Goldfish Feeling Poorly

[Andres98789]

Thanks

That is what I thought. He's definately not going to get better just with clean water so I will have to use Myxazin and see how it goes.

His poop doesn't sound like you described. It's more like clear mucus-like poop with a thin white zigzag string running through the middle of it. the mucus is straight, but the string running through the middle has a zigzag shape.

Rgarding the water, I have designed the pump from the filter to fall onthe surfice of the water creating a lot of disturbance on the water as it falls and I also have a quite powerful airstone in the 125l tank. I noticed the bubbles apeared after I did three things 1-did a 50% water change from the tap to a bucket to dechlorinate it and into the tank 2-I added the medicine and 3-I turned the airstone pump to full power to make up for the oxgen that the medicine was suppose to reduce. Should I turn the airstone off for the time-being just in case it is over-saturated water? someone suggested this! Is there another reason why these tiny bubbles could be all over the tank?

Thanks

 

[jsoong]

I rather doubt the aeration you have is causing supersaturation ... that requires pressure <hence only in deep wells>. Bubble wands & such only mixes air with the water. You are seeing fine bubbles in the water, but those bubbles are at atmospheric pressure, so should cause no problems. I would leave the aeration alone.

 

[Andres98789]

Thank you Jsoong!!!

 

[Andres98789]

Hi Jsoong,

I just wanted to update you on what has been happening.

I finished the Myxazin treatment last week (Tuesday) and during the treatment there was no improvement. His eye was still bulging a bit and his poop was still sometimes like mucus with a zig zag white line running through the middle and sometimes when I fed him shrimp and garlic frozen food his poop was the colour of the food but very thick and long. After the treatment it was the same for a couple of days and since Fiday last week his popeye has gone down now and is back to normal. On Tuesday and Wednesday this week I fed him peas after fasting him for three days and greedily ate them. His poop is now greenish and sometimes it seems a good size and length, but other times it comes out with that little thin zig zag line (greenish after since eating peas) covered in mucus and yesterday it was a thin coiled greenish string (spring-shaped).

His buoyancy is still really bad and he doesn't seem to be able to inflate his swim bladder at all so he really has to try hard to be able to swim to the top and then he sink to the bottom again. He really has to use his fins to swim a bit in stead of floating with his swimbladder as if the swelling that he has that causes his body to bend a little is pushing on his swim bladder and he can't inflate it. What do you think?

It looks like the Myxazin helped with the finrot as he seems to be recovering well from that and also the popeye. His poop is also a bit better sometimes at least is not like before the treatment which was white thin and stringy almost all the time, now it seems to be a bit better apart from when it comes out in that very thing zig zag line covered by mucus.

It seems to me like if his swelling went down and he was able to use his swim bladder then he would go back to normal and be a happy fish again, but I'm really not sure why his swelling hasn't gone down and have no idea what is causing it. Do you think it could be stunted growth from being in a 30L tank for about 2 years? Someone also suggested the following:

''I am guessing that your common goldfish is a male and your commet is a female.
The "bullying" that you have seen is likely spawning behavior.

When you see zig zag white poop it means that the female is reabsorbing her eggs and pooping them out instead of releasing them normally. So she may be egg bound now and the swelling/bulging and floating may be due to impacted eggs. This also can cause the fish to become bent like you were describing.

Sometimes males can be really aggressive during spawning. He may even have caused the tail and eye problems in the female by being rough and putting her under stress. perhaps being separated has made the egg problem worse. The males squeeze the females against things and suck at their vent to get the eggs out. Have you ever seen eggs in the tank? Like in the early morning?

Many times a female goldfish will release her eggs with the aid of a powerful air pump/air stone. My female used to hover over the fast moving bubbles and they would massage her belly and trigger her to release. So give that a shot. Use a small air stone so that the bubbles are concentrated.

I have heard of people remedying impacted eggs by feeding the fish one grain of Epsom salt. I can not vouch for it, but it may be worth a try.

A good antibacterial medicated food might be a good idea as impacted fish often develop bacterial infections. Medi-gold and Metro-meds from goldfish connection are both great. They are made specifically for goldfish''

What do you think? Could that be an option? obviously the medicated food is out of the question as they don't sell it in the uk.

Please let me know what you think and what else I can try.

