Before you lecture me about size, I realize this is alot of fish in such a small tank, but they have been like this for around 5-6 months with no problems.
I have =
(5) 3-4 inch fantail goldfish
(2) 3-4 inch koi
(1) 2 inch Shubunkin(sp?) goldfish
(1) 3 inch comet(?) goldfish

they all live in a 29 US Gallon tank, and happily up until about a week ago. Greyson, one of the 4 inch fantails, started bottom sitting and would gasp for air. I figured it was natural causes. But earliar today, Ralph another one of the 3 inch fan tails, started bottom sitting as well.

I have a 2,000 US Gallon pond outside and the only reason these ones are in here is that I buy them fairly small, too small for them to defend themselves out there and I keep them inside until it gets warm enough for them to go out there. I am planning to move them in late March.

I'm worried about Greyson mostly as she(I think it's a she....I want it to be a she) is my favorite. Her tail has dropped and it seems to be filmy instead of it's usual clear. I wish I had pictures, but it is impossible for me to get good quality pictures. I haven't had a chance to get the pH levels and Nitrite results yet as I have been home sick with strep.

Ralph also seems a little bloated and the scales just don't look right.

Please help my babies!!!

Sarah

Welcome to the forum!

If you can get the test results for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and ph that would help us a lot with pinpointing a problem. How often do you do a waterchange and how much do you remove? What kind of filter do you have on the tank? Im guessing it is a water issue considering the amount of fish in the tank.

Post back soon!

Hi Sarah and

I think the last thing members here want to come across as is lecturing Any advice that's given is done so with the best of intentions and basically comes from the position of best practice in care.

Unfortunately overstocking does come at a heavy cost but in addition, there's other things in their environment that'll affect their health also. So as Erin mentioned, information on your water quality, filtration and waterchange schedule will be helpful.

Then you could break it down by:

1. working on their environment

Is there any way you can look at purchasing a decent sized rubber maid tub? I would at least separate the koi from your other guys especially as they need larger water volumes to thrive.

2. looking at the symptoms

I think there's a combination of 2 things working against them here - firstly would be stress leaving them struggling with a lowered immunity and secondly, illness (possibly bacterial) has set in as a result.

Just on symptoms - other than the start of dropsy on one and a thickened slimecoat on the other:

- do you see any red marks on the body?
- is there any flashing or scratching?
- how does their poop look?
- can you check the colour of their gills?

Depending on your water quality and maintenance schedule, treatment may just be a matter of adding another tub to separate them along with increased watechanges or they may require meds.

Please post back soon

I do water changes about once every month and I take out about 25-35%. My mom insists on doing that right now. I can't find the test sticks I now we have, but I will test it asap and I will give updates on whether the water change helped at all. It also doesn't help that my two kittens think it's fun to harass them from the outside of the tank. The filter I have running(which isn't really running right now because we treated the tank for algea(sp?) ) is a Penguin BIO-Wheel 200.I can try to move the koi to the outside pond, but I think it's kinda cold. It's 38 degrees F in GA right now. I don't want to stress them out by moving them to some place and only for them to freeze to death. The average tank temperature is anywhere from 40 to 60 degrees F. We don't have a water heater, but the light stays on alot and the heat is constanly on in my room. My mom rthinks it might be an amonia problem b/c we remopved thew filter cardtidge.

Greyson is missing one gil, and that's the side she's showing us. Ralph's gils look normal. There is no flashing or scratching-they just sit there. No red marks and I haven't been able to see poop yet.

Sarah

I just realized what you meant by gil color. Greyson is missing a gil plate. Both Greyson and Ralph's gils look kinda red. Ralph is somewhat moving around, but Greyson is only gasping for air. I have two airstones in my tank, it isn't a problem of airation(sp?). I replaced the filter, as well. The tank is brighter and somewhat clearer.

Someone please reply soon

Sorry I can't help you with the health problems - though I think they will improve now that you've got your filter going again. The bio-wheel on your filter provides a lot of oxygenation to the water, so that may help him get some more air.

I think you probably shouldn't mess with chemicals to remove algae - if it's green algae, it's good for your fish to have it in the tank. They can graze on it, and it helps remove the toxins from the water. Plus the extra chemicals added to the tank cannot be good for the fish that are breathing it in.

Also, and most importantly I think, you should be doing water changes *every week*, not once a month. Goldfish are very messy and need regular changes to keep the water in good shape. And since you are overstocked as well, you should probably be doing water changes every few days to keep up.

Hope that helps and hope Greyson returns to normal soon!

Edit - underneath the gill covers should be a red meaty color

After the water change today, both Greyson and Ralph were swimming around and eating. It was probably the lack of filtration and the chemicals.

Thanks you guys!!!!! I am thankful for the advice and knowledge.
Maybe Greyson will live to see another summer. I forgot to mention I've had her over a year.


Thanks So much!!!!!!

Sarah

Goldfish can live a lot longer than a year! If you take care of her properly, she can be with you another 10 years or more.

Glad to hear that Greyson is doing better. I hope that you can get your babies a bigger tank soon and keep up with the water changes - they will thank you for it!

My advice to you is: waterchange like it's going out of style!

Not only are you overstocked but you're also underfiltered (I've got the biowheel 200 too and it only does 200 gph, in a 29 gallon tank you want 290 gph (gallons filtered per hour), possibly more in an overstocked tank.

I had a 10 g tank with 3 fish and I was running the 200 on that! I lost a fish before my tank was cycled but even after being cycled with only TWO fish in 10 gallons I had to do a 40% water change every three days.

So keeping your filter on and your water changes up will help make everything better, really. Also, find those test strips! (or better yet, get the dropper/test tube kind) so you know what's going on in your tank.

Good luck to you, I hope you don't have to go through the experience of losing any fish : (
After I lost mine I bought a 29gallon tank and man, my fish are so much happier. They look way healthier and are already growing bigger!

Hi Sarah and welcome to Koko's.I'm glad to hear that your fish seem to be acting a bit better.Although I'm glad that you have test strips,I do want to mention that they are not the most accurate and you may want to look into a Master Drop Test Kit like Aquarium Pharmaceuticals make.Their kit is priced reasonable and it's quite accurate when done correctly.
Although your fish did fine for 5 or 6 months,I'm afarid that as they continue to grow,you'll continue to have problems in a tank this small.
Koi are not meant to be in fish tanks ever,as they just grow too huge. Shubunkins and Comets grow long and are fast swimming and need at least 20 gal. per fish to keep them happy and healthy.
Water changes once a month will eventually kill your fish. In a tank this overstocked with inadequate filtration,you'll need to do big water changes at least every other day,or even daily,depending on what your water params are reading.
One suggestion would be to find a new home for the Koi,someone with a nice large pond in your area,that could rehome them for you.Another idea is Rubbermaid bins.They come in alot of different sizes and can be bought pretty cheap,so that you can seperate some of these fish.
I wish I could give you some more positive thoughts on this,but 9 fish,2 being koi,and 2 being a Shub and a Comet,it's just not going to work with the situation you have right now.
How much water did you change out,and what were the param readings afterwards?