Sick goldfish

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Altrnachk

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Sep 5, 2016
Messages
9
We have had our tank since May this year and all was well until about October when our Molly died. Since then, 4 guppies, a pleco, and a neon tetra have died. My sons beloved goldfish (he won it and it's the reason we got a tank. I know he will need moved) is not well. He had 3 black spots on his head and open sores on his sides. We bought a water test kit today and the water is very alkaline. We are working on getting it back down.

1~What type of fish is afflicted? Fun fair goldfish
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Ammonia <0.25ppm, nitrites, 0ppm; nitrates, <5ppm, ph- > 8.8. Temp 74.
3~ How large is the tank? 60 gallon tank set up since May
4~What type of filtration are you using? Marine land penguin biowheel 350
5~How many fish are in the tank? 1 goldfish 1.5", 3 rainbow fish 2", 2 adult guppies, 1 Platy, 4 tiger barbs, 4 neon tetras, 1 small rubber lipped pleco
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? Sunday. How often do you do this? Once a week. How much water do you remove at a time? 25-30%
7~How long have you had the fish? Since April. He was originally in a 5 gallon tank.
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--no
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet? Tropical flakes.

as I said, our tank was doing quite well for 4-5 months until late October.
 

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Wow.

Okay...There are a lot of problems going on all at once...

Let's start with the largest!

Water quality.

While you have an awesome sized tank for your fish (assuming the plecos are still teeny) you have an ammonia problem. Your tank wasn't cycled properly when you first obtained it and your fish could only handle the high ammonia level for so long...0.25ppm of ammonia is toxic and will kill when exposed long enough. Most likely the reason why your teeny fish passed away.

We're not going to worry about educating you on how to properly cycle a tank but rather, how to fix your current situation.

The easiest way to resolve this is by going to Angel's Plus (a website) and order some established media so we can get your tank cycled and up and running:

http://www.angelsplus.com/FiltersSpongeActive.htm

This is essential. Your fish can't handle much more.

That being said, a tank of that size with that many fish needs larger water changes to be done.

Goldfish don't have stomachs. The food just moves right through their intestines and goes out the back end. Which means they poopoo a lot. Any freshwater tank (especially with a Goldfish involved) needs 70 - 100% water changes every week.

Your fish are sick though, so we need to be more drastic about this and say 70 - 100% every day. Clean water is the key to recovery for any species. Even after the established media is set up in your tank daily water changes while your goldfish heals are essential to his survival.

Another great step to take while he his healing is adding aquarium salt to the tank (can be purchased at pet store). You'll want to do a tablespoon of salt per gallon to bring the salinity level up to approximately 0.3%. Be sure to completely mix and dissolve this chunky salt in tank water before adding it. Add it evenly to the tank.

Next problem.

Your fish looks beat up. Plecos are known to beat down bigger fish at night when no one is watching. Goldfish seem to be one of their favorite fish to harm at night. I would highly recommend separating them. Or try giving the Plecos back to the store if you don't have the money to purchase a seperate tank. Another option would be to purchase a Sterilite brand tub ( at least 20 Gallons ) and put them in there with another established filter from Angel's Plus. Sterilite brand is recommended because they are food safe therefore they are fish safe.

The last point to touch on is the food. Your fish's immune system is compromised by the flakes. Flakes have nutrition and protein but on contact with the water almost all of it is bled out. Leaving the poor fish with a malnurished diet. I would highly recommended Repashy Soilent Green (found online) or San Francisco Bay's Emrald Entree and Bloodworms (found frozen at the pet store but very messy). Both the Soilent Green and Emerald Entree have Spirulina which is so so so good for your Goldfish's immune system and gut. The Soilent Green is better though due to it's higher protein content (which will also help your fish heal). With the Emerald Entree you should purchase the bloodworms as well so that your fish gets the protein they need for their healing, muscles, and brain function.

Thank you for reading and I hope you take these recommendations to heart.

www.thegoldfishcafe.org
 
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