a day or two to check for improvement. If there is none, continue with another 5 day treatment. There might be a better product to use for her illness that someone else may suggest.

Also, if you can get a hold of medicated fish food, that would help too!

If you have any questions ask away and I really hope your fishie pulls through!

Hi fishflaker - as gumbo mentioned, please post your water parameters as I too believe the black marks are ammonia burn. As a suggestion, you could do a 50% waterchange and add salt (1 teaspoon of sea, rock or aquarium salt per gallon - predissolved) to the new water then if you can, either test your water or take a sample to your local fish outlet and ask them to test for you - then post the numbers here. It's especially important to test the ph - as his skin is appearing milky in the pictures.

Just on meds, unless your water quality is perfect, sadly no meds will work - at all. At this stage, the most essential thing for your guy is perfect water.

Is there a chance you can get him a bigger home soon?

Please post back soon

Thank you so far for the help! We do have Maracyn-2, although I figured meds might not quite help if this is an issue with the ammonia.

I'm working on getting her into a bigger hospital tank (we have 2 fish of 7 years, so I didn't want to 'infect' the healthy one with any infections).

Just tested the ammonia and nitrate
Ammonia - 3-3.5
Nitrate - 5

The tank is well aerated with an air-pump, although since we plopped her in a hospital tank, it does not have a filter. we tried putting a small one in, but it kept knocking her around so we removed it.

My boyfriend is saying to do a near-complete water change now since the levels are so high... and then continue to do very small water changes every few days (20-25%). I guess I'm just confused - I thought that the nitrate eventually decreases the ammonia level (?)

For now I'll go ahead with a substantial water change

Oh yeah - also now it looks like her 'rear end' wants to float, so she gets annoyed cause she has to swim around and can't sit at the bottom for a while like she used to. She'll settle at the bottom, then her butt will start floating.

Is this related to her swim bladder - I'm wondering about what might be going on there....

What are the params in the original tank? How many gallons is it?

Ammonia of 3-3.5 is very high which you probably know.Since this hospital tank is not cycled and you have no filter for bacteria to grow on, I would do large daily water changes so that your ammonia is always below .50. Without these pristine water conditions, your fish won't heal. I'd also highly suggest you get a bigger tank when you can and a filter. ( ALthough with this tank you will still have to do daily water changes because it won't be cycled yet. Eventually even with the water changes it will cycle in 4-5 weeks- get a filter that pumps 100gph)

For the up-side down floating, she may have swim bladder problems. Do you soak the food before feeding her in tank water? Try feeding her some cooked peas. Peel the shell off and put pieces of peas into her tank. She'll gobble them up. They act as a laxative and can relieve any constipation,etc.

I hope this helps a little. Keep us posted and Good luck!

( I'm still kind of concerned with the white cottony stuff, you might want to look into that, maybe its from ammonia but it might need to be treated )

Hey Gumbo - Its funny you mentioned peas b/c i tried that a few days ago and the fish absolutely loved them!

The white cottony stuff actually went away, and it actually looks like her coating might be repairing (is that even possible?)

The original tank is small too - 3 gallons.. I know, small :-( But they're troopers - they lived in the 2 gallon for over 6 years.

I'll work on getting her into a bigger tank with a filter

Well I am very glad that white cottony stuff went away and its getting better!

You can get ten gallon tanks with hood and filter for around 50 dollars. Since you have 2 fish I would get a 20 gallon, however, for about 80 dollars. I hope you can afford that. For now, if you don't have the money, just keep up with daily water changes and testing the water & you should be ok. But I'd start saving, it's worth it.

I'm amazed that they lived six years in a 2 gallon! You must be really good with water changes. How big are your fish? 6 year old goldfish should be atleast 5 inches long, I'd say. Keeping them in a small tank severely stunts their growth. This is really unhealthy because their internal organs don't stop growing but their body captivity does. As you can guess, this can cause a whole bunch of internal problems/diseases, etc. Just some extra information you might want to keep in mind.

How is the swim bladder problem going? Is it better? I know my fish love pease too


Hope all goes well.

Hi fishflaker,

Sorry to hear about your poor fish. Others have talked about the waterQ issue and tank size so I won't labour the point.

Can you please check her gills (inside) for me? Do they look fresh meat red or pale pink/grey/brown? Are they in a nice fan shape, not slimey/tattered?

Has she poop lately? What does it looks like? Normal color and texture or white, long and stringy?

Hi All-

Well good news... I moved both fish into a nice 10 gallon tank.. they love it!! The sick fish is much much better. I am testing the ammonia and nitrate levels on a regular basis. Her black spotting is much much lighter and is gradually fading. her gills look normal, and both are pooping regularly.

What is interesting is that the sick fish was sitting at the bottom of her hospital tank for as long as we had her in there (about a month) and once we put both back together in the 10 gallon, she doesn't sit and she swims around with the other fish. seems much happier, maybe the small tank was just torture for her.

I too cannot believe they have lived for so long especially in a small 3 gallon tank. this new one is a nice step up!

Thank you for all of your help

That is good news. I am glad they are getting better.

That is, indeed, good news! A bigger tank is always the way to go.