Pond Goldfish Dying! Please help!

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Alright, so I did two 50% water changes again today. Here are the disappointing parameters:
Ammonia. 0.5
Nitrate. 5.0
Nitrite. 0

That was after both water changes.
Should I be rinsing out the filter media each time? I havent rinsed it out yet.

I also went and bought an air pump to put an air source in the tank and some goldfish pellets that sink. The sick fish swam the best he could without his tail to get food. I didnt help him this time because I didnt know if touching him was stressing him out. But he ate then just sank back down to the bottom.

Btw, can I turn the lights back on? The tank is sitting near a window so there is some light that comes in the tank during the day so it doesnt really matter. But if it matters to the fish, then I will turn them on.

Also, while I was pilfering through my fish medications, I read on the ich medicine that it treats sprolegniasis and trichodiniasis. I was interested so I googled them but couldnt really find much info on them but I read the symptoms of one was stringy white cotton loooking stuff shedding off the fish. And im not sure if thats the stuff im seeing or if its even coming from the sick fish, but it sounds like the stuff I see in my tank. You can kinda see it in the photos I first posted. Does anyone know anything about those diseases?

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I don't know about diseases, unfortunately. I'll send a message to JLK. But those numbers don't look bad, except for the ammonia. That really needs to come down. I'd suggest another 30% water change, if you can stomach it after doing so many already. You're correct that it's best you don't touch him, as that will damage his natural protective slime coating. That's great that you got the air pump and sinking pellets. You're doing everything right, trying to help him. Just keep watching that water like a hawk.

Edit: Sorry, forgot to add, no definitely do not rinse your filter media at all. You want the beneficial bacteria to build up in it.
 
You said you have another tank? Try adding some filter media from that tank into the other one (if your sure there is no disease in the first tank) you could also add rocks from the other tank or other things the bb could cling to.
 
If everyone seems to be settled in, you can turn the lights on. If the lights stress or scare them, you may want to let them settle for a bit longer. I would continue to hand feed the sickest fish if possible.

Although I do not see anything clearly in your pic, it's unlikely they have trich. Trich parasites actually do not feed on fish but bacteria in the surrounding water. The fish is simply a place to anchor itself. If you had trich, you would have noticed problems with your fish quite long time ago.

Sapro is fungus. Fungus is opportunistic and takes advantage of fish with weakened immune systems and slime coat damage (from toxins, injury, etc). It's typically secondary to an already present bacterial infection which is why fungus meds typically contain antibiotics. It appears as threads or patches of hair/fuzz. This is a possibility due to everything these guys have experienced recently.

Low ph levels can also cause a grey/white stringy appearance as excess slime coat is produced to combat acidic water.

Keep up the good work with water changes and do not worry about your filter media until you notice the flow start to slow down. At this point you can rinse a section or two in old tank water. :)
 
Alright, so here are my parameters tonight after two 50% water changes:
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrate. 5.0
Nitrite. 0

I only had a little bit of time to research nitrate poisoning tonight and my fish does show all of those symptoms. While looking around, I read that someone soaked their fish in chlorophyll for 15 to 20 minutes a day for 7 days and they fish showed improvement. I wasnt able to read the whole thing due to time but it sounded interesting. There was also something about green tea baths. Does anyone know anything about these? Im willing to try them if I know it wont cause anymore damage.

Btw, ive started treating the tank for sprolegniasis just in case.

The fish ate again today and even tried swimming. He still cant use his tail. Its really breaking my heart that he is suffering because of my stupidity. I should have done research on what they need to live happy lives.



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JLK will need to advise you on the chlorophyll or green tea baths, but clean water is usually the cure for everything fish-related. I'm starting to think a fungus treatment may be in order, but again, that's something she needs to advise you on. Hold off on any medications until she gives you her opinion.

It's not your fault that so many people are ill-advised on how to care for goldfish. Now that you know, you'll teach others. You're doing the very best you can right now and that fish is sincerely lucky to have someone who cares so much about it. Keep up the great work. Still have my fingers and toes crossed for you guys!!
 
Don't worry. Your not the only one, I personally don't like goldfish. But my mom loved them, She had a pump in her pond to make a water fall, one day she threw the pump back on without the cover (she was cleaning it) and one of the poor guys got his lips cut off. He survived and is still alive, but he now has to suck all his food in. She also had one HUGE one, and I guess he decided the grass was greener outside the pond, he jumped out through out the night, and when my mom woke up at 6 and went to work she saw him laying on the ground, automatically assumed he was dead and she was late for work. So she was going to take care of it when she got home. EIGHT hours later she got home and walked up to him (by this point he's covered in flies and ants). She noticed his gills moving... Raced him inside and out him in the bathtub (yes. The bathtub. My MOM put a fish in her bathtub (if you ever met my mom you'd know how strange this is) ) anyways, the fish lived in the tub for about a week finally got a tank big enough and he lived happily inside for about 2 years before he was rehomed to a much larger pond.
 
Why do you believe your fish have nitrate poisoning? Your tank numbers are under control. The only think I think they may have suffered from is possibly ammonia poisoning from over-cleaning the pond and thermal shock from the sudden temperature drop. I am not quite sure what green tea or chlorophyll is supposed to accomplish in any situation.

