Please Help! Goldfish With Bloody Bubble Eye

[GenerationStudios]

I got my goldfish from the pet store (PetCo) about 1 and a half years ago. I started him off in a 6 gallon tank. He was about 3 inches including the tail. He was very energetic and swam and pooped a lot. I had to change the filter every week, because the water got extremely nasty. As he was becoming very expensive, I decided to buy him a bigger tank. The pet store lady suggested a 20 gallon tank so I bought it. I filled it with water and plopped him in about 12 hours after buying it. When I put him in the tank he barely moved. In about 2 days he started eating and pooping again. Since about a month ago he started to get a bubble thing on his eye. It was only on one eye though. I asked a pet store lady and she suggested a fungal treatment solution. I put it in and it did not appear to work. After a week it went away and starting 2 days ago, when I came home he had a huge bubble on the same eye. It was probably 2-3 times bigger than before. It also has a mini bubble connected to the big bubble, towards the bottom. The bubble has what looks to be blood towards the bottom on the inside of both the large and the smaller bubble. He still swims and eats normally though. I still have to replace the filter every 2 weeks and clean the tank every month. Until a while ago his poops were odd as well. Instead of being shorter thinker ones they were long thin ones that were almost clear.

I do not know if what he has is dangerous or not, but it will be good to know.


~Davis

 

[jlk]

Hi! Welcome to AA!!! Ok, lets start with basics. Do you know what type of goldfish you have? Do you have a liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & ph? What are these numbers? What is your water change schedule (%/#wk)? What type of filter/gph is it? What do you feed him/how often? Is it just one eye or both? Can you possibly post a pic of the issue he is having with one/both eyes?

I have to suspect something is amiss with your water and its possible toxins are contributing to his eye issues. Stop changing your filter media immediately- if there is any good bacteria, you are throwing it away weekly making it difficult to cycle or keep this tank cycled which means theres likely toxic levels of ammonia/nitrite. Just simply swish it in some used tank water (no tap water ever) once a week when you do a water change. His poop issues may be diet-related and/or water related but we dont know this yet.

Once we have some more information and can figure out whats going on here, we can provide more help!

 

[GenerationStudios]

Details

I believe he is a Oranda as he has a huge wen on his head. I do not have a liquid test kit. I remove 25% of the water every month. The filter I have came with the tank and it is a Aqueon 06080 QuietFlow 10 Power Filter, 100GPH. I feed him TetraFin Goldfish Flakes, one pinch of flakes twice a day (lunch and dinner times). Only one eye currntly has the bubble but when he had it before it was both. Here are some pictures.


~Davis

 

[GenerationStudios]

More Details

I just read the "Before posting about unhealthy fish, read this" post so I'm going to answer those questions as well.

1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).

A Oranda Goldfish with a large bubble with blood towards the bottom covering one of his eyes.

2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.

I do not check the tank for these.

3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?

Currently the tank is a 20 gallon tank that he's been in for about 1 and a half months. Before he was in a six gallon tank for about 1 year.

4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.

Aqueon 06080 QuietFlow 10 Power Filter, 100GPH

5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?

Only the one goldfish. He is a Oranda Goldfish that is about 3.5" without the tail, and about 6.5" with the tail.

6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?

I did a water change 1 week ago (Nov. 10). I do one every month and remove 25% of the water every time.

7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?

I have had my goldfish for about 1 and a half years. I got him from PetCo.

8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?

I have added a tall fake green plant, and everything else has been there since when he was bought. I have been putting in some fungal infection cure solution suggested by a PetCo store clerk.

9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?

I feed my goldfish TetraFin Goldfish Flakes. I change his diet to these about 1 year ago when his old food, TetraFin Goldfish Crisps made the water too murky too fast.

Hope this helps! Sorry I did not start off with this earlier.


~Davis

 

[jlk]

Thank you! Ok, you need to get yourself a liquid test kit asap. The API fw master test kit is highly recommended & available online at amazon for @$18-22 vs lfs at $34+. With only one tiny water change a month, I strongly suspect your water is quite unhealthy. You need to start doing 50% minimum water changes 1-2x a week, more if you have toxins present (which I suspect you do). I would start by doing a 50% water change with temperature matched, properly conditioned water right now. At the very least, remove a sample of your tank water before doing the water change & take it to be tested. Write down the exact numbers in ppm for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate plus the ph and let us know what they read. Petco uses strips which are quite inaccurate but it will atleast give us a ballpark idea of your tank conditions.

I would also add a second filter. The minimum for a messy goldfish tank is 10x the tank size. So, for a 20g, you need atleast 200gph filtration.

I am guessing you are in the US. I would like for you to go to the Goldfish Connections website & go to their store. They sell a kanamycin medicated food called Medi-Gold. He needs atleast 1-2 courses of this med food in addition to very healthy water. This may not 'cure' him but it will treat any infections and get him on the right track. It does look to be more of growth thats infected- whether the growth will still be present after the infection is treated, I dont know. If it is, its something that needs to be addressed by an aquatic vet. I can give a list of aquatic vets for your state if you are interested. After this, he will need some diet adjustments including daily veggies and tossing the flakes. Heres a link with some more info on goldfish care including a section on diet. Please ask if you have any questions or are unsure about anything!!

http://www.myaquariumclub.com/goldfish-101-11174823.html

 

[Teakwood]

I agree with 50% water changes at least once a week, with a gravel vacuum to remove the poo from the bottom of the tank. I had the same eye bubble(not with blood) in my betta tank and for me 50% water changes every other day cleared it up pretty quick. also like pp said don't change the filter so often, swooshing it around in the water your changing will be sufficient with removing chunks of waste, the good bacteria your tank needs to remove toxins is all in that filter and you want to keep that alive, rinsing it in tap water will kill it because of the chlorine also. Gl!

 

[Teakwood]

Also, I have sponge with carbon filters and I stick the new one in the filter for at least 5 days before I do change the filter.