New fish has recovered, black moor is having trouble

[Jayjangle]

It has been about four weeks since the move and three weeks since the smaller goldfish was added to my Black Moor's tank (10 gallon; upgrading soon). For about two weeks the new goldfish was sitting on the bottom and occasionally acting anxious, so I got the ammonia in the tank down to the 'yellow' range and repeated water changes once every other day. At this point, the new fish is swimming around like a normal, healthy goldfish, but my Moor...

Well, he's still sluggish like he was when I got him, but there aren't any concerning behavioral issues to me. He's eating and exploring around normally, and the wounds and fin rot he got from my other fancy (who is also in his own tank now) during the move are slowly recovering.

But, I'm concerned still. He occasionally tilts slightly to the side when he swims. He is also occasionally nipped at by the smaller fish...it doesn't look like bullying, because it only really happens when the two are very close by (most of the time they don't even seem to notice one another), but I'm concerned because the smaller fish seems to be really greedy with his food. I'm worried he is trying to pick at the slime coat that my fancy almost destroyed.

Does it sound like there's anything wrong, and if so, what do I do? The ammonia in both tanks are at the lowest numbers on the reference card, so that shouldn't be an issue. I also did a 50% water change in that tank earlier today.

 

[jlk]

The tilting while swimming is a swimbladder issue. Very, very common in goldies. The best you can do is to provide him with lots of daily veggies to eat & quality sinking pellet. Some goldies with swimbladder issues are able to recover being switched solely to a homemade gel food diet. Theres lots of recipes online- basically, its veggies, a protien & gelatin with a ton of variations. Unfortunately, dietary changes are not always enough some fancies due to a malformed swimbladder but its worth a try!

The nipping by the smaller fish will hopefully be a non-issue when they have sufficient room but keep an eye on this for now- if it becomes a worsening problem, you will have to figure out a means to seperate the aggressor. I am glad though the moor is on the mend!