Many thanks,

 

[jsoong]

Although egg impaction is a possibility, it is less likely because:
1. If you have a male & female, they would just go through the mating thing & the eggs would be released.
2. If the female is releasing the absorbed eggs (if the zigzag white "poop" is the casing), the lump would be going down. Also, this should be a once or twice a season thing. This has been happening for weeks now.
3. The mucus poop is the color of the food eaten. That is a dead giveaway that it is poop, not eggs. <Although the lump might be eggs that is impacted & not being released, I suppose.>

Epsom salt is good for stool impaction. I am not sure if it will do anything for egg impaction. It may be worth a try as the treatment is fairly innocuous. <Hint: bury that single grain of epsom salt in a pea so she will eat it.>

It actually seem to me that the fish is slowly getting better. The eye is going down, etc. All the symptoms did point to an internal infection of some sort. Sometimes, internal infections cause permanent damage to the swim bladder. This may be more common in fancies. That does not mean that the fish cannot live out a long life. <There are people on goldfish boards that has little slings with floaties they made for their fish. Koivet (Dr Johnson) also has videos of surgery where he implanted weight to help with fish balance.>

I think that there is not much more you can do. I would keep up with the clean water & salt for now. Since his (her?) poop is still constipated (normally, poop should be in short pieces & breaks up almost immediately), you might want to continue with the peas. Maybe try the epsom's salt once to clean out the gut.

Otherwise, it is a matter of providing for the best water condition & good nutrition & hoping the fish will recover.

 

[Andres98789]

Thanks for the quick reply Jsoong.

The epsom salts will be the next thing I try then. I will try single grain of salt in a piece of pea and keep monitoring to see how he/she does. I'm not even sure how to tell if it's a female or a male.

One more question, is it ok to keep feeding him peas? will it not be like taking laxatives all the time?

Many thanks,

 

[jsoong]

Using Epsom's salt is like taking laxative. Peas are just fiber & is a regular part of a goldfish's normal diet. So no, there is no harm in feeding peas & other veggies. It is actually good to feed goldies fresh veggies. <Some goldfish fanciers won't feed the pellets/flakes at all, preferring to feed a total diet of fresh veggies, worms, fish & shrimps - which is the goldfish's natural diet.>

You can only tell sex of goldfish during mating season & only when the fish is mature. Males develop bumps along the gill cover & the leading edges of the pectoral fins. (breeding stars.) There are other more subtle differences. Pics & details here:
The Goldfish and Aquarium Board (GAB) Article - Sexing Goldfish

 

[Andres98789]

Hi Jsoong,

I just wanted to let you know that sadly he passed away this morning. I feel so bad for the poor guy. I called the vet on Monday when I saw his scales raised and he wasn't eating and just sitting at the bottom of the tank and she was getting some antibiotics ready for me to pick up this afternoon, but it was all too late. I feel terrible because I think maybe I could have saved him if I had known that it was dropsy, but his there was no sign of his scales being raised until Monday and by then he was looking really ill.

I just hope this helps someone else that might read this thread treat their fish on time to save them.

Thank you very much for all your advice and support.

 

[jsoong]

Sorry to hear about the little guy. Dropsy is basically the terminal manifestation of organ failure, which can be due to a variety of causes. Once yous ee dropsy, the prognosis is poor.

It is too bad you can't get antibiotics OTC. I know people overuse it, but it is useful in many cases. I don't know what the right answer to restricting use of antibiotics is. But there isn't too many fish keepers that is willing to shell out big bucks to see a vet for their $2 fish ....

 

[Andres98789]

Sorry to hear about the little guy. Dropsy is basically the terminal manifestation of organ failure, which can be due to a variety of causes. Once yous ee dropsy, the prognosis is poor.

It is too bad you can't get antibiotics OTC. I know people overuse it, but it is useful in many cases. I don't know what the right answer to restricting use of antibiotics is. But there isn't too many fish keepers that is willing to shell out big bucks to see a vet for their $2 fish ....

Thanks Jsoong,

I know many people won't shell out a lot of money on vet fees to save a $2 fish, but I think the least we can do for them is try to be there when they need us as they don't choose to stay in a fishtank in our house because it's better for them, but it's because of us that they're forced to be there so the least we can do is have some respect and compassion for their lives. Saving the life of a fish might not make a great difference in this world, but will make a world of difference for that particular fish.

Thanks for all your help and advice.