Fancy goldfish

[Kclskates]

My fish became ill. He sits at the bottom with no energy and won't eat. He tries to swim but can't
I need help please

 

[jlk]

Hi! Welcome to AA!! Can you please provide some more information so we can better help you?

Tank size?
Stocking?
Exact numbers for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph?
What your using to test (liquid or strips)?
Water change schedule (%/#wk)?
Specific diet (brand/type food, other foods)?
How long the tank has been running with fish?
Specific symptoms (lack appetite, sores, streaks, strange poop, etc)?

Thanks!

 

[Kclskates]

46g bow front with 10 goldfish. 3 of them are panda orandas, 2 black moors, 1 telescope calico, 1white telescope butterfly, 1 black and gold telescope, and one fancy non telescope not sure what it is. 1 clown Pleco. 1 dojo loach

My tank has live plants.

Diet is vegetables. Cooked and finely chopped. Fruits. Once in a while goldfish flakes, frozen sprinula, and sinking pellets.

Water temp at 75 F. Ammonia 0-.25. Don't have nitrate, nitrite or kh tests. PH 7.6 and they are API liquid test kits.

I'm sure my problem is that I don't have a maintenance schedule. I try to vacuum biweekly and 40 percent water change weekly.

Topfin60 filter. Wash filter out weekly usually. Add my own carbon in a bag that I place in the filter. Two life glo 18" lights.

 

[Kclskates]

The tank is about 3 years old. Carlo is just lying at the bottom breathing slowly. No energy or apatite.

 

[Coursair]

I'm sorry your fish is ill. If you research Goldfish you will see you are way way overstocked.

You need to test your water. Get test kit for the missing tests. You may need to do daily water changes till you can reduce the number of fish.

Your goal should be 3 Fancy Goldfish and nothing else in that size tank.

20g minimum first fish and at least 10-20g per each additional Fancy. Lots of filtration, but don't throw them around.

Plecos are poop machines , clown Plecos at least stay small. Dojos get quite hefty , 8" and quite thick.

Goldfish need room to grow. Overcrowding causes death from Ammonia poisoning and stunting shortens lifespan. Fancies get Big.

You need to offer them either a Much bigger tank/indoor pond or pick your 3 favorites and rehome the rest. These fish can live 15 years or more with good care.

Overcrowded tanks can also cause some fish to stop eating or just not thrive.

Other than that it sounds like you are trying to do a good job.

When you clean filter, exactly how are you cleaning it ?

Have you had 10 Goldfish in there for 3 years ????

Obviously you love your fish. I don't mean to beat you up. Just offering my advice for long term healthy happy fish.

 

[Kclskates]

Thank you for your info. It helps a lot. I have not had 10 goldfish for 3 years. I've been slowly buying them for about 9 months now. I had to learn the hard way about ammonia spikes and it killed my other fish before I started buying fancy goldfish.

When I wash my filter I rinse it out and wipe it out a little bit. I have reusable filter that comes apart. Then I rinse out the clogged filter till its clean. I do this in the sink and I'm not sure if I'm killing to much good bacteria when I do this.

 

[Coursair]

Thank you for your info. It helps a lot. I have not had 10 goldfish for 3 years. I've been slowly buying them for about 9 months now. I had to learn the hard way about ammonia spikes and it killed my other fish before I started buying fancy goldfish.

When I wash my filter I rinse it out and wipe it out a little bit. I have reusable filter that comes apart. Then I rinse out the clogged filter till its clean. I do this in the sink and I'm not sure if I'm killing to much good bacteria when I do this.

So now you have to decide how to go forward. Less Fish, more tanks, BIG tank ?

Only rinse filter pads in used tank water or in dechlorinated water. Tap water kills the BB.

You don't need Charcoal unless you are getting rid of meds. Just keep reusing your Filter wool till it falls apart. Don't over clean. Vacuum and PWC one day. Clean Filter another or at least don't vacuum entire bottom in one day.

Your tank can house 3 Goldfish

I'd lower the temp. Your Pleco may suffer but the cooler water holds more oxygen. I'd rehome him. He likes 73f and above and your GF should be room temp. Warmer water also can shorten lifespan. Speeds metabolism. Not good for the GF.
If you want keep Pleco , add real wood for him to eat. They aren't a major algae eater.

 

[jlk]

+1 to Coursair

I have to agree with the advice that has been offered. The number of fish combined with lack of water changes and rinsing the filter media in tap water has likely resulted in some pretty toxic tank conditions. Moors are sensitive to their water and his behavior indicates a big problem. A good liquid test kit for all of your parameters (amm, nitrite, nitrate, ph) really is a necessity here.

I would start changing atleast 50% of their water daily with temperature matched, properly conditioned water daily until you can figure out your stocking situation. Try to do decent gravel vacs atleast 2x a week in addition to the water changes.

