Fish laying upside and missing an eye + more fish problems PLEASE HELP!

[justintime20]

Hey everyone this is my first post, so please bear with me if i do something wrong. So right now i have a 20 gallon tank with a comet, 2 fantail, and a other type of goldfish i don't know. My problem is recently one of my fantail is missing an eye. After missing his eye he has been floating upside down on the tank. What's wrong with him and how do i fix this. Also his eye have an infection. My next problem is that my other fantail sit on the bottom of the tank doing nothing. I think it has to do with anomia so i increased the air circulation and add a annomia neutralizer. How can I fix this. Thank you for reading this post, thanks in advance if you can help me.

 

[justintime20]

I also forgot to add if it is to bad to have to much air in a ttank

 

[jlk]

Hi Justin! Welcome aboard!!! You have a couple of issues going here. First, you are heavily overstocked with goldfish. Fancy goldfish (such as fantails) need 20gals for the 1st fish, 10gal for each fish after. Comets, which can grow to be 12-18inches in length do not belong in an aquarium unless it is very large-they belong in a pond. Do you have a water test kit (such as API freshwater test kit) to test your levels of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? If you dont, please invest in one ASAP! Until you can get one, most fish/pet stores will check your tank water for free if you bring them a sample. Do you have a good water conditioner (such as Prime or Amquel Plus)? Water conditioner is a MUST when you do water changes (dose to the size of your tank) and i would start doing 50-70% daily water changes immediately with water condit & temperature matched water! Your other fish that are sitting on the bottom should recover with lots of healthy water (this means LOTS of water changes) but you need to also address your present tank situation by either returning or rehoming all but one of your fancies or upgrading to a much larger tank as soon as possible. The floating fish with the missing eye/infection may or may not recover with healthy water-if he doesnt start improving in a few days, i would consider euthanizing him. Please read up on 'fish-in cycling'-im sure someone will post a link soon! Please do not hesistate to ask questions esp if you dont understand anything!

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hi and welcome! Here is the link to fish in cycling.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html
All that is needed for a healthy tank is frequent water changes with a dechlorinator. As jlk said your tank is unfortunately heavily over stocked. Goldfish are messy fish. They have a high waste out put and need large tanks and high filtration to keep up with their needs.

 

[justintime20]

thank you for the help, but i unfortunaly don't have a water test kit, I will buy one but what are there price ranges, and is a specific brand that is good? the current water conditioner i'm using is tetra aquasafe plus. I'm not sure if i will be able to upgrade my tank. My parents don't really "care for my fish" like me. If i am able to get them to buy a new how many gallons should it be, and does anyone know where i can find a cheap tank? @Mumma.of.two i'm using a aquaclear 70 filter.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

to AA!

The msot commonly available and cheapest is the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. It is around 15-30 dollars depending on where you look.

That water conditioner is fine.

Unfortunately, that filter is not good enough for all those goldfish. In fact some of those goldfish don't even belong in a tank, the comet really needs a pond as a proper home. As for fancy goldfish, the rule I've always heard is twenty gallons for the first one and ten gallons after every other one you add.

Search CraigsList for some good, inexpensive deals on cheap tanks. Also, Petco has a dollar per gallon sale coming around soon that you could get a good deal on a 55 G on.

 

[jlk]

Hi again! Im not sure where you are located, but amazon sells them reasonably (@20-25) and most chain petstores carry them for bit more (@35). You want to look for an API Freshwater master test kit. Until you get a suitable test kit, atleast get your tank water checked at your local fish/pet store. It will give you atleast a general idea of what is going on in your tank. Im sorry your parents are not thrilled about your fish!!! Hopefully, in time, they will warm up to the idea & appreciate your ability to be caring & responsible for another living being. You really should return or rehome the comet in a more suitable environment. We also need to figure out what the 4th goldfish is- does it have a single or double/butterfly tail? What does it look like in appearance- do the eyes protrude/bubble out, is it round or slim bodied, does it have head growth/or dif colored head, does it have a dorsal (top) fin? We need to id this fish & determine if its a tank-suitable fish before recommending a tank size thats appropriate. If you are in the US, craigslist has lots of good bargains on tanks!

 

[justintime20]

ok well i get on buying a test kit and new tank, but the other fish doesn't have bubble eyes, and not chubby. Its white and thin. almost looks like my comet but no exactly, like a smaller version. It also has no fan tail like the faintail And do you have a suggestion how many gallong my tanks need to be? im guessing 36

 

[Mumma.of.two]

After you rehome the two commets and assuming the unknown isn't a fancy (it doesn't sound like one sorry) a 30g minimum for your remaining two fish.

 

[jlk]

Thanks for the description! As Mumma stated, it sounds like a common goldfish (single tail, slim build) and you will need to rehome the common & the comet. The 2 fancies will need minimum of 30gals to be happy & healthy- you may be surprised by how big they actually get! Lets work keeping your guys alive for now (with 50-60% daily water changes) and let us know how your water looks once you get a test kit. If you have more questions, please ask & we will help!

 

[Sssea]

30 gallons is right on the money for 2 fancies. I've got 2 in my 29 that are getting huuuuuuuge.

 

[justintime20]

ok well everyone i would like to say thank you for your help

 

[justintime20]

I got a quick question. I was watching a video about some gravel vacumn that connects to the sink. It sunks in water from the tank and puts it in the sink. It also puts water from the sink into the tank. I watched a video and a guy would put water from it and add water conditioner with the fish in the tank. Is this safe, and not harmful to fish. Also how do I know how much to add of the water conditioner.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

That's completely safe, I believe that type of water changer is called a Python.

You will know how much to add by the label on the container.
Ex:
For SeaChem Prime, you add one capful for every fifty gallons of water.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I got a quick question. I was watching a video about some gravel vacumn that connects to the sink. It sunks in water from the tank and puts it in the sink. It also puts water from the sink into the tank. I watched a video and a guy would put water from it and add water conditioner with the fish in the tank. Is this safe, and not harmful to fish. Also how do I know how much to add of the water conditioner.

That's safe IMO. Turn off filters and heater. Syphon out the water. Add enough dechlorinator to treat the entire tank. Fill back up with temperature matched tap water. Wait a few minutes to make sure dechlorinator has worked. Turn filters and heater back on.

 

[justintime20]

ok thank you, I think ill be getting a 36 gallon tank for christmas. Ill see about rehoming my comet. I don't think my fantail with he missing an eye is going to survive though

 

[jlk]

Lots of water changes is the best you can do for him right now (and your other fish). If he survives long enough to get your new tank set up, you can keep him in the smaller tank & try treating him by himself with aquarium salt & antibiotics. If his condition continues to worsen, i would suggest euthanizing him rather than letting him suffer needlessly but this decision is ultimately up to you to decide.

 

[justintime20]

i am buying a water test kit tomorrow, and i'm wondering if there is any thing else i can buy to help my fish?

 

[jlk]

You can get some aquarium salt & dose theraputically in the interim until you can get the new tank set up. Treat the salt as a med-it is not meant to be used long term (it will cause kidney damage & other issues) but it will help your fish deal with nitrite issues & it will help the fish with the lost eye from losing too much fluids & lessen infection. And a test kit would be great! Make sure you have plenty of water conditioner for those water changes you need to be doing as well. Let us know how your numbers look when you are able to test them.

 

[justintime20]

how many water changes should i do a week, and how many % of water should i drain? and i have a lot of water conditioner trust me i have like 5 bottles