I bought my fish (A Lionhead) about a month or so ago, and black/brownish spots started appearing on his sides mainly, a few on his head and fins.

Picture
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/BB_...blackstains.jpg

Ammonia Level?
Not sure, but I do use a conditioner that neutralize chlorine/chloramines/ammonia/heavy metals.

Nitrite Level?
Unsure.

Nitrate level?
Unsure.

Ph Level, (If possible,KH and GH and chloramines)?
7.0-7.5

Ph Level out of the Tap?
...out of the Tap? Sorry I don't understand that one.

* Tank size (How many Gals) and How long has it been running?
5.5Gals and it's been running for a month now

* What is the name and size of the filter/s?
Filter is an "Elite" brand I think. Kind of medium to large size.

* How often do you change the water and how much?
Every week, 25%

* How many fish in the tank and their size?
1 fish, I'm not sure of it's size but I can say he's in the middle of small-medium.

* What kind of water additives or conditioners?
Goldfish Bowl Conditioner by Hagen.

* Any medications added to the tank?
No.

* Add any new fish to the tank?
No.

* What do you feed your fish?
Pellets, ordinary goldfish flakes.

* Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt",
bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus?
Only those black/brownish spots.

* Any unusual behavior like staying
at the bottom, not eating, ect..?
Stays at the bottom (maybe it's normal since my fish is a Lionhead?), seems a little more nervous than the usual.

Hi Suisui

Here's a pic of your fish to help others see what you're talking about



As I mentioned in the other post, it looks like ammonia burn that's healing and the reason for this is if it's a new tank, then it would have gone (and is most likely still going though) its cycle. Basically this means that your filter colonises good bacteria in the initial 6 -8 weeks of a tank set up so there is no good bacteria to convert fish waste (ammonia). A cycle goes through 3 stages, ammonia which is then converted to nitrite which is then converted to the less harmful nitrate. So in short, the ammonia would have reached high levels and now you may have high nitrites. Both of these cause a lot of damage to fish and in many cases mortality.

Usually in the first 6-8 weeks, the best thing to do is test the water a few times a day and work out how many waterchanges you need to do - daily. I think in your case, you may need to do 50% waterchanges daily until you see the brown marks start to fade. Is there any way you can get test kits for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates? In the short term, you can take a sample of your water to your local fish outlet and they will test the water for you. For now though, I would be doing 50% changes daily as mentioned. It will help your fish enormously.

As your fish grows, so too will his requirements and a good rule of thumb is 10 gallons of water per fancy goldfish. This will ensure they grow healthy and big plus it means their water will stay stable.

Hopefully this helps

I plan to buy a bigger tank for my fish once I get the money... is it also normal that my fish doesnt swim up to eat its food as it used to do? I just hope there's nothing else besides the healing of the burns.

Thank you for the tip though! I want to keep Sui alive. ^^

Well there is a lot more than healing ammonia burns going on - water quality being the main issues. This is why changing 50% of the water daily is essential. Healing burns won't affect the fish but the water that caused it will. I have a feeling he's not doing so well because you still have ammonia and/or high nitrites present. So until his water improves, he may continue to get worse.

So with daily 50% waterchanges - he will hopefully improve

yes, 50% water changes are good help for the fish, my fish has the same thing as yours and already i can see an improvment!

I'm pleased to hear it vulcan

I think Sui's fish will also end up healing. By the way Suisui - your fish is such a cutie

yeah, (vulcan) xDDD that his name is becoming more active and playing around with my moor (apollo) more often.

That's the beauty of excellent water - if we take care of that, our fish will take care of themselves

i've halved the conditioner and given the other half of the stuff to a friend who's water (they use water from there farm) has a bad ph problem, i've kept the other half incase i need it some time.

Is it normal that my Goldfish, whenever I walk past by the tank, always seems to hide away? It kind of worries me... that and he barely eats anymore.

No - I have a couple of relatively new fish that still do that. But as I do twice weekly waterchanges on that tank, they're becoming a little more used to me.... it just takes a little time.

So he's still not eating?

Have you been doing daily waterchanges?
Is he pooping at all? If so, is it thick/coloured? or white/stringy?
Do you have an airstone in your tank?

Please post back soon

Yes I started doing 50% water change daily starting today, I changed his water. He seemed a little more active when I did, which is good I think?

Yes there's an air pump and also a filter. Today I also bought something called "AmmoLock 2". I don't know if it's any good but that's what the store recommended to lower ammonia level. I'll give it a try when I'll change his water again.

As for the poop, I havent checked, maybe I should now, but I don't want to startle the fish.

It seems that he gets out of hiding if I cover most of the aquarium with a blanket.

Well today I made another 50% water change after I got back to work. This morning I found him floating at the surface not moving... but thankfully he was still alive.

I added also AmmoLock and it seems to be helping Sui. He's a little more active and hides less, but he's still a little scared of me when I go to check on him. He stil doesnt swim to the surface to get food but he's searching for it among the gravel. Sometimes he just doesnt move from a spot at all, kind of scary. -_-;

I just hope he does eat the food that sinks down because if he doesn't I doubt he'll have a chance to survive.

Any more help would be appreciated.

Thank you!

I would perservere with the waterchanges because I think it's a water quality issue...

Hopefully he'll become used to you in time - so I wouldn't worry about that for now

As for feeding, I only ever feed food that sinks to the bottom - it helps to ward off any swimbladder issues.

Are you able to get a sample of your water tested?

Post back when you see what kind of poop he's doing - their poop is a good indication of how they're feeling

Well I couldnt get my water tested at the pet shop, but I bought a 10 gallon tank for my fish... as for the 5.5 gallon I'll probably had a tiny fish, I don't know what kind though.

As for Sui's poop, it's short and cream colored.. maybe slightly thick too. I managed to catch a few with the net for examination.

I have a really tiny aquarium that uses as a fish hospital. Oddly enough Sui seems more active when I put him in with the air pump and he seems more willing to grab a bite of his flakes. Maybe my air pump isnt good enough also?

Extra airation is always a good idea, unless of corse, hes fighting to stay still in the current.

Well good news! Alot of the brownish black patches are completely gone! There are still some left on the fins and under his tail, but Sui seems to be alright now! He's active and eating.

Now I wonder, should I put him in the new 10 gallon tank? Most of the water in the 10 gals comes from the 5.5 gallon.

I did the PH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test and this is what I got.

PH
7.5

Nitrite
0.1

Nitrate
5

Ammonia
0

I'd like feedback before adding my fish, please!

Thank you!

A cycled tank should have low Nitrate readings,but should also be reading 0's on your Ammonia and Nitrites.Going by your tests,it's still showing that your Nitrites are high,so I would continue with a water change to get that also down to 0.Make sure that you're using treated and temp matched water. Recommended filtration for a Goldfish tank is 10x's filtration of your tank-meaning if you have a ten gal. tank ,your filter should be filtering At Least 100 gph(gallons per hour) or more-to be strong enough for your Goldie. If you tend to get lower than that,then you get into issues where the filter's not working hard enough-and not cleaning the tank so well.A stronger filter also helps out with aeration too.

I'm still keeping with water changes, in a few days I'll do another couple of tests to see if the water is better. At least my Ammonia problem is over.

Sui has been recovering nicely and really quickly too! 95% of the black/brown patches on his body are completely gone. He started swimming and eating again normally to my relief.

I bought and installed a better filter for the 10 gallon, which will hopefully help. =)

Thank you everyone for all your help. Sui is a grateful little Lionhead too!

Sounds like good news all around! Hopefully the filter will help things too.

Well all of Sui's black patches are gone... except one that's really bothering me. One one of his fin, he still has a black streak, near the edge and now I'm starting to wonder if it's something else. He moves much more than when he was covered in patches but he goes down to the corner of the tank mostly to remain still.

Feedback would be appreciated.

When you added the new filter, did you keep the other one on the tank also? It will be housing good bacteria as it's coming close to the end of the cycle so running them alongside each other would be the best way forward.

I've often found the fins can take weeks to heal from ammonia burns so I don't think there's anything unusual there.

Often added aeration will help energise a fish so perhaps adding a stronger pump may help.

The things I would look out for now is whether his poop turns white and stringy because if so, then there could be something bacterial going on - usually a result from stress associated with poor water conditions. As his water is much better now, there's a good chance he will pick up on his own.

So importantly, run the 2 filters so you have some good bacteria to help complete the cycle and keep up the waterchanges until you see a 0 for your nitrites

As an aside, you could add 1 teaspoon of sea, rock or aquarium salt per gallon (10 teaspoons in total predissolved) as it will help his breathing during the nitrite phase. And when you do 50% waterchanges daily, just add back the 5 teaspoons to the water you remove. This may also help him perk up some

How are things going?

Everything's great! Sui was able to heal up 100%! His black patches are all gone! He is more lively but he sometimes goes into a corner of the thank and just stays there as if he was sulking. Maybe he's just lonely? At least he goes up to eat his food and nibble at the gravel to find the rest.

I'm so relieved!

That's such great news

I'm going to move your thread into diagnosis/discussion now as the problems seems to be resolved but if you notice any decline (and I hope you don't) post back and we can move it again.

Thank you Jen and to all that's been a great help! If I havent found this website and all the wonderful people that knows alot about goldfish, Sui would have probably not made it.

Me and my fish are very grateful!

Thank you.

Another problem came now. I guess I spoke too soon. One side of Sui's mouth is red just like my gravel color. Could it be blood, I'm not sure?

He seems to be eating and swimming normally, what could be causing this now?

Ammonia
0

Nitrite
0.1

Nitrate
5

PH
7.5

PH out of Tap
8.0

Tank Size
10 Gals and it has been running for about 2-3 weeks.

Filter
Aqua Clear 20

Water Change
Every day 50%

How many fish.
Usually they're 2 but I've switched the other in the 5.5 gallon temporarily just in case.

Water Conditioner/Additive
Aqua Plus, Ammo Lock, PH 7.5

Medication
None

New Fish
Recently, no.

Unusual Findings
Small reddish "stains" on the corner of his mouth.

Unusual Behavior
None.

Here's what I wiped out from the upper corner of the tank. Is it caused by the red gravel? I'm trying to get a picture of Sui with the reddish stain, it's hard when he swims around. ^^;

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/BB_Chan/DSC00205.jpg