I would also start adding a quality sinking pellet a few times daily to their diet in addition to the fruits and veggies. They really need some protein in addition to the vitamins and minerals that a quality food provides. Toss the flakes. Great job feeding fruits and veggies, btw! Please ask if you have questions!

 

[Matt68005]

I think you can have more than 3 goldfish in a 46Gallon tank, just saying. I agree with the advice that's been offered but you can have at least 6-7 in there just fine, just rehome them when their bigger.

 

[jlk]

I think you can have more than 3 goldfish in a 46Gallon tank, just saying. I agree with the advice that's been offered but you can have at least 6-7 in there just fine, just rehome them when their bigger.

Six or seven fancies in 46g is too many fish unless your changing 100% of their every day. Goldfish do not stop growing through out their lives unless they are stunted by lack of sufficient water. Fish will not grow in such overstocked conditions due to water conditions that will be difficult to maintain and an excess of hormones. The bare minimum for fancies is 20g for the first fish, an additional 10g for each additional fish though I find these standards quite minimalistic for fish with such growth potential.

 

[Coursair]

You don't move them WHEN they grow, you move them so they CAN grow.

Fish in overcrowded conditions don't Thrive

 

[Miyavp]

I agree with what jlk said. I found out the hard way that goldfish need much more room. Its much better to have a few healthy goldfish than mamy sick ones. I know my fish are constantly sick and the nitrates are a nightmare.

I have three of them in a 37gal tank and within the last month one of them has gotten so sick he can get up off the gravel. I have to hand feed him everynight and I've spent the last month trying remedy after remedy without any luck. Not to try and scare you because goldfish are great fish but they need alot of room to grow. Your going to have to pick what to do, wether you want to keep them all and invest in a large tank or pond. Or wether your going to rehome some of them.

To help your little moor give them some good water changes and lower the temp. Increased oxygenation can also help with nitrate poisoning which sounds like what your dealing with. That moor might be sensitive to nitrates now also, so if you decide to keep him thats something you'll have to be aware off. API makes a testing kit that pretty widely available that's pretty decent. I'd suggest picking one up there very usefull.

 

[Kclskates]

Well I will be making some decisions. I kind of already suspected that I had a fish buying problem. I just didn't know over crowding was this bad.

I probably will buy another tank or a bigger one. If I were to buy a bigger tank, would a 70-80g tank be ok for 3 pandas, 2 moors, 1 white butterfly, gold telescope, 1 dojo loach? And will the loach ever cause problems to my goldfish?

What is the best kind of tank? Is there a brand that is the best? I got mine from a friend that didn't want it anymore and sold me everything for 20$. So I'm pretty sure I got a petco fish tank kit.

Also I still have questions about filtration? What's the best and or most efficient filter out there?

Thanks again

 

[Miyavp]

At a minimum you might be able to fit those goldfish in there. I dont know about the dojo loach causing problems but it would make an 80gal overstocked. It would already be very crowded.

I have an aquaclear hob filter. The more filtration the better. Idealy you should have a filter big enough for a tank twice your size. I have a 70gal filter for my 37gal tank and then I have another 40gal filter in there just for extra filtration. I would look for a larger tank or get two 40-50gal tanks.

 

[jlk]

Well I will be making some decisions. I kind of already suspected that I had a fish buying problem. I just didn't know over crowding was this bad.

I probably will buy another tank or a bigger one. If I were to buy a bigger tank, would a 70-80g tank be ok for 3 pandas, 2 moors, 1 white butterfly, gold telescope, 1 dojo loach? And will the loach ever cause problems to my goldfish?

What is the best kind of tank? Is there a brand that is the best? I got mine from a friend that didn't want it anymore and sold me everything for 20$. So I'm pretty sure I got a petco fish tank kit.

Also I still have questions about filtration? What's the best and or most efficient filter out there?

Thanks again

I would probably look into a 55g then split the fish between the two tanks. If your in the US, Craigslist has 55g's very inexpensively because they are a pretty common size (.25 to .50 cents per gallon). When Petco or Pet Supplies Plus has their $1/g sales, you can get a new 55g for just $55. Larger used tanks tend to run a bit pricier. Then just dont purchase anymore fish. You can use either a big canister or two large HOB type filters. And make sure you look into a good liquid test kit such as the API fw master test kit because you really need to be able to accurately test your tanks. Please ask if you have questions!

 

[Kclskates]

I have been doing a lot more water changes and they are doing better.

One of my panda orandas gills seems sunken in and hills gills are not normal. Almost like their sticking out. He's been like this for a while but it's getting worse. I assume its from overcrowding and bad water. Also I can see 3 to 4 faint black spots on top of him. All I really can do is keep changing water and get a bigger tank

 

[jlk]

I am glad they are doing better!

Can you post a pic of the fish you are talking about?

 

[Kclskates]

Can't see the scales very well but they stick out and his gills are sunk in

 

[jlk]

Are his scales sticking out from his sides? I can't see them very clearly in the pic.

 

[Kclskates]

Yes it does