Sick Goldfish

[Cynic]

Hi all,

I'm concerned one of my two goldfish is struggling to swim. It is still moving around quite freely but you can tell it's a struggle in comparison to the other, in particular it seems to be struggling to stay afloat.

In my experience fish who start to do this aren't long for this world but hopefully I've caught it early enough I may be able to do something about it...if I knew what to do

Cheers in advance!

 

[jlk]

What do feed them? Sometimes a change in diet can make a dramatic difference.

 

[Cynic]

Hi jlk,

Their diet is tropical flakes daily and bloodworms every second day.

Would you recommend changing to say shrimp pellets and some form of green vegetable for a while?

Cheers in advance

 

[jlk]

Hi! Ok, for the next week feed only daily veggies & daily bloodworms & brine shrimp. You can soak the worms & shrimp in some fishy vitamins & capsule (open & dump in) of acidophilus. See if theres any improvement. Toss the flakes or feed them to someone else. I would also consider switching over to a homemade gel food diet for them. Theres a zillion recipes online as well as lots of good recipes on The GAB (goldfish & aquarium board). Also, I didnt ask but make sure your keeping your nitrates as low as possible- high nitrates worsens swim bladder disorders & causes goldfish to bottom-sit. Good luck & keep us posted!

 

[Cynic]

Hi jlk,

Did a water change to ensure nitrates were as low as possible and been feeding deskinned peas. No medication yet as none I can find.

The goldfish's condition has worsened and despite its best efforts is spending a lot of time bottom sitting.

Cheers

 

[jlk]

I am sorry to hear this! I am not sure in which country you reside & what you have access to meds-wise. I would opt for feeding a medicated antibiotic food over treating the water if he is still eating. There is no guarentee this will help though. An aquatic vet can do injections of baytril or another med if its determined theres an infection causing his issues.

Unfortunately, even in ideal conditions with a proper diet, fancies are prone to swim bladder disorders due to their physical conformation. If your fish is still happily eating, he still wants to live even if he does not swim well or frequently! If he gets to a point where he is no longer interested in eating food, then you will have to address the issue of his quality of life.

 

[Cynic]

Thanks again jlk

I'll keep an eye on him and have removed flakes from his diet, at this stage I'm of the opinion it is that which is causing/has caused this problem.

While I didn't expect a remarkable recovery the worsening of the condition was unexpected

Cheers again

 

[jlk]

Will he eat bits of cooked spinach? Try feeding him nothing but this for the next 3-4 days & see if this helps. Not as tasty as peas but there is some debate in the goldfish community that peas are not always the best choice for bouyancy issues. Worth a try anyway!

 

[Cynic]

Will he eat bits of cooked spinach? Try feeding him nothing but this for the next 3-4 days & see if this helps. Not as tasty as peas but there is some debate in the goldfish community that peas are not always the best choice for bouyancy issues. Worth a try anyway!

Hi jlk,

Must have missed this reply, I'll try to get him to eat some cooked spinach and see how it goes.

However as an update it's been 6 days and the fishes condition has worsened. I'm off the opinion that constipation is the most likely cause (Due to a high flake diet) but the fish has been fed solely peas (Sparingly as well) over this period and I'm yet to see any improvement.

I gave the fish a 15 minutes bath in water mixed with epson salt as an attempt to give the fish some relief last night but haven't seen any change in his condition.

Currently the fish will simply wriggle so it's wedged into/against something and bottom sit, only swimming around, with obvious difficulty and for a short period, if I disturb him.

I think I'll try the Epson bath again tonight along with the spinach as you suggested.

Cheers,

Cynic

 

[jlk]

I am so sorry about your guy! Do you want to give meds a try or try making a med food if you cant find one (they are available online in US)? I dont know what you have access to though. Its not a guarentee of anything but its something to else to consider because he is steadily deteriorating.

 

[Cynic]

I am so sorry about your guy! Do you want to give meds a try or try making a med food if you cant find one (they are available online in US)? I dont know what you have access to though. Its not a guarentee of anything but its something to else to consider because he is steadily deteriorating.

Would if I could, none of my LFS stock any medications and I'm in Australia as opposed to US. Can you suggest any medications I could try to pickup online or on eBay?

 

[jlk]

Do you have any human antibiotics or know anyone with some (friend or relative)? I don't know where you are in Australia but Mumma of Two is also in Aus- maybe you live somewhere in her region because she has a vet that can help with fish. May be a bit of long shot but send her msg & see if the vet is anywhere near you or if she may know of someone else. I know meds are pretty much impossible to acquire in your country without a script. Let me see what else there may be available.

 

[jlk]

Are Interpret products available to you? They are the most common products available in European countries where fish meds are strictly limited to vet use. They do make a swimbladder treatment but I honestly do not know anything about it.

 

[Cynic]

Do you have any human antibiotics or know anyone with some (friend or relative)? I don't know where you are in Australia but Mumma of Two is also in Aus- maybe you live somewhere in her region because she has a vet that can help with fish. May be a bit of long shot but send her msg & see if the vet is anywhere near you or if she may know of someone else. I know meds are pretty much impossible to acquire in your country without a script. Let me see what else there may be available.

I'll investigate the antibiotics situation, hopefully I can rummage some up from someone/somewhere. Unfortunately Mumma of Two is in a different state to me so that's out though.

Are Interpret products available to you? They are the most common products available in European countries where fish meds are strictly limited to vet use. They do make a swimbladder treatment but I honestly do not know anything about it.

Hmmm, I've contacted a bloke on a Craigslist equivalent site who is selling some unused Interpret Swim Bladder medication. Other than that I can't see any other more reliable sources of it.

Thanks for the suggestions Hopefully the bugger is still alive tonight to make all this effort worth while

 

[jlk]

I'll cross my fingers for him!!! Keep us posted!

 

[Cynic]

I'll cross my fingers for him!!! Keep us posted!

Will do and thanks again