Hello I badly need help with my Ryukin goldfish- SPARKY

Test Results for the Following: did these 3 days ago so don't remember all numbers
Ammonia Level? - 0
Nitrite Level? - 0
Nitrate level? its way below 40
Ph Level, (If possible,KH and GH and chloramines)? neutral
Tank size (How many Gals) and How long has it been running? 29G ; 2years
What is the name and size of the filter/s? Whisper - large
How often do you change the water and how much? 25-30% once a wk, thorough cleaning of the tank once a month
How many fish in the tank and their size?- Sparky-Ryukin(2.5"); Comet-Oranda(2.5"); Blackie-Oranda(1"); Cory-Cory catfish(1.2"); Pleco-Plecos(5") ; I have had all these fish (except Blackie) for almost 3 yrs
What kind of water additives or conditioners? Aquarium salt, stress coat, Tetra Aquasafe for tapwater
Any medications added to the tank? no
Add any new fish to the tank? yes, blackie the oranda 4 days ago
What do you feed your fish? Tetra crisps for goldfish
Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt", bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? yes, Sparky (Ryukin) not showing good signs(even before the new fish came). One of his gills shows something white stuck inside of them, i can see bloody streaks in the tailfin
Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, ect..? yes, Sparky sits on the bottom from the past wk and is not eating for the past 2 days. Moves around a little bit but again mostly on the bottom

I think the above information will give some details on the fish and his condition. I also have a heater, bubblewand in the tank.
Its been a few days since he was sitting on the bottom, but now its more often accompanied by not eating. I have tried to change the food but no luck. The water has been changed recently but it appears a little cloudy now.
I did not take Sparky out of the water to see his gills. But it seems there is something whitish-beigish (gritty) stuck inside one of his gills. It is noticeable when he is breathing, which is slowed down a bit. He also shows bloody streaks in his tail fin and also some red spots under his chin and under his belly (which i think maybe because of his sitting on the gravel- not sure ). He has always been a healthy active fish until now. I would like to see him like before. Please Help

Comet the oranda also sometimes sits on the bottom but he is very active and eats well. He also shows some bloody streaks on his tailfin.
Could this be due to growing fins or something else? All other fish are doing great except Sparky. Everyone lives happy in the tank. No picking on anyone.

I am in need of desperate help. I do not wish to lose my friend . Kindly advise.
Thank you.

Hello Richa,
I am sorry to hear that your fish is sick. I am not a mod, and I am sure one will be one shortly to help you, but I can see from what you have told us that you are overstocked for a 29g. Also, you need to do more water changes and more frequently. A fancy GF needs AT LEAST 10g all to themselves; however, as they grow, they will need more. I have a 29g and I only have two fish in there.
Also, you need to feed your fish a varied diet that includes protein, veggis, and fruit. You can check out the food forum for great ideas on different things to feed them.

How many gph does your filter turn over? I was just asking as you need at least 290gph filtered for your tank. However, as you are overstocked, you prolly need more than that.

Hang in there, Hon. A mod will help you soon. Welcome to KoKos!!!

Sounds like something my Ryukin was going through very recently (the bloodsteaks on fins and lower abdomen). ):
As Nickie said, hang in there. Trinket is amazing with advice, my Athena is pretty much back to her normal self and healed because of what she has told me to do. Sounds like something related to bacteria to me, if the water is cloudy too. But this can wait for the experts.

Best of luck! <3

Good morning Richa and welcome.
There are a few things going on here by the looks. First up- that cloudy water. That is very worrying with a sick fish.

Second the new fish- was he quarantined?

And third, by adding the new fish you are now quite seriously overstocked in a 29 gallon. I have somehow managed with four small fish in a 29 gallon with increased water changes and maintanence but with that size tank adding just one more fish to make 5 the load can be a disaster waiting to happen I am afraid to say. The whisper filter will no longer be able to filter this water or carry enough beneficial bacteria to manage the nitrogen cycle. I would imagine the cycle has taken a bump- and you have been having unnoticed peaks of ammonia. That the water is cloudy indicates a cycle crash or a disruption in balance of the cycle that needs attention fast.

Yes, the ryukin was under parr to start. That means if he is introduced to farther stress (invasion of his space) and or new bacteria/parasites (almost inevitable on a new fish) he will be much more likely to succomb to infection Very often the new fish we bring in looks and acts fine because he has developed resistance to the bacteria that are living on him. All fish should be quarantined and salted or medicated to deal with this. The old fish are suddenly exosed to new threats that they have not built resistance to. Its the old fish that get sick, especially those already weak.

With gill infections you will need : extra aeration, extra filtration and zero ammonia first. All stressors must be removed.
One of these is overcrowding. Is there anyway you can set up a rubbermaid container/another tank for 2 of the fish? You could also medicate the new fish and the ryukin safer like that.

Before medication this water and tank situation needs sorting. Meds will not work well and farther stress the fish.

