Bottom Sitting and No Appetite

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Manic Fury

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Oct 26, 2013
Messages
110
Location
Menomonie,Wisconsin
I have a fancy fantail goldfish named Pontus. I did several large water changes yesterday because of extremely high ammonia levels. (I just got into this hobby and bought a master kit so I didn't know of the ammonia levels until yesterday).

The ammonia levels were 6 ppm. VERY BAD. So I did about 3 75% water changed and tested his water after an hour and they went down to about .5 to 1 ppm. After that I waited until the next day and did a 50% water change. The ammonia levels didn't go down, but they were still very low.

The one thing that is still a little high is the pH level which is 8.0. Not very very high, but still not healthy.

Anyways, after the water changes, Pontus seems to sit at one spot at the bottom. He doesn't move for hours and when he does get up, he swims around and seems fine and I get relieved thinking he's better now, but then he sits back at the bottom and does nothing all day.

He also has had no appetite. I'll put a very small amount of flakes in (very small because if he doesn't want to eat, not a lot goes to the bottom and rots) and he doesn't seem interested at all.

I'm not sure what the problem is. I'm thinking it could be several things.

-High pH?
-Stress from all the water changes?
-The big drop in ammonia levels that he was used to that aren't there anymore?

I don't know. I've done everything that I can think of to do. Any advice?
 
Tank size as well as your parameters right now will help! Your tap parameters will be helpful, too.

Your ph is definitely NOT an issue. Goldfish do best in high ph, hard water. The ammonia exposure is directly responsible for your fish's symptoms and lack of appetite. You need to keep the ammonia level as low as possible, preferably under .25ppm. With a high ph, most of the ammonia is toxic. If your not already using Prime, I strongly suggest switching as it will help to detox ammonia between big wcs.

His best chances for recovery are making sure he has LOTS of healthy water. Please take some time to read the article below as it covers most general aspects of fancy care, feeding, etc. Please ask any questions!

http://www.myaquariumclub.com/goldfish-101-11174823.html
 
The tank size is 3 gallon. (Don't bash me for such a small tank, trust me, I know). I'm going to pick up a 10 gallon tomorrow. I have a 30 gallon that I'm unable to set up because of room size issues.

I'm going to buy Prime online tonight. I've heard awesome things about Prime and I need this.
 
Ok, well you already know he needs a much bigger tank and hopefully you can manage to set this up soon. The only thing you really can do is change his water frequently. The ammonia level really needs to stay under .25ppm consistently in order for him to have a chance to recover. Zero would be better. This may mean wcs 2-4x a day as it will be very difficult to control toxin levels in a small tank with a messy high bioload fish. Please ask if you have questions!

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html
 
Ok, well you already know he needs a much bigger tank and hopefully you can manage to set this up soon. The only thing you really can do is change his water frequently. The ammonia level really needs to stay under .25ppm consistently in order for him to have a chance to recover. Zero would be better. This may mean wcs 2-4x a day as it will be very difficult to control toxin levels in a small tank with a messy high bioload fish. Please ask if you have questions!

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/124/2/-I-just-learned-about-cycling-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html

I'll do that. I'll make sure I keep up with daily water changes and checking his water also. Thanks for the advice!
 
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