so she only ate a couple drops yesterday and maybe one today. i tried to feed her the gel again tonight and she spit it out twice. she was sitting on the bottom looking pitiful (which is the first time she's been on the bottom in days). so i tried the anti-bacterial pellets and she totally gobbled them up like she was starving.

will it work if i switch back to the pellets? i just feel like she's barely getting any food/medicine with the gel, and even though it's better...if she eats the pellets, that's better. yeesh...this crazy fish!

Choose one and stick to the same one every day. If she will eat the antibac pellets then please stick with those. The pros really do outweigh the cons

I'm just sorry about the expense of the other. I am not hearing good things these days about those geltek drops getting eaten. They just don't seem to be made well or something.

I'm just going to stick with the pellets. She seemed more zippy this morning, but still won't go to the top or bottom for food. Last night when I was doing a water change, I discovered the filter had only been running at half power...so I put in on full, which has created more bubbles in 'her side' of the tank. She seems to be eating a lot of them...or it seems like she's mistaking them for food. (Which, because she had zero bubbles in her old tank, wouldn't surprise me.) Is this okay?? Should I turn the filter down/off when I feed her?

Well yes a lot of people do turn off/down filters to feed. Especially in the smaller tanks the current can suck the food in faster than some fish can catch it. The only thing is to always remember to turn it back on again . Even a few hours off after feeding can have a bad impact on water quality.

The bubbles are important, great for her, she'll soon get use to them and as long as there is one calm spot in the tank (often under the filter intaketube) the current should be okay. I'm glad she zipped around today. Not worse means getting better

Cool. Thanks for the tip! She did look better today...but it's been such a roller coaster, I'm trying not to get my hopes up!

Hi Leslie,
I didn't want you to think I had forgotten you and Fisher!!! I have been offline for the past week as we had to move. I am glad to hear Fisher is getting stronger. I sure hope her mouth gets better soon for ya! Sending you hugs, Hon! You are doing GREAT!!!!

Just an update...

Fisher's mouth looks to be healing a bit. It's turned all white and there isn't as much fuzzy white as before. She sorta busted it up a couple of days ago, but other than that it looks to be getting better. I think she can now fully close her mouth, which is an improvement. Should her mouth be more healed by now? Should I do a water medication?

She's still eating the anti-bacterial pellets, but she's difficult to feed. She probably gets 1 in 5 pellets I put in the tank, which is leading to a dirty gravel. She's got white stringy poo, but I think it might be starting to solid up and turn food-colored. Hard to tell.

She still stays in the right side of the tank and is fairly inactive. She won't chase food past the middle of the tank. I dunno what's up with that. She still won't surface either. I think she's kinda spent over this whole ordeal.

I've been testing water and everything looks good. Anytime I show a trace of ammonia I've done a water change, which is pretty much every other day -- sometimes everyday. The messy gravel is driving me nutso, and I'm atrocious with the siphon. Ugh! Oh well...I keep trying!

Hey there! Sounds like you are doing very well . Syphons can be a pain but should get leftover food out for you. Is Fisher managing to get more food today?

She managed to get about the same this morning -- about 4-6 pellets. This evening when I got home though she was in the other side of the tank (left side near bubbler)! I almost panicked because I didn't see her in her typical hang out (on the right under the filter intake). But she's going back and forth through the tank more freely tonight it seems. She ate about 6-8 pellets tonight, and even ate some near the bubbler. That seems like an improvement. Her mouth isn't 100% closed -- she's got a little Elvis lip going on. But it definitely looks like it's healing...I'll try to snap a picture...

Edit: pictures...

Look at me on the left side of the tank!


Face is a bit crooked...


Sorta-Elvis lip...


BTW, do you think I have too much tank foliage? I'm thinking of taking out 2 of the smaller plants. (The purple-ish one on the right and the short green one in the center.) Also, the backdrop is currently construction paper...I'm so undecided on what (if anything) to put there. This was my husband's creative/temporary fix.

Definitely almost better hun. Excellent effort

I personally love that pale blue backdrop. I thought so immediately. It all looks nice. But I imagine all the plants make gravel vacs difficult and fiddly. More work certainly. It's really up to you.

I think you have brought your fish back from deaths door and done a fantastic job

I agree! Fisher looks great and his mouth is getting better, too! As far as the gravel, what you can do is take some of it out, then it would be easier to syphon. You can also take some of the plants out, too, as (and this is jmo) it does look a little "busy" to me. I REALLY love the color you have for your background, too! It really brings out Fisher's colors!!!
You know, Fisher may just needed to take some time to get used to so much space. That is really fairly common with GF. My demekin FLIPPED out when I put her in the 29g tank. She didn't know what was going on! LOL!

Thanks, ladies. Trust me, this fish would have died a month ago if it wasn't for you assistance and patience with me!

Thanks for the compliments on the el cheapo construction paper background. Admittedly, it does look better than I thought it would!

I took about 6 cups of gravel out of the bottom to thin it out a bit, and I removed two plants. Fisher seems to be able to move back and forth a bit easier, since she's sticking near the bottom still.

uberleslie Fisher looks so much better and healthier! Its amazing, and you have done such a good job with her!

I like the background. Right now I have blue wrapping paper on the back of the tank as I haven't decided yet whether I want one or not, so its a cheapo experiment. I think I got the idea of wrapping paper from OldHag, but construction paper will work as well. You can just change the background to fit your moods, lol.

