Treehugger1972
Aquarium Advice Newbie
I'm a rookie. I did have an aquarium when I was young so I'm vaguely familiar with aquarium lingo and problems but I still classify myself as a rookie. I have what I call "ponds" in my yard. They are nothing more than various sized wine barrels. One is a rainwater catch from the roof water and the other 3 make up a fun rustic fountain deal. I keep goldfish in them for my kids and to eat mosquito larvae. The pond in question is a full wine barrel (no idea how many gallons it holds, but it's a lot maybe 60 gallons) rainwater catch. I have had one goldfish in it for many years. He's a beauty! I do not feed the fish in my ponds, they eat the algae and bugs. But leaves and the occasional bird fall in it over the years and create this mucky funky sludge on the bottom. Well I went out the check on it tonight as I do about once a month and to my horror there was my goldfish laying on its side in the mucky sludge with about a centimeter of water. It's been really hot here and sometimes when these barrels get too low in water they stop holding water as well and almost shrink and that's how you lose so much that you kill your fish. Believe it or not this has happened before and by some miracle I managed to save that fish. But this time I'm worried. The Fish in question began quickly swimming around in circles in the bucket I scooped him up in. I happened to have some water that sat overnight and I quickly added that to his bucket. I don't typically keep water conditioner around. Now the fish is on the surface on his side not swimming around but alive. I'm assuming he's been affected by nitrogen or ammonia. Or his swim bladder is messed up. How if at all can I heal him? Thanks!
