My Comet Goldfish - Worried

[mike1986skem]

Hi,

I have got a comet goldfish that in the recent weeks has been sitting at the bottom of the tank and I am not to sure what is wrong with it .

I had taken it out of my 90L tank which has around 18 fish in there. But had placed it back in the tank after 24 hours and still in the same state. The fish is not eating as much as normal and is constantly shying away when ever anything goes near it.

6 Comets (minus 1 now)
1 Common Bristle nose Pleco
1 Common Pleco
1 Panda Gara
9 Danios

Can anyone please help?

PS - The Pepsi can is not in the mini tank lol

 

[HUKIT]

That tank I'm afraid is far to small to house that amount of a bioload, do you have a water testing kit to check the current parameters? I would be willing to bet the fish are suffering from deteriorating water conditions. Until your able to post or check those specific numbers I'd be doing large daily water changes in excess of 60-70%.

 

[jlk]

Do you have a decent liquid test kit (not strips)? What are your numbers for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph? How long has this tank been running with fish? What is your wc schedule (%/#wk)?

Unfortunately, a 90l is only about 23g. Comets are best suited to ponds or very large tanks (50g PER fish). Common plecos grow to @2ft and require big tanks as well. Unless you have plans for these guys in the very near future, I honestly would consider returning or rehoming them.

In the interim, you need to increase your water changes to atleast 50+% daily or preferably more often. I suspect there are high toxin levels which are indicated by your fish's symptoms. Please ask if you have questions!

 

[mike1986skem]

I have had these fish for over 8-9 months now and NEVER had any issues until now. I do water changes every week without fail, filter is also cleaned at the same time. The plecos are fine and I have seen them in much smaller tanks than 20L!

I have plans for all of these fish in the near future, I understand that comets grow large and I shall be finding a pond for them eventually once they get a bit bigger.

I honestly haven't done a PH test for around 3 months and the water was perfect, even took to a local shop and confirmed all is good(1 month ago).

Thanks for all your advice, this is the first time I have taken care of these fish and all is well till this one fish. I have seen much worse that what I have right now.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Really for those fish you need like 300+ gallons i would re-home them soon

 

[HUKIT]

I understand that your doing weekly water changes and I commend you on that dedication but as the fish grow so does the bioload, and in this case the filtration simply can't keep up and the water conditions deteriorate. Without knowing the exact water parameters and I'm sorrry but perfect isn't a measurement, your fish is clearly in my opinion showing signs of water toxicity poisoning.

Here is a inexpensive pretty accurate kit that the majority of the hobby uses for freshwater, this is in my opinion and experience something that is mandatory in terms of keeping a happy and healthy tank.

http://www.amazon.com/API-Freshwater-Master-Test-Kit/dp/B000255NCI

 

[Mumma.of.two]

pH is the least of your worries. The ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings are the ones you should be concerned about. In such a heavily stocked tank the water conditions/parameters would be changing daily so the results of a test done a month ago are worthless.

The main purpose of a filter in a tank is to house the beneficial bacteria. The bacteria convert the ammonia your fish produce to nitrite then nitrate. In a heavily stocked tank such as yours the nitrate could be building to dangerous levels. A filter does not remove nitrate. Only water changes reduce nitrate and TDS (total dissolved solids). This is why proper stocking and a test kit are important.

It does sound as if the fish is suffering from a water related issue but without knowing the water parameters there is no way of knowing if it is from the water, the diet or some sort of disease.

 

[jbimflyer]

Wow... I didn't think I would be majorly topped like this... I have only 2 Goldfish(common, comet) in a 29 Gallon, with 8 other small fish, and I do 50% water changes once a week and they are all fine. But I would not add any more Goldfish to it.