sick goldfish

something_fishy · 05-20-2005, 05:33 AM

I'm currently a bit worried about one of my goldfish, a shubunkin, who keeps hanging at the surface gasping and i've noticed that he's been pretty lethargic lately and has started to swim vertically.
The other goldfish in the tank seem to be completely unaffected and are behaving perfectly normally.
(nitrite - 0.1, ammonia - 0.2, pH - 7.7)
any help treating him would be great

maxpayne_lhp · 05-20-2005, 06:43 AM

Is there enough oxigen? Do you have plants? Or does the filter work?

ijedic · 05-20-2005, 06:58 AM

How old is the tank? The gasping, and other symptoms are signs of ammonia poisoning. I would definately be doing partial water changes to get the ammonia down. Do you feed floating or sinking foods? With goldfish, it is best to use sinking as they are notorious for getting "air bubbles" in their tummies. You can try giving him/her a peeled pea, in case their it is digestive troubles, but medicating at this point would be unwise.

Does he have any other symptoms like stringy clear poo?

something_fishy · 05-20-2005, 07:46 AM

I don't think that it's anything to do with dodgy water and there is plenty of oxygen in the tank. I'm thinking that it is more likely to be a bacterial gill infection - he has been swimming around using only one pectoral fin. I've also just noticed that there is a red ring around his gills. This would also explain the gasping and the vertical swimming. Have isloated him and treated him as if this is the case.i hope this resolves the problem!

ijedic · 05-20-2005, 09:46 AM

Hopefully your method of treatment will help rather than hinder. Just remember something about antibiotic treatements and aquariums... What they don't kill they make stronger, and often antibiotics can cause secondary infections.

Thunderkiss · 05-20-2005, 04:43 PM

You have both ammonia and nitrite readings. Feed 2-3X/week, and do a 25% water change every few days til those both read zero.

05-20-2005, 05:33 AM	#1
something_fishy Fishy Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14	sick goldfish I'm currently a bit worried about one of my goldfish, a shubunkin, who keeps hanging at the surface gasping and i've noticed that he's been pretty lethargic lately and has started to swim vertically. The other goldfish in the tank seem to be completely unaffected and are behaving perfectly normally. (nitrite - 0.1, ammonia - 0.2, pH - 7.7) any help treating him would be great

05-20-2005, 06:43 AM	#2
maxpayne_lhp Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: West Michigan Age: 20 Posts: 2,174	Is there enough oxigen? Do you have plants? Or does the filter work? __________________ ~Nam Nguyen~

05-20-2005, 09:46 AM	#5
ijedic Dutchess Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Tennessee Age: 39 Posts: 147	Hopefully your method of treatment will help rather than hinder. Just remember something about antibiotic treatements and aquariums... What they don't kill they make stronger, and often antibiotics can cause secondary infections. __________________

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05-20-2005, 06:58 AM	#3
ijedic Dutchess Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Tennessee Age: 39 Posts: 147	How old is the tank? The gasping, and other symptoms are signs of ammonia poisoning. I would definately be doing partial water changes to get the ammonia down. Do you feed floating or sinking foods? With goldfish, it is best to use sinking as they are notorious for getting "air bubbles" in their tummies. You can try giving him/her a peeled pea, in case their it is digestive troubles, but medicating at this point would be unwise. Does he have any other symptoms like stringy clear poo?

05-20-2005, 07:46 AM	#4
something_fishy Fishy Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14	I don't think that it's anything to do with dodgy water and there is plenty of oxygen in the tank. I'm thinking that it is more likely to be a bacterial gill infection - he has been swimming around using only one pectoral fin. I've also just noticed that there is a red ring around his gills. This would also explain the gasping and the vertical swimming. Have isloated him and treated him as if this is the case.i hope this resolves the problem!

05-20-2005, 04:43 PM	#6
Thunderkiss Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 376	You have both ammonia and nitrite readings. Feed 2-3X/week, and do a 25% water change every few days til those both read zero.

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