Help my ryukin is just laying on the bottom of the tank.

[Joeybsmooth]

When I get the net close to him he moves, but for the most part he just laying there. He is in there a 35 with Two other ryukins, some spotted gold fish and a Comet .

Edit

The Ammonia is a bit high but not in ithe harm range . However the nitrate are high. Lastly he has a black spot on him.

 

[glassbird]

Some additional info is needed before we can help. Is this a new tank? And how high is "a bit" high? Are you testing with strips, or a drop-type kit? Can you give us your actual numbers?

What are you feeding? Some flotation problems can be diet related. How long have you had this fish?

Also, it appears that you are very overstocked. A 35 gallon would be ok for 2, MAYBE 3, small ryukins...IF you have a good filter and do regular water changes. But it appears that you have at least three more fish beyond that?

 

[steez]

Do a water change now. Anything above 0 ammonia is still considered toxins and you need to get it out of the water.

 

[Joeybsmooth]

It is 3, and I am using strips. Dang it ran out of Fish Flakes and I used crisp once or twice .I had this guy for over a year .

 

[steez]

Strips are very unreliable, you should invest into a test kit like the API Master Test Kit so you can get some real readings.

3 ppm? That's really high... you need to do water changes man.

 

[librarygirl]

It is 3, and I am using strips. Dang it ran out of Fish Flakes and I used crisp once or twice .I had this guy for over a year .

You ammonia is 3?! The strips are not accurate, a good liquid test kit is best. How high are your nitrates? Nitrates only leave the water through water changes; a good regular weekly water change schedule will keep them below 20 at all times. If they are high your water change schedule needs to be increased.

With ammonia at 3 you'll need to do back-to-back, massive water changes. A 50% water change will only get it down to 1.5 which is still highly toxic, a second one would get it down to .75 but still high, etc. So either 3-4 50% water changes or 2-3 larger ones than that.

If you've had the fish for over a year the tank should be cycled already so not sure what happened to cause the spike in ammonia. Have you added fish recently? Have you changed your filters?

What exactly is the stock in the tank now, what size tank, and how long has the tank been set up with the fish?

 

[jsoong]

Agree ... water change is in order. If the tank had been cycled & now showing up with ammonia, something is going wrong fast .... Although it is possible that the biofilter had died off somehow, and the condition is temporary, it is more likely that you are exceeding the carrying capacity of the tank, and the ultimate solution is either to get rid of some of the fish, or get a bigger tank. <The comet gets big & needs to be in a pond, or at least a 6 foot 200 gal tank .... that would be my first candidate for re-homing.>

For now, after the several massive changes to get ammonia down to less than 0.5, you need to do daily water changes (50%) to keep it there while you figure out what is going on in the tank.

After getting the water under control, I would try feeding peas to the fish. If this is a case of simple swim bladder disorder secondary to constipation, peas will help things. <It wouldn't do harm anyway .... Goldfish should have veggies several times a week.> But clean water (and a good gravel vac to get rid of as much gunk as possible) is the first thing.

 

[Joeybsmooth]

Thanks for the help. I will try some peas for the fish that is sick . And my Comet needs a tank that big . I have had him for 2 years. But I guess it would be best for him to find a better home has much a I like him. I was going to try to hold out until I could get a new tank for the Comet, however now that I know he needs 200 gals I know this will not happen . And I just got a new filter so that could be what is doing the ammonia.

But I have 3 Rynkin Gold Fish, a spotted gold fish and a Comet. in a 35 .

 

[librarygirl]

Thanks for the help. I will try some peas for the fish that is sick . And my Comet needs a tank that big . I have had him for 2 years. But I guess it would be best for him to find a better home has much a I like him. I was going to try to hold out until I could get a new tank for the Comet, however now that I know he needs 200 gals I know this will not happen . And I just got a new filter so that could be what is doing the ammonia.

But I have 3 Rynkin Gold Fish, a spotted gold fish and a Comet. in a 35 .

That's your issue, along with a new filter. Did you totally replace your old filter media? Usually filter media shouldn't be replaced unless it's literally falling apart and even then only change out small portions at a time.

For that many goldfish, not even counting the comet, ideally you'd have a 50 gal tank. Generally it's 20 gals for the first fish and 10 gals for each additional; goldfish are messy.

First thing is to start with multiple large water changes to get those levels down. Once ammonia is under .25, test your water daily and do water changes as needed to keep the levels low. Depending on how much media you changed out this could go on for some time and with the amount of waste those fish are going to produce in a tank that's really too small for that many of them you're probably going to be doing a lot of water changes. But it's important to keep those fish healthy.

I'd definitely rehome the Comet ASAP; it's going to contribute a lot to your current issues and ammonia is going to build up very fast. Hopefully the mini-cycle won't last long and the tank will right itself soon (even then the Comet would need to go). Then you should think about upgrading to at least a 50 gal to accommodate your other 4 goldfish. Good luck.

 

[Joeybsmooth]

Thank you,

Soon they are going into a 65 gal. I have my turtles in that one now , but when I move them up to a 150. I will move my fish in their old tank. How do you rehome a fish.

 

[jsoong]

You have any friends with a fish pond? First job is to find someone with a well looked after pond, and see if he will take the fish. You may also contact local fish clubs. If the comet is big & a good specimen, someone might even pay to take him.

 

[jlk]

Regarding rehoming: do you know anyone with a goldfish pond? Are there any pond & garden stores in your area? If there are, go visit them in person and ask if they would be willing to take the comet or if they know if any of their pond customers would be. I found great homes for my daughters 3 comets this way. Another option would be to offer him for free on craigslist/similar type site or try in the pond section of this site. Good luck!