High nitrate (same as high nitrite) affects hemoglobin (red blood cells) and their ability to procure oxygen. RBCs are responsible for the transport of oxygen throughout the body. Nitrates just take a longer process of conversion thus less toxic, however, long term exposure to high levels can have very negative affects. Nitrite has a higher affinity for RBCs than oxygen and leaves a fish or any other creature oxygen-deprived at an internal level (brain, organ systems, etc). The most frequently used treatment is methylene blue which increases blood-oxygen levels temporarily. MB is used in humans as well as high nitrates can be toxic and have deadly consequences.

Have you added meds yet? If so, what have you been added?
 
JLK, I think Animal Lover mentioned nitrates because I did in post #12. Before all the water had been changed out, I wondered if the bowed body might have been a sign of nitrate poisoning. Now the water looks great, so I wondered if it might be residual effects. Total guess on my part though. I stand corrected. :)
 
chevypride said:
Don't worry. Your not the only one, I personally don't like goldfish. But my mom loved them, She had a pump in her pond to make a water fall, one day she threw the pump back on without the cover (she was cleaning it) and one of the poor guys got his lips cut off. He survived and is still alive, but he now has to suck all his food in. She also had one HUGE one, and I guess he decided the grass was greener outside the pond, he jumped out through out the night, and when my mom woke up at 6 and went to work she saw him laying on the ground, automatically assumed he was dead and she was late for work. So she was going to take care of it when she got home. EIGHT hours later she got home and walked up to him (by this point he's covered in flies and ants). She noticed his gills moving... Raced him inside and out him in the bathtub (yes. The bathtub. My MOM put a fish in her bathtub (if you ever met my mom you'd know how strange this is) ) anyways, the fish lived in the tub for about a week finally got a tank big enough and he lived happily inside for about 2 years before he was rehomed to a much larger pond.
Click to expand...

Well, I believe everything you say! One of my goldfish jumped out of my tank and survived. Idk how they can live without water that long but I was surprised. We dont know how long ours was on the floor. My husband woke up and saw one on the floor and put him back in the tank. He just came back alive after that.

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Here is tonights parameters after two more 50% water changes:
Ammonia. 0.25
Nitrate. 5.0
Nitrite. 0

Yes, I have started a fungal med. Its Petcos Preferred Herbal Ich medicine. It says it also treats sprolegniasis and trichodiniasis. Today was the second day of adding this medication. There is still stuff in the tank that looks like the skin you peel off after a sunburn. Its just floating around. Not alot but its weird.

When I googled nitrate poisoning, the symptoms described my fish almost perfectly. Thats why I was wondering if I should do the green tea or chlorophyll treatment. But I wont do that unless I know it truely works.

So, jlk, are you suggesting that I use some methylene blue?

My fish seemed to be a little more active today. His body is still bent though but he was swimming more today. He seems like he has trouble making it to the top of the water because he looks like he gets tired then falls back to the bottom. So I helped him to the top once. He ate really good.

Also, the freezing temperatures here I think are about to end. I was wondering if it would be wise to move the 3 healthy fish back out to my pond so we can give everyone a little more room. Although, if my pond is what caused the sickness in the other fish, I dont want to damage my other 3. If I can, how would I go about making the water safe for them? I thought about putting them in our guest bathtub to give them a little more room. My husband disagrees but if someone thinks that would help my fish get better faster, ill move them anyways. Haha!

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You could drain the pond. Scrub it down (I always use vinegar when cleaning tanks, don't know if it even makes a difference or not), and then re cycle it. Then you should be safe to move them back in. That could take 3 or so weeks but it's much better then putting them in a sick pond. Or you could do water changes. Keep up on your testing and see how the pond is doing. I don't know if it's disease related or just from over crowding/bad water. But if it isn't disease just keep testing the pond to make sure it's cycled
 
Have you tested the ph in your tank? Parameters in the pond? Unless the pond temp and parameters are fairly close to your tank temperature and parameters, do not move them as it will only further stress them.

I am not suggesting using methylene blue at this point as it needs to be used as a bath and it may react negatively to the present product or your fish may have negative reactions to combining this with the other product you are using.
 
Ok. After another two 50% water changes, the parameters are still the same as yesterday. Although, my sick fish seems to be more and more active each day. I hope this is a sign of him getting better. Im going to continue the ich medicine and the water changes. I will continue to update.

The PH has constantly been 8.0. I havent tested my pond because it is still thawing out....slowly. im hoping the weather doesnt decide to get real cold again after this but im guessing it will. Then I will have to move those fish back inside and I dont think I want to risk that much stress on them again.

Anyways, just let me know if there is anything I should do that I havent already. I really want this fish to live!

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More and more active is a very good sign! Is he managing to swim more, then? Come on, little fish! You can do it!:dance:
 
Yes, he seems to be trying a lot more. He swam around pretty good today. But he seems to get too tired to swim all the way up to the top to get air bubbles. He doesnt make it sometimes and he just slowly sinks back to the bottom. But he did move around more today. Im really hoping that using his tail to try and swim is helping him muscle wise compared to just laying on the bottom. Maybe more exercise will help straighten his tail/body. Idk just a theory. Haha!

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I was able to do 2 more 50% water changes tonight but didnt have time to test the water. He swam around again today to eat but the other times just layed on the bottom.

Ive noticed that his scales are turning black in some areas. Especially in the bends of his body. Not sure what that is. The other fish dont have black spots. Other than that, he seems to be the same.

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Could we possibly see pictures to help with diagnosing? Black is often ammonia burns, but I know you're being diligent about water changes.
 
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