Goldfish help ASAP

[dianeeliz]

ok so im REALLY excited because I got home from work to find that he has some regular poop in the bucket with him! I gave him an orange that was peeled and took the clear casing off so he could have the little juice pods. Once I dropped the piece of orange in the bucket he slowly swam over to it and started eating it. Hes still swimming on the bottom though. I feel like hes doing a little better than the other day and hope hes recovering!

 

[jlk]

Normal poop is good! Keep his water healthy & keep us posted!

 

[dianeeliz]

Good news!!! I checked on him today when I got home from work. There was a lot of normal poop and hes swimming around and up to the top of the bucket! I fed him a little bit of peas (2 unshelled) and hes eating like normal. Hes still got a little bit of that discolored part on him from whatever he had. I do a very small water change every day for him and make sure I add a little bit of aquarium salt for whatever I have emptied out

 

[dianeeliz]

So my goldfish is up and swimming all over the place and has his appetite back fully. should i do a slight water change in the fish tank then add him back in?

 

[jlk]

Thats great! I would do a bigger water change (50%) before adding him back in. Good luck!

 

[dianeeliz]

If I do a 50% water change it wont harm any of the good bacteria or anything in the fish tank? also I think the bucket water is cooler than the tank water what should I do?

 

[jlk]

50% wont hurt anything as long as you use temperature matched, properly conditioned water for the changes. Remember, the majority of your good bacteria live in the filter media & substrate. Very little actually is free in the water because they excrete a sticky substance that allows them to cling & colonize on surfaces. You use your tap water, correct? Just adjust the temp of the tap to match the tank water (use hot & cold). You really should be doing minimum of 50%wcs weekly on this tank anyway. I change anywhere from 75% to 100% 1-2x a week on my fancy tanks.

 

[dianeeliz]

Oh ok. Another question. I have one of those pumps that you hook up to the sink and it empties the water that way. Is it safe to use that way to put the water back into the tank as well?

 

[jlk]

Yep! Prettymuch anyone with a bigger tank does water changes this way (including me!). Turn off your filters, empty the water, dose water conditioner for the size of your tank & refill. You can use your hand to match the temp of the water coming out to that of your tank water if you dont have a thermometer.

 

[dianeeliz]

Wonderful thank you soo much! Youve been such a great help I appreciate everything! Thanks for helping me get my little Googz back and kicking!

 

[dianeeliz]

I added Googz back into the tank and hes sitting on the bottom like before. Before I added him I did a 50+% water change and made sure the temperature was the same. I'm going to keep an eye on him and make sure hes not getting worse. Do you think he will be ok?

 

[jlk]

Let's see how he does over next few days. Offer him only veggies. & occasional fruits. If he continues, you may need to consider moving him
to 20l by himself. Keep us posted!

 

[dianeeliz]

Ok thank you. I noticed hes swimming around a little bit now hopefully he does well!

 

[jlk]

Keep us posted! I really hope he steadily improves! Btw, I meant 20l as long not litres! The long but not deep tank is better suited to goldies with buoyancy issues.

 

[dianeeliz]

OOH ok haha. He seems to be doing better and is getting his black back. Thank you for EVERYTHING!!!