oranda living on bottom, sluggish but hungry

[eatinglightning]

bluerose, thank you; i meant to write you earlier and tell you i took your advice and am doing whole water changes twice a week. he seems to be fine, but i am putting the filter back in next week. but then i won't be able to have the bubbler in there? hopefully this will work fine, as it is the biowheel filter the tank came with. anyway, thanks again, i really appreciate your advice.

xxx
p

[eatinglightning]

blue rose, thank you for your advice; i read it and took it. my oranda is now living in a 3 gallon eclipse system tank, with an activated carbon filter and a little biowheel that provides aeration. i salt the tank, which i started doing in november when he got sick, and add ammquel plus to the water to get rid of nitrates, etc. i always let the water stand overnight before i change him; i perform whole-tank changes weekly.

last week i let him go an extra couple days before i changed his water: the water looked clear, but he is sluggish, and not moving around too much (he has been living on the bottom for the past 8 months owing to his swim bladder problem, but he has been feisty). he went for his dinner when i gave it to him, but not with the usual gusto. he looks okay except for a slightly darker orange patch on his big brainy top, and some slight reddish veining in his tail. i have to go out of town overnight and want him to be okay.

did i hurt him by letting him go a few extra days without changing him? is there anything i can do to make him feel better? thank you so much in advance for you advice; this forum has been invaluable to me, and i am very grateful for all the help i have received here.

xx

[bluerose]

Bubblers don't do much, really. They're useful for oxygen exchange in a tank with a small surface area, but if you have a filter that causes a bit of ripple/splash in the water surface, it'll be fine.

[jsoong]

What are your water parameters? Clear looking water does not mean much, I am afraid, as most of the toxins are colorless.

In a small tank, water changes is key. Red veining in tail may well be due to poor water quality. Short of getting a bigger tank, you are stuck with doing water changes religiously .... and you will have to up the frequency & amounts as the fish grows.