Black moor goldfish with torn

[Moorfishylover]

Hey you guys, I'm new to these forums and fairly new to keeping fish. We had fish in the house when I was younger and now that I'm older I got one. Anyways, about a month and a half ago I bought a black moor goldfish ( his name is Othello and I love him to death ) when the guy at the pet store scooped him out of the tank his pectoral fin got torn at the very front but I told him I wanted him anyways and brought my fish home with his gimp fin and loved him all the same. He lives in a 10 gallon home ( A clear Rubbermaid container right now ) with a filtration system and I make water changes regularly. As of late however his torn little fin is developing a white blob on it. He's energetic and seems happy but I'm scared for him. My boyfriend thinks that maybe it's part of his hurt fin healing. I have some photos and if you guys could look at it and tell me what you think is going on it would be greatly appreciated <3


http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r484/Blackmoorfishy/DSC_0120.jpg
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r484/Blackmoorfishy/DSC_0122.jpg
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r484/Blackmoorfishy/DSC_0123.jpg

... I couldn't upload the photos to this site for some reason

 

[fort384]

Welcome to AA!

Are you running a filter on the container? How often are you performing water changes? What are your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels?

Most likely, the problem is being exacerbated by water conditions.

 

[Moorfishylover]

Thanks ^-^

I have a filter on the container and I am performing a 20% change about every other day and a full change about every 3 to 4 weeks. I have no testing kit yet so I have been taking my water to the pet store and they have been testing it for me and they say his levels are fine :/

... Also, if the water looks kinda not right in the photos it always looks like that threw the sides of the container but I couldn't get a good shot of his fin from above D:

 

[absolutangel04]

Does the white area look fuzzy at all? It's a bit hard to tell from the pictures.
When fins grow back, they sometimes come in clear (or a bit white) and then get pigment later. That looks a bit bigger than just a regrowing fin however. I agree with fort that water conditions may be making it worse. Goldies are really messy fish, but hopefully he fully recovers with nice, clean water.

 

[fort384]

Sounds like a good water change schedule, but it might not be enough. Gold fish have a larger bioload when compared with other fish of a comparable size.

I would recommend investing in a test kit so you can verify "fine". Unfortunately pet stores often lack real knowledge about keeping fish healthy, and if they are using dip strip tests instead of liquid titration tests, it is a good indication that they may not be giving you the best info.

The API Freshwater master kit would be a good kit to grab... just avoid dip strips. They expire, and are just generally inaccurate.

I think knowing your parameters exactly is the first step here, and knowing that you are providing water with 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and low nitrates will go a long way in helping the fish recover. Even trace amounts of ammonia and nitrite is unhealthy for fish, and would exacerbate and issues with healing time.

 

[Moorfishylover]

@ Absolutage: Yeah, it's fuzzy like a little piece of cotton.

@fort: They test my water with a liquid that they drip into a test tube of water at the pet store that I go to but I should own my own and thank you for the tip on the kit . When I got my first black moor he died very quickly because no one at the store told me that they make a lot of waste until I came back and told them he was dead.

Also, I heard on another forum that putting the salt in the tank at %0.5 would be a helpful thing. Would that be wise or foolish?

 

[fort384]

It could help. It needs to be FW aquarium salt. It can be therapeutic at low levels.

 

[jlk]

.5% salt is quite a large amount of salt. I can not see the injured fin very well in the pics. You mentioned that it looks cottony- does it look like strands or tufts of hair/fuzz growing out or more of a white, rough appearing film? This will help to figure out if it's fungal or bacterial. Also, where did the fin tear/ how badly?

You can use aquarium salt but limit it to one flat tablespoon per 5 gal. You will need to premix it in a cup of tank water & add it gradually over a 24hr period. When you do water changes, add back only what you remove (ie 50% wc, add back 1/2 original dose). I would also up your water changes to 50% to provide him with very healthy water while he heals. Make sure you temperature match & properly condition the new water.

Once you have a test kit, you will be able to figure out a water change schedule based on your numbers. Please do not hesitate to ask questions!