Goldfish with spots

[Katherine1119]

Sry pressed the send button on accident like I said never had problems, other than algae but that wasn't from tap water

 

[jlk]

I've never used a water softener of any kind in any tank including this one which has been running and healthy for 4 years untill last month, the filter was off, I know ppl will say that it's bad not to but

Not a water softener, a water conditioner/dechlorinator. Do you have well water or public?

I am not quite sure what you mean by leaving the filter the filter off for month? Did the issues with your goldie start after this?

 

[Katherine1119]

No I didn't leave the filter off at all, I meant the filter was of during the change, not at any other time I meant the tank was healthy untill the last month. Also I do not treat the water before it enters the tank is what I meant by no softener sry for the confusion

 

[jlk]

Do you know if your water comes from a well or a public water supply? You mention the tank was healthy until last month- did you do something different last month such as skip a water change or change filter media/substrate or anything else even if it doesnt seem like something of signifigance?

 

[Katherine1119]

My water is city water but since I live by Lake Superior the water comes out of the lake, the tank saga: last year around December I had 3 or 4 fish die 2 were my full grown gouramis but I think they were 3 or 4 years old so I wasn't worried, this year in October my pleco got a bad case of bloat treated with Epsom salt and peas( he's fine now) I added 2 giant danios about 2 weeks after that, 2 or 3 weeks later the goldfish started swimming funny( upside down swimming being lathargic, then had red spots on tail) the spots r almost gone now but the lathargic behavior is still there and the funny swimming, during all of this the water change schedule didn't change and the food was flakes( high quality ones to improve color) and algae pellets and brine shrimp pellets, only other change I can think of is I got currants in the room with the tank, this greatly reduced the amount of algae in the tank, thank you for helping me thru this I really appreciate it

 

[jlk]

No matter where the source of the water is, if its public water supply, you can be assured that its being disinfected with either chlorine or chloramine. Although you have not been using a conditioner/dechlorinator so far, I would strongly advise that you invest in a bottle of Prime or another good water conditioner to avoid the ill effects of adding disinfected water to your tank. This may be another factor in some of the issues you have been encountering with your fish.

It will be a bit difficult to try and feed a goldfish-appropriate food with all of the different fish in your tank (flakes are a bad idea for goldies) but at the very least, start feeding daily veggies. Your other fish will probably enjoy them as much as your goldie.

 

[Katherine1119]

What kind? I've herd cucumbers but would any veg do cause I have a Russian tortoise and feed him veg so if they could eat the same as him that would be great

 

[jlk]

Pretty much any veggie is game but avoid the heavy starches (corn, potatoes) and spicy stuff. They need to be cooked so they are soft enough to tear or smoosh. Broccoli, carrots, spinach, peppers, dark green leafy stuff, deshelled peas, zucchini etcetc are easy ones. Broccoli florets are fav of my guys. Avoided the canned stuff because of the high salt content.

 

[Katherine1119]

What about lettuce? Brussels sports? Weird I know but they are my turtles favorite

 

[Katherine1119]

Tortoise I mean and since he likes them I have them on hand always

 

[jlk]

Iceberg lettuce is basically water and has little nutritional value. Dark green/red lettuces are healthier. You can try brussel sprouts but I wouldnt feed them in excess (same as cabbage) and I would watch to make sure no one has any strange reactions to eating them because they can cause digestive upset. If your looking for color enhancement naturally, red & orange peppers (and fruits) & carrots are easy ones.

 

[Katherine1119]

Ok thanx that was really helpful, I feed the tortoise romain lettuce occasionally because of the low nutrition thing so just thought I'd check

 

[Katherine1119]

Ok so ammonia has been under controll for about a day fish has gotten worse, I think maybe a salt bath? Any thoughts?

 

[jlk]

Did you order some med food? A salt bath by itself wont do much. Either increasing the salinity of the tank in general or moving her to a decent sized qt and increasing the salinity gradually will be better options.

 

[Katherine1119]

Not yet I got paid today gonna order it now, and ill try to raise the salinity of the tank how much is safe?

 

[jlk]

Read back through your thread- I covered increasing the salinity earlier. Honestly, if I were you, I would hit walmart/chain store and purchase a 20-30g plastic storage bin. They run for less than $10 and you can probably find a Christmas themed one right now for $5 or less on clearance. If your running two filters on the 30g, just move one to this. If you dont have two, then purchase a cheap filter & move some media from your 30g into it. Temperature match & properly condition the water and move your goldie to this bin. It will be easier to treat her and you will not have to worry about increasing the salinity. Or find a 30g on craigslist cheap/free and move her to this. Its going to be very difficult to treat her with all of these other fish in such a small tank and this will be the best thing for her in general. Her salinity then can be very gradually increased over 48hrs to .1% (3.8grams/gallon) as I suggested earlier and possibly further if necessary.

 

[Katherine1119]

I left for Xmas came home they had ich, my bala shark goldfish and pleco all died before I could even buy the rid ich