Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
pH: 8.0 strait from tap, and I don't alter it
Tank size: 10 gallons
Filter: Tetra Whisper 5-15
Water changes: 30% every other day
Occupants: two small Ryukins (2 inches each) and several live plants
Additives: Prime and liquid plant food at water changes; aquarium salt and Melafix and Pimafix when needed
Food: TetraFin goldfish flakes, plus occasional pea hearts
Unusual findings: Bubble on goldfish's tail (pics below)

Hi all, this is going to be long. Many appologies.

Last April I was given a 5-gallon plastic tank without a light. I bought two of the four fancy goldfish recommended on the box and added them to the tank. LFS knew how small my tank was and did nothing to advise me not to put such potentially large fish in such confined (and lethal) conditions. I religiously did a weekly water change of 20%. Four months later I realized that the fish were very unhealthy: one had terrible fin rot, and the other was draining of color and had a deformed mouth. This was not evident for a while since the tank had no light. I then did much research and learned how big the fish should get and moved them to a 10-gallon tank I already owned and where they currently are now. Two other mistakes I made during this time were 1) adding too much gravel so that my syphon hose could not adequately remove all the debris, and 2) not shaking the second bottle of Nitrate test liquid so that the Nitrate readings appeared very low while in actuality were at lethal levels.

The goldfish are still in a too-small environment but the landlord will not permit a larger tank at this time. Two weeks ago, the fish with a deformed mouth developed ich. I treated it with RidIch which contains Malachite Green and Formalin. After six days of treatment the ich was better but not gone. I stopped treatment and switched to daily water changes and added salt. It finally cleared up, just in time for the other goldfish to develop a serious-looking bubble on his tail. In the pictures it appears to be opaque, but in reality it is quite transparent and I can see three or four tiny yellow granules floating around in it. I have never experienced anything like this, nor can I find anything online that remotely relates to this phenomenon.

There is a similar post to mine entitled "Bubble on fish tail" dating June sometime. There are no photos and the post was apparently suspended by the original poster, so I have no way of knowing if that person dealt with the same thing I am or not.

Any advice, suggestions, etc. is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Hmmm...I cannot figure out how to attach photos. When I figure out how, I will add pictures. Sorry!

Hi Julie, and welcome to Koko's!

I'm sorry to hear that you're having problems with your fish. I, too, have two fish in a 10 gallon and do 30% water changes every other day. I'm waiting for hubby to put together the stand for the 55 gallon that we bought last month..

While I'm not expert, and can't diagnose anything for you, I remembered seeing a thread with a picture of what you described. The thread is here and there is a link in the 5th box down.

Someone will be along soon who can help you. If you already have a picture, you can upload it on to photo bucket or image shack, and then put a link in your post.

I wish you all the best with your fish!!

Debbie

Try this link to view the photo: http://s236.photobucket.com/albums/ff233/j...ent=Bubble1.jpg

Hopefully that will work. Let me know if it doesn't. Thanks for the quick reply, Fishy Fish! I couldn't locate the other image you recommended, though. I am using a Mac, and sometimes there are difficulties seeing images that have been posted by Windows users. I will try again.

Yes, the link works fine. What a beautiful fish! What is his/her name?

That does look different than the picture that I saw. I wish I could help you, or offer some advice but I'm rather new here myself. You came to the right place for help though, as I've seen many fish on here recover from dire situations. My Smokey being one of them. The people here are great. I hope you'll think so too!

Debbie

This is Flame; I thought he looked like a flickering candle when she swims through the water. My other is Tango because he at one time was a vibrant orange with a white belly. He is now a wan yellow color without much distinction between the belly and top. I've been told that goldfish just change color as they age; I am more inclined to believe that he is nutrient-deficient because his deformed mouth limits the amount of food and oxygen he can take in. But that's just my unstudied opinion. Good grief; I could write a book entitled "How to Slowly Kill A Goldfish" with all that I have unintentionally exposed my poor, poor goldfish to!

I also welcome you to Koko's! Don't beat yourself up, hon. A lot of us have come here because our fish were sick and we found out that we didn't have a clue as to how to take proper care of them. Posting all of the info in the box was a great help to the people who know enough to help you, as it gives them an idea of whats going on with your fish.

Unfortunately, as a lot of posters here have pointed out, the lfs is primarily a business to make money. Many of the people who work there don't have a clue how to take care of goldfish. The rule of thumb we have learned here on the forum is 10 gallons for a fancy goldfish and 20 for a common, as commons like to swim and dart around the tank quickly and need the room. If you could get another 10 gallon and separate your fish into each one, would your landlord complain about that? And how would he know? That may help with the situation of your fish being in too small of a space. Some posters here have used Rubbermaid containers as an emergency aquarium until they could get more space. If you could get another 10 gallon, they're pretty cheap minus the light, hood, and filter of course, at wallyworld if there is one near where you live.

As Debbie said, I'm sure someone will be along here soon to help you. We all make mistakes, and its great that you care enough about your fish to ask for advice.

Good luck!!

By the way, very pretty fish! He looks very much like my fantail, Moby, except Moby may be a little more uh, full-figured, lol!

Hi Julie and welcome. It sounds as if you are managing with the 10 gallon doing those water changes every other day and able to keep your water params good. While the fish are small that may be adequate. Later perhaps you can look at upgrading.

Its quite difficult to see for sure in the pic Julie but the spot or bubble looks like it could be a regular dirt cyst and it looks as if theres a bit of fin erosion too. Just to confirm that, is it possible you can get a magnifying lens and see up close if there is a very tiny white pimple or 'head' anywhere on the bubble? If so, it is most likely a cyst and will need lancing and draining. Bacterial ulcers or sores on the other hand will usually have tiny red spots in them and require quite different treatment. Try to get a closer look at the bubble and post back with some more details soon if you can.

If it is a cyst you will need to drain the cyst with the fish in a temporary container as the fluid inside will be toxic and you don't want that going back in the tank. You can lance a cyst with a very fine thin needle dipped or soaked in boiling water for sterility. It should be burst at an edge near the bottom/underside. Press the top to depress and purge the cyst of fluids. After, you'll need to dab the area with hydrogen peroxide or an antibiotic aquatic ointment like "bio-bandage" and return the fish to the tank. Do you think you would be able to do that? Cysts have a habit of recurring but if you keep the water good they may not. I suggest you also feed the fish a course of antibiotic food as the tail fins are showing bloody streaks and continue with the salting.

If you cannot find the head (and it may be very hard to find) please post back and others can see what else it might be. Cysts can feel very hard like rubber balls before they pop and the head is almost impossible to see without magnification. Good luck and let us know either way or if you have any other questions

Hi Trinket, thanks for replying! So far, I cannot see any head, but I will net him and observe him up close with a magnifying glass as you suggested. The bubble is not hard; it dips, bobs, smushes, and reshapes as he swims through the water. It also appears that the yellow granules inside the bubble are multiplying.

You mentioned the fin showing signs of fin rot and bloody streaks. Yes, he has been fighting fin rot for several months now. Only Melafix seems to help it, and the fins are actually better now than I have seen them in a long time. His recovery seems to take forever. I am not sure what you were referring to as bloody streaks, though. Perhaps I am just not familiar with what that looks like. The red streaks through the bubble are actually the spines of his bright orange tail. The bubble is actually where the tip of one of his double tails should be, but it ends in the bubble instead and consequently the spines continue through the bubble to some degree.

I will continue with the salt and water changes and will let you know my findings upon closer inspection. Thanks so much for all your help!

Oh, I also saw someone else on here recommend using a giant rubbermaid tub as an extra tank. I might be able to do that to separate the two fish and give them more room...as long as I can find a safe place to keep it. I have two toddlers and I would hate for them to fall into it!

Julie the cyst type bubbles are sometimes soft and squishy too. You say you can see yellow granules inside and this is probably the toxic fluid that will come out if you pop it. If you leave it, it will pop eventually on its own but tat stuff will go back in the tank water. I think you need to pop this.

How long have you had melafix in the tank? You should try to give the fish breaks from meds. Try to avoid using melafix longer than 7 or max 10 days without a good break as it can have bad effects on the liver and the fishes ability to process toxins.

Sorry about the tail- I thought I could see some blood streaks, if not- it looks as if thats mending up a bit. The tail spines are not damaged so this will heal in good clean water, low aquarium salt (keep careful track) and rinsing/filter maintanance. While the fish are small you can prob. manage in the 10 gallon. I should personally wait till the fish are in good health before you begin cycling another.

Hi again Trinket,

You were so right! Unfortunately, the bubble burst while I was attempting to net the little guy so that I could care for it as you suggested. So I performed a 50% water change, vacuumed the gravel to death, and added half a dose of Melafix and Pimafix. Hopefully this will at least diffuse the toxins released by the rupture.

Oh, about the Melafix and Pimafix: I only dose the tank half a dose when I add it, and I don't add it more than two days in a row before giving the fish a break. I don't want to kill them off with love. But thanks for the reminder not to go overboard! I will be especially careful.

Thanks again to everyone who responded!