Hel
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
1 of my goldfish was sick last week, I think he had both fin rot and swim bladder problems. He wasn't swimming, but rather lying on his side on the bottom of the tank, and couldn't seem to right himself. He was breathing sporadically and really heaving when he did. His tail fin was kind shredded, his body fins were all pulled in flat against him, and he had some red line in his tail fin. Several of my other fish were showing some symptoms of fin rot as well (a red line or two in tail, slightly shredded edges of tail).
They all seem fine now, no red lines, all swimming fine with fins up, tails still a bit ragged but looking like they're healing and definitely not getting any worse.
I've been putting melafix in the tank as per the directions for a week, kept the tank warmer than usual, and I added some salt to the filter. The melafix says to use for a week, or longer if symptoms persist. Should I keep using it?
I gave them all some chopped peas on Tuesday (the day I found the sick fish) and am going to give them peas once a week from here on out.
Is there anything else I should do going forward? (besides what I've already done which is switch to smaller water changes every few days instead of a big change once a week)?
1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability.-Goldfish. 1 stopped swimming, was lying on the bottom of the tank, breathing sporadically and heaving when breathing. That fish and several others had ragged tails with red lines in their tails.
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values. Ammonia is 0, nitrites are 0, nitrates are around 30ppm, temp is currently 74, ph is 6.8ish (I use tetra easystrips cos they're easy&cheap.)
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up? 20 gallons tho it's generally only filled to about 18, 10ish months. I got a 75 gallon tank to move them to, because they've gotten so big (they were all under an inch when I got them at petsmart!), but it's not set up yet cos I got it off craigslist and it's got leaky seams. I've gotta either repair or completely reseal it.
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known. Tetra Whisper power filter 30 gal (HOT), 145gph
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes? 6 goldfish, mostly 4-5 inch bodies tho the largest is about 5 inches and the smallest, who is also the one who got so sick, has about a 3.5 inch body.
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time? Tonight. Before the fish got sick, it'd been a week. I had been doing it about once a week, doing a 50% change. I've since switched to doing 25% change every couple days. I vacuum the gravel while changing the water, cos my siphon is also a vacuum.
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them? 10 months.
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.? No
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently? Flakes&granules, same brands for months, new containers started about 5 or 6 weeks ago.
They all seem fine now, no red lines, all swimming fine with fins up, tails still a bit ragged but looking like they're healing and definitely not getting any worse.
I've been putting melafix in the tank as per the directions for a week, kept the tank warmer than usual, and I added some salt to the filter. The melafix says to use for a week, or longer if symptoms persist. Should I keep using it?
I gave them all some chopped peas on Tuesday (the day I found the sick fish) and am going to give them peas once a week from here on out.
Is there anything else I should do going forward? (besides what I've already done which is switch to smaller water changes every few days instead of a big change once a week)?
1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability.-Goldfish. 1 stopped swimming, was lying on the bottom of the tank, breathing sporadically and heaving when breathing. That fish and several others had ragged tails with red lines in their tails.
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values. Ammonia is 0, nitrites are 0, nitrates are around 30ppm, temp is currently 74, ph is 6.8ish (I use tetra easystrips cos they're easy&cheap.)
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up? 20 gallons tho it's generally only filled to about 18, 10ish months. I got a 75 gallon tank to move them to, because they've gotten so big (they were all under an inch when I got them at petsmart!), but it's not set up yet cos I got it off craigslist and it's got leaky seams. I've gotta either repair or completely reseal it.
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known. Tetra Whisper power filter 30 gal (HOT), 145gph
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes? 6 goldfish, mostly 4-5 inch bodies tho the largest is about 5 inches and the smallest, who is also the one who got so sick, has about a 3.5 inch body.
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time? Tonight. Before the fish got sick, it'd been a week. I had been doing it about once a week, doing a 50% change. I've since switched to doing 25% change every couple days. I vacuum the gravel while changing the water, cos my siphon