Amonia - 0
Nitrite > 3ppm
Ph - 7.5
Nitrate - 12ppm
32L (uk litres) tank housing one 1.5 inch Fantail Oranda
Airation pump and carbon filter
Rena filtration system
Fish fed daily on 'Aquarian' flakes and once weekly on 'Tetra fresh delica daphnia' as a treat.

I've had Red the Oranda for 3 weeks or so, so he is quite a new fish. I picked him because he looked more spritely and energetic than the other fish in his tank in the store. and his fins and dorsal were pricked up like he was excited to be chosen.

The tank he went into has been set up since last August, but unfortunately the Fantail before perished. This was at least 3 weeks before I bought and introduced Red. I did clean the tank but I kept back some of the old water, filter sponge and gravel so I wouldn't be totally bereft of a beneficial bacteria culture.

The last fish spent most of his last days at the bottom of the tank with all of his fins clamped to his body he only moved at feeding time and then he was not eating much at all. I did notice at the time that there was a bloom in green algae which I was frinding hard to control but the params did not go off the scale at all.

Well Red has now taken up residence at the bottom of the tank, just below the filter and his dorsal is clamped to his back and his tail does not seem to be as fan like as it was before. My local pet store owner has re-checked my water params for me (at acost of £1.50) and he says there is nothing wrong with the chemistry. His only comment was that the Ph could be slightly higher, but water changes should sort that out.
He suggested that it could be the start of a bacterial infection, there are no other signs of disease on Red he is naturaly speckled however so these could be going unnoticed. I have noticed however that he seems to have grown a tad duller over the last week.
He does swim around at feeding time, in fact he seems to get quite excited at the mere lift of the lid and he has still got an appetite.

I have just started treating with 'Myxazin' at a dosage of 2.0ml every 12hrs.

Has anyone any ideas as to what this is or what I can do, is what I'm doing enough? I'm quickly learning that fish keeping is not as easy as it looks! Please help.

Is your nitrite really over 3 ppm? If so, that's probably a big part of the problem! Obviously you are cycling, so have you read this yet? http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/cycle.html --> mandatory reading for any fish owner! Your nitrites should never really be above 0.25 or 0.50 - anything higher and permanent damage can occur. If you're ever above that, you will want to waterchange how ever many times it takes to get the levels down to a safe range. The water changes should help your goldie feel better fairly quickly.

Once you get your water quality under control (ammonia and nitrite should be as close to 0 as possible, and nitrates should be no higher than 40 ppm), then you can better assess whether or not your fish actually has a bacterial infection. Is he feeling any better on the meds you are giving? By the way, don't worry about your pH - stability of the number is more important than the number itself. 7.5 is a perfectly fine pH as long as it is stable over time.

You may want to look into a higher quality food for your fish - flakes are no good for goldies as it causes them to suck air at the top and can develop floaty problems. Try to find a good quality sinking pellet (or floating pellet, but you'd have to soak it in tank water before feeding). Read the ingredients on the label - there shouldn't be too many fillers in the first few ingredients (flours, wheat, etc.). Hikari is a good brand, so is Omega One (not sure what brands you have there). You should also supplement his staple diet with some fresh veggies. You can heat them up in some tank water to soften. Your fish needs the fiber to keep him from getting constipated or floaty.

So, do a large water change (70% or so?). Wait a little bit and test the water. If the nitrites are still high, do another water change. Repeat. Do you have a water conditioner to take out the bad stuff from your tap water? If not, you'll want to pick up some. The chlorine and other junk in your tap water is not good for Red and that may be contributing to his sickies if you don't use a conditioner. Use it with every water change.

Good luck and give us an update soon!

Thank you for the swift reply to my query. There seems to have been a mistake with the water params and I didn't realise until your reply. The Nitrites are actually less than 0.3 ppm and not 3 as previously reported.
I do also treat the water before adding it with 'Tapsafe' and I also use 'Amquel +' occasionally. I have started using 'TetraAqua Easybalance' to stabalize pH and KH and reduce the growth of algae.
Since I first treated Red earlier today I have noticed a slight change in him. He has spent a little more time swimming around his tank, although he still retreates to the bottom corner.

Any sort of nitrites in the water are going to make the fish sick. Since your tank has been up for a while, have you checked your tap water to ensure it is 0?

Try and watch after you feed him to see what his poo looks like-whether it's brown & chunky/long & brown,or white stringy like poo.
Also even though it may be hard with his coloring,see if he has any redness or sore marks on his under belly,and near the anal fin area.
Take a look around his gills.Do the actual insides of his gills seem to be red & meaty,or pale, dull more pinkish in color?Look near the gill plates-do you see any dark colored areas?
Have you seen him flashing/scratching along the bottom of the tank or against objects?
Which Rena filter are you using?

you know I was just thinking the other day that I have yet to see him poo. He seems to have a little pink flush around the gill area, but as he is naturally a pale silvery colour, with orange and dark markings I never gave it another thought. He does seem to have a little pink/redness around the anus, but again I put this down to his natural colour. His Gill slits look fine, I think! I have started feeding him today with broccoli and peas which he devoured with gusto. I'm still giving him the meds at 2ml every 12hrs. Do you think he could just be constipated, and if so how do I make him poo?

oops forgot to mention in answer to your question Devs, I have seen him flashing/scratching against objects in the tank. When I first got him he had 1 or 2 white dots on his tail so I treated him for ich and they dissapeared within a few days. I'm not sure which type of Rena filter I use all I can say is that it came with the tank and as it is only a small tank it stands to reason that the filter system is only a small one too, It seems to do the trick. I have recently added a carbon filter which attaches to the air pump in order to help clean the water (this at the moment however is switched off in accordance with the medication instructions). I must add though that the carbon filter was added after Red took ill.
Hope this helps!

oops forgot to mention in answer to your question Devs, I have seen him flashing/scratching against objects in the tank. When I first got him he had 1 or 2 white dots on his tail so I treated him for ich and they dissapeared within a few days. I'm not sure which type of Rena filter I use all I can say is that it came with the tank and as it is only a small tank it stands to reason that the filter system is only a small one too, It seems to do the trick. I have recently added a carbon filter which attaches to the air pump in order to help clean the water (this at the moment however is switched off in accordance with the medication instructions). I must add though that the carbon filter was added after Red took ill.
Hope this helps!

Red's fins and tail are looking much worse today, he's still eating and swimming about a little more, but his tail and dorsal have started to turn feathery. I spoke to my local pet store owner today again, he still thinks Red has a bacterial infection especially as I described him as having a pinkish flush to his gill/cheek area. I think I saw him poo earlier (the fish not the store owner) and is seemed to be clear with no colour at all. I'm not sure what this indicates, I suppose it means he's constipated aswell. My wife thinks I'm purposely killing every fish we get, just as well my daughter is too young to remember them!!

Thank you everyone for your help. Unfortunately Red is dead! I have decided to nuke the tank and start a fresh. Hopefully this will kill off the bugs/bacteria that have killed my last 2 fishies. I've decided to try a bare bottom style this time but I think I'm gonna have to get myself a better filter system soon.

Aw. Poor baby fishie. I'm sorry.

Sounds like it was definately bacterial. (IMO)