Sick goldfish - red streaks in tail and slight swelling

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xNina

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Nov 23, 2016
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I am seeking some help on my poor sick goldfish :( recently, I noticed my goldfish has some red streaks on its tail. It stays at the bottle for the whole day and only gets up when it's time to eat. When he does get up and swim around, he goes "crazy" and just swims really fast around the tank like he's in big pain. This happened a little over a month ago. There was a red puffy bump on the side of his body near the tail. We treated it with Tetra Lifeguard all in one bacterial and fungus treatment. It got better. Now, it looks like the same thing is happening. The tail and the end of his body is getting red. We have been treating it with the same thing. It has been 2 days since we have been treating him with it. Also, a good thing to mention is that he has been like this for almost a week, and it seems to have not gotten better nor worse. He is in a 10 gallon tank with 2 other goldfish. We have had him for 4-5 years. Please help! I hate seeing the little guy suffer.

Please click the links below to see images.

http://imgur.com/a/5zkIp

http://imgur.com/a/Mxh74
 
Hi, i think your issues may actually be due to the size of the tank. Despite what people think, they don't grow to the size of the tank. It actually stunts their growth, which can cause many health issues. I've read that one goldfish needs at least 25G to thrive properly, and 15G extra per extra fish. So ideally a 50G tank! Five times the size of what you currently have. I fear you may have been mislead by a pet store employee.

You mentioned that he is sitting at the bottom of the tank. That's usually caused by bad water chemistry (which could be a result of so many fish in such a small tank), but that can be partially treated with lots of thorough water changes. Since he's sick, i'd recommend once every few days.
Bottom sitting can also be caused by constipation. If it's constipation, cook him a single pea, de shell it, mash it a little and feed him it. Peas work wonders for constipation. I feed my tropical fish pea often to keep their bowel movements regular.

As for the red streaks in his tail, this is also caused by water chemistry. Usually by high ammonia and/or nitrates. (Water changes!) Both of these cause damage to blood vessels in the tail and cause the streaks you see. It can also be caused by insufficient room.

I'd say your issue here is the tank is nowhere near large enough for your fish and you're probably not keeping on top of water changes. I'd say buy a 2nd hand tank off of a bootsale app, like Gumtree or Shpock. They'll be much cheaper there. Maybe invest in a gravel hose if you haven't already; they make cleaning a heck of a lot easier.
 
Yes, it may be. We have 3 goldfish in a 10 gallon tank. We will start changing 25% of the water every 3 days. Is that fine?
We went to PetSmart, who said it looks like ammonia poisoning.
I'm very worried. How long can my goldfish live like this?
 
I'd say 30-40% every few days would be good.
Ah, Petsmart.. such a misleading name. I'll be honest, half of the time pet store employees know almost nothing about the animals they are selling. I've actually spoke to one Petsmart employee who told me that their boss actually preferred if you lied to the customer rather than asking someone more qualified for the sake of looking more "professional". If i were you, please stay away from pet stores as much as possible. They just exploit beautiful creatures for the sake of money and "business". If you need advice, the internet and forums are your best friend.

I've done a little more research and you 100% need a bigger tank. Like i said, it stunts their growth and causes health issues. If you keep them in the same conditions they will deteriorate and die much sooner than they should.
 
Thank you :)
This was our 5th and last day of treating the fish with Tetra All-in-one treatment. Should we start changing the water tomorrow? We are having guests tomorrow and do not have time to get a bigger tank any time soon. Next time we will be free is in a couple of days. Will my sick goldfish still be alive and ok?
One question... we have had these 3 goldfish in our 10 gallon tank for over 3 years. Why hasn't it happened before?
Again, thank you very much! Keep in touch!
 
Why is this happening to only one fish? The other 2 are fine...
 
Is a kitchen counter strong enough to hold a 20 gallons tank?
 
Apologies for not keeping in touch. Have been seriously slacking in the ways of checking my emails. How is your goldfish? (I think he needs a name tbh :) )
Do water changes whenever you're able to, as long as they are frequent. Your goldfish will be okay in the current tank for now, he shouldn't suddenly die or anything, but do get a larger tank asap.
I think the reason you're only seeing these issues now is that the tank provided sufficient space before. But obviously as the fish have grown, it's become inadequate; probably within the last year or so. I'm unsure why the other two are fine, but it may just be that their immune systems are stronger. Kind of like humans, some people's are very strong, some very weak. For example, i am never sick; however my boyfriend is constantly curled up in bed suffering from some kind of illness.
Also a kitchen counter will be perfectly capable of holding a 20G tank; kitchen counters are one of the most sturdy places you could put a tank.
 
Hi, sorry for not replying. We got a 29 gallon tank a few weeks ago.after that, he has been well. But just today, I noticed a big white streak in his tail. I have no idea what's going on. He was fine up to this point. It looks like he gets random shocks of "jitters" when he swims around. Please help. Here are some pictures

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet
Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet
Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet
Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet
Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet
 
hi, do you have a test kit at all eg api freshwater master test kit? I'd check ammonia, nitrates and ph or get the store to do it - and post back readings. Meds will generally be less effective if water conditions are not ideal (which can slip as fish get bigger and produce more waste).
 
Hello, we got the 5 in 1 api test kit.
Here are the results:
Nitrate 20-40
Nitrite 0
Ph 7
Kh 80 to 120
Gh 30
 
I bought the Marineland ick remedy as instructed by the pet store. I put in the ick treatment before I put him in the old 10 gallon tank, separate from the other fish. Will it be helpful?
 

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Hello, we got the 5 in 1 api test kit.

Here are the results:

Nitrate 20-40

Nitrite 0

Ph 7

Kh 80 to 120

Gh 30



These look ok but better off with a solution / vial test kit like API freshwater master test kit. The reason is these don't cover ammonia and cardboard strips can under read (sorry!).

Having said that, do you have a tap water reading?
 
I bought the Marineland ick remedy as instructed by the pet store. I put in the ick treatment before I put him in the old 10 gallon tank, separate from the other fish. Will it be helpful?

I think this has Victoria green? It might work if mild case. Try it and see if improvement.

Water changes would be main one. I'd make sure the change water is temp matched, slowly poured in so as not to shock and the tank is vacc'd on base to remove waste.
 
Oh I'm sorry, we fill the tank with water from out hose backyard. Here are the readings:
Nitrate 0-10
Nitrite 0
Ph 7.5
Kh 180
Gh 0
 
We just changed 25 percent and added the 2nd dose of the ick remedy. He looks the same from yesterday, although I think he has a bit more energy than yesterday. Yesterday, he wouldn't move much even when we gave him food at his time for a meal. Today, I can see that he is able to swim around with his top find raised, although he swims at the bottom layer. Let's see how it goes tomorrow. Wishing for a fast recovery :)
 
I wish it will. This should the 3rd time something like this has happened.
 
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