Hi Thank you for all your advices.
To answer your questions, I do have another tank where I can treat the fish. And no I had not quarantined the new fish. I use to do it before but have not had any problem when I did not do it.

I did a water change yesterday. Sparky seemed to swim around a little bit after the water change.
I also took him out and examined his gills and there is a crusty looking substance stuck inbetween his gills. I went to the petstore and they said it could be a parasite - mostly invasion of flukes and recommended treating the whole tank with Metronidazole (Fluke guard).

I am going to take pleco out of the pool, as last night I saw him picking on the other fish. So, with the pleco out I can treat my 29G tank with the meds therefore eliminating any recurrence of this parasite with the other fish (which would otherwise be untreated if I took only the goldfish out).

Is it okay if I add Stresszyme to the tank for added help with the cycling process? I will have to do that after 3 days as I will be out of town.
Will keep you posted. But anymore information on the crusty thing will be helpful. And any more suggestions welcome.
Happy New Year.

Hello,

Wanted to give you an update. Unfortunately, Sparky died the day I was leaving to go out of town
Followed by that, 4 days later, the new fish that I purchased died as well (had done a water change after returning from vacation).
So, I am not sure whats going on with my tank Everyone else is good so far.
I will keep a watch on the goldfish Comet and hopefully he doing good. He tends to eat well but seems to sit on the floor occasionally. Is that normal?

Thanks.

I am very sorry to hear that . But I also appreciate your letting us know.

If you don't mind me speaking out, I think you will have to review 3 misconceptions here. One, I am afraid is that you can ever get away with not quaranting a new fish. I know you say that you have done it before without problems- well then -maybe you got very lucky.

Almost all new fish from petstores come to us with multiple issues; parasites we cannot see that can be on board (prepatent) for up to 6 months, bacteria that are new to our own old fish but the new fish has either developed resistance to or is a carrier of, viruses that are contagious....its a lengthy list and few of these conditions mentioned come with symptoms!! So the new fish may look fine & dandy and may in fact always be well himself but it is the old fish- our first fish- that will suffer and get sick as they are suddenly presented with all these new toxins in their water alongside the stress of less space, less oxygen, less nutrients and more debris in their water.

Quarantining new fish is the #1 golden rule of preventative medicine -and -along with not understanding the nitrogen cycle, ranks top as the least understood.

Number two that needs mentioning is the stocking rule. Goldfish need 10 gallons each. There is little leeway unless you are very careful and prepared to do daily water changes. When a tank is overstocked fish tend to die off to the numbers that the tank and its set up will support. I am sorry if that sounds mean, but most of us struggle to keep our fish for many years in optimal conditions and have learnt these lessons the hard way.

And #three medicating without careful diagnosis and perfect water to start. Overmedication and medication in water that is less than perfect is the second biggest killer of goldfish. I am not saying your fish didn't have flukes, but the medication can not work in water that is not cycled/cloudy.

I should do a near- as- you- can 100% water change and if your comet is still bottom sitting after that please post back so we can help him.

Hi Trinket,

Thank you for the valuable information. I will never ever introduce any new fish without first quaranting them, I think I have learnt this lesson the hard way
Well, I did a water change 2 days ago and since then, Comet seems to be fine and dandy swimming around and eating well
But to eliminate any parasite problem I have started MELAFIX treatment yday. Since there has been a lot going on with my tank.

Will keep you posted. Thanx.

I'm so very glad to hear he is swimming about again! Well done. I hope more frequent and larger water changes are all he needs from now

I am thinking of starting another 29G tank with tropical fish especially danios, cherry barbs and platys. How many can I include in a 29G tank? The ones I have mentioned are about a half an inch in the pets store I visited.
Can you suggest some tropical fish that go along well together besides the ones I have mentioned? and what is the rule as far as keeping tropical fish?

I noted from your post that you had added Melafix to help eliminate parasites. Melafix is an antibacterial medication and does not kill parasites.

You may ish to read this link on fish treatments


http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/typesoftreatment.html

Finally a big warm

Thank you for this info. It is very helpful.

For your question on tropicals, Richa, there is a section here on the board where very knowledgeable people can help you out a lot more than our wonderful "docs" here.

There are some basic meds I have on hand when doing quarantine, one of them being aquarium or rock salt. This is one of the cheapest, yet most effective, meds against a variety of parasites. A simple solution of 0.3% salt (1 teaspoon per gallon, in 3 12-hour sequences) will do the trick for such a vast number of parasites. I always have salted water for any new fish. In addition to that, flukes is a very common parasite in pet stores, and unfortunately one that doesn't respond to salt treatment at all. So, any good fluke treatment will do for that. Not everybody has a microscope, where finding and identifying parasites is a breeze, so a few broad spectrum meds on hand is always a blessing. Especially if you are like me who can't walk into a pet store to buy a can of dog food, only to find myself with a watery bag of fish in my hands when I walk out...

Hi

Update: Comet is doing extremely well and happy in his home. Isn't it intersting to see this good message for a change. Thanx for the help

That's great news!