Hi people.

One day, I noticed that my Shubunkin's right eye looked different to its left, and was outlined with silver. So I got worried.

I searched the internet (including this website) for some information regarding strange looking eyes. Then I phoned up a local aquarium and from my description the man at the other end said my fish had popeye, and recommended I buy some anti-bacterial fluid, and so I went out and bought a bottle of Melafix.

I've followed the instructions since, and its been two months and I have experienced no change.

However I experienced another problem last night with my fish. It jumped out of my hand, landed on the floor and broke some of its tail. I have been transferring the fish by hand only for the past few months, as I thought it was more humane, and the fish was always very relaxed before picking it up, but now I'll have to buy a net for the next water change.

Do fins grow back? It still swims normally, only I think it has to waggle its tail a bit harder to get around. Also, will the rest of the tail become infected? Do I need to give him some medication?

Now here are the answers to your questionaire:

I have no idea of nitrate or ammonia levels.

My tank can hold 8.57 litres (2.25 US gals), and I've had it for three years.

I use a Penn-Plax 'Smallworld' Filter, which is 5cm wide and 14cm long. But have
removed the carbon granules due to the Melafix treatment.

I clean the tank once a week, changing all of the water.

I have one fish.

I leave 8.5 litres of water out for between 6-12hrs every week before using Gold 'Tap Safe' before transferring the fish into the clean water.

I use Melafix for suspected popeye.

I feed my fish a range of pellets, flakes, freeze dried Daphnia, rice and peas.

My Shubby has a very big appetite and is quite fussy with its food sometimes. Also, after being in the new water for a few days, it occasionally scrapes its sides on the gravel, which disturbs me, but I have a feeling its just having an itch, for I guess fish produce dead skin as well. Is this behaviour normal?

Here is a picture of its right eye, taken yesterday:

Shubby Photo Page

And here's a picture of the broken tail:

Shubby Page

Can anyone advise me on what to do with my Shubby's two problems?

Regards,

John

Put your pics on photobucket because they aren't showing in your post.

Zoooooop, I've just replaced them with hyperlinks. Give em' a click!

Your pics aren't too clear.You got any better shots of him.

hi, I'm not an expert but from what I've been told, goldfish need a minimum of 10 gallons per fish also you need to test your water. Most pet stores test for free, just bring a sample to your local petstore.

Popeye is best treated with heated water, about 78-80, maracyn 1 and/or 2, if possible feed your fish metromed from goldfishconnection.com and epsom salt, i think 1/8 tsp per 5 gallons.

Also, I once treated my goldfish for popeye for 2 months because her left eye looked bigger than her right. Turns out it was not popeye, i think she injured her eye. Anyway, her left eye is still slightly bigger. Has the eye gotten worse?

Good luck! Hopefully someone who is more experienced with popeye will be able to help you soon.

Most of the time fish are able to heal quickly so if the tail was damaged by the fall, it may just grow back on its own, just to be safe you may want to treat it with anti bacterial med just so it does not get infected.


karla

from the looks of that pics, your goldie is a common.. they need 15 gallons each, so as you can see, a 2 1/4 gal is not nearly big enough my advice to you would be to go and buy ammonia and nitrate kits, without that our advice is pretty useless from what i can see of your pic, his eye dosent look that swollen... heres a pic of a fish i got that had pop-eye:


please try and get back to us with test results

Right well, thanks very much for all that advice. I'll act upon it, and get down to my local garden centre as soon as poss.

Well it sure is good to know that there is a possibility of the tail growing back. I thought it would be quite unlikely, cos it would be like amputating someone's leg.

Do you really need better pics?

thanks,

John

Hi people,

I went down to my local pet store yesterday with a sample of me tank's water. The manager did a water test for £2.50, and gave some useful advice.

Here are the results:

Nitrate: 20-50
Nitrite: 0.8 - 1.6
and the other one she said was fine, I think it was Ammonia.

However the above two both were two high, especially the nitrite, which should be at 0.3 (I really should have written this down at the time).

I explained that the fact I have removed the carbon from my filter might have contributed to these results, and that my fish is on a 7-day treatment for a damaged tail.

Nevertheless, I gave my tank a 25% water change this morning, and did not replace the sponge in the filter (as apparently it has friendly bacteria which is necessary for the fish's living). But I did buy Nutrafin 'Cycle', which I added before the Melafix medication.

So hopefully that's improved the fish's living environment, and I'll visit the manager next week for another water test.

With the popeye, Tinkerbell has convinced me with her pic that my Shubby's eye is normal. Also, since the Melafix didn't do anything for the fish and I can't really remember what it was like before "I suddenly noticed", I've ruled it out.

So it's just the damaged tail, and the fish's water levels.

Any tips people?

Tanks for ye teem,

John

On a cycled tank,the readings for Ammonia/Nitrites should always read 0.Nitates should be kept under 20ppm's to keep in the "safe" range.
As your fish is a Shub,it really should be kept in at least 15 to 20 gallons of water.Goldie's are very dirty fish for one thing,and Shubunkin's need at least that much room because of the size they grow and the way they swim.
As for your fish occasionally flashin(scraping on it's sides),I'd definately look into a test kit for your water. You change out water completely once a week,which seems to be when you see it.Could be something toxic in the water,that the Tap safe may not be getting,could be the change in Temps,or even the ph difference in the new water affecting him.
Because the fish has been in such a small tank for three years,chances are that he's stunted from that,but I'd still try and invest in a bigger aquarium,or Tub to give him at least some more room to swim, and better quality of water. That filter you have is okay for Betta's in a small tank,but for Goldfish,you need something that filter's 10 X's the size of their tank,for better cleaning,aeration,etc.
The Goldie's tail can heal with Pristene water,which I'm afraid is going to be tough in his present living conditions,so definately look into a new home for him.For now,you'll have to do daily water changes at least ,to keep the water from staying toxic.That's where the test kits really are a must.

Well cheers for the info, so it's the nitrites and nitrates that need sortin.'

15 US gals? That's about 57 litres, and UK is 68 litres. That sounds kinda extreme. No doubt, I need a bigger tank, which will be a priority for the summer, but that big? Is it because they are usually kept in ponds?

The fish is usually quite calm and restrained (and just likes eating peas) after a full clean-out (which involves transferring the fish to another tank, while the scrubbing begins). Only on about the 4th/5th day do I notice signs of stress. But I only gave the tank a partial clean yesterday (25%), and the fish is occasionally showing signs of stress. So doing a partial water change didn't calm the fish much. However a full water change does.

I don't think that my gravel-vac is very thorough either, so perhaps I should do a full water change twice a week?

Tanks very mooch.

I've been reading some of pinned info and some other people's discussion over diagnosis. I am starting to wonder if my fish has an internal parasite.

Are there any home remedies for treating parasites?

People have mentioned different types of acquarium salts? Can one use ordinary salt as a substitute?

Am I asking stupid questions?

Thanks,

John

Hello Nhojah,

I am afraid your tank is too small to keep the water quality up to par for your fish. He will just continue to experience problems. If you cannot afford a larger tank at this time, please do NOT completely scrub down his tank every 5 days. That destroys the beneficial bacteria in your tank that grows on the rocks, plants, and sides of your tank, as well as your filter. The bacteria will help keep down the nitrites and turn them into a less harmfull nitrate. I would start doing daily water changes of 50%. Make sure to add the tap safe and try to get the temperature matched with the tank water. You do not need to transfer your fish while doing this. Also, make sure to do the gravel cleaning daily too. Good Luck!!!!