Congrats on Fisher's return to health! You're a great fish mom!

Quick update:

Fisher is swimming around more freely. And swimming much closer to the surface than she has been. Her new favorite spot in the tank is to position her tail over the airstone...I think she likes the bubbles on her butt?! She tried to eat her food from the top this morning, but kept getting confused by the bubbles. I turned off the filter...should I turn off the air bubbles during feeding too?

She's been going to the surface and eating and spitting out lots of bubbles...is this okay? If I fill the tank more to the top (there's about 3 inches of air right now), will that help reduce the bubbles?

in my opinion i dont think it will reduce the bubble its the fish eatting from the top and suck air in and release it back out

for the type of goldfish you have i wont fill it up all the way they like to jump especilly she is getting better now

Leslie,
What kind of food are you feeding her?

Well, I've just learned that Fisher is definitely a HE...I saw much better pictures of how to tell than I did before. He's definitely a he!

He is still eating the anti-bacterial Jungle food. Tomorrow I'm going to switch him back to the one I used to feed: Tetra Goldfish Crisps. Is there a better food I should go with?

I suspect that Fisher still has some discomfort in his tummy from the bad infection -medicated food also takes its toll.

Yes, if the course is finished, move on. Do try and feed him some variety. It's the spice of life for agoldie. Supplement your regular with small amounts of frozen shrimp, frozen gelfood, peas, brocolli (tiny weeny pieces) and some fruit. Check out the food forum for lots more ideas

So, Fisher has been on regular food since Monday. He's eating okay -- still battling the bubbles at the surface during feeding. However, it looks like his lip sore is opening up again. Yesterday morning I noticed a little white piece hanging off, and this morning I'm seeing a little dark red in the sore. Is the infection back or still there? What can I do now??

Do you still have the hp? Another painting of hp should hopefully stop that in its tracks. Bacterial diseases can take a very long time to heal up totally, they can take months. Columnaris is a serious disease. You should keep up with your water vigilence, the good nutrition, he has to build up his strength to fight off the remaining bacteria.

Any chance of another pic sometime?

Thanks. I'll try to snap one when I get home this evening.

I've been keeping on the water situation, but battling a 0 KH (going in search of crushed coral this weekend).

Here are some pictures. Sorry I didn't post last night, my camera battery was dead.





His poo is kinda white and stringy again -- it had been looking better earlier this week.

He's doing all-right . He has lost color through this and still some scales need to grow back but his fins look good and hes swimming around. You have to remember he has come back from deaths door. Hes not going to be shiny and new looking anytime soon. Total healing can take a very long time. Did you dab the sore place with hp again? That's all I'd do for now. Focus your energy on the water and pH stability, we are water keepers first and foremost. Good water looks after the fish best.

Meanwhile, now he is off the food meds you can try and vary his diet by offering some building up foods like frozen shrimp cubes, krill, garlic soaked cooked rice grains (just a couple) peas etc...his immunity needs strengthening with good water and lots of vitamins.

He looks like a grumpy old man now, "When I was your age, we didn't have any of these new-fangled things like tanks! We had to swim to school uphill both ways!" He actually looks kind of cute that way, if you ask me.

I fed him two peas yesterday. I bought some freeze dried blood worms and some frozen brine shrimp also -- I've never fed anything other than flakes, so this is new for me. He at maybe 2 of the blood worms and I'm really confused by the frozen shrimp...is it just supposed to dissolve into a cloud of shrimpy-bits? He seemed to eat a few bits, but it's hard to tell if he's eating them or just opening his mouth.

Should we move this thread from emergency?
I can't change the title, maybe someone else can.
But he sure looks good!
Well done!

Yes this thread can be moved form emergency into diagnosis and discussion please. We can carry on with advice and recovery there.

Leslie, the frozen cubes you can wriggle the cube in a cup of tank water and some of the teeny shrimp will come off. Then pour that tank water in the tank. Then you can refreeze the cube. Fischer doesnt need a whole cube of those, one cube will one fish about 5 or so times! Does he like them? I sometimes hold the cube under the water in front of a sick fishes mouth and they nibble from the cube.
Quite cute.

Yeah, you can totally move the thread. Fisher is definitely improved. I'm still super-nervous about his every move, but I'm feeling better that he might pull through. He's still hanging around the bottom quite a bit, but he swims about when he wants to. He's also scavenging for food in the gravel more than he has been since the whole ordeal started, so that's probably good -- especially because there's probably a crapload of shrimpy bits down there.

I did do the hp swab. The lip looks still a bit puffy, but not as pink as before. Hopefully we're holding the infection at bay.

That's good to hear and great that he is forraging - whoot, that is the sign of a goldfishes' health returning, a nose dig in the dirt

I have a 1 inch long orange goldfish. This past week he has got a black belly. It is from his tail to his gills. I dont know what's wrong. I tried feeding him a pea, i just changed his water and i put some salt in the water. If anyone can help me, please do .. He's currently laying at the bottom of his tank, motionless, ... "Fishy, WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING!!!" i think he's gonna die . Please help me, it's my little sister;s fish. Thanks guys

Hi Alyssa!
Sorry to hear your sister's fish is sick. You will probably want to start a new thread on this. Post a new topic in 911 and make sure to answer all the questions in the white box at the top of the page. Hopefully, we will be able to find out what is wrong and how to make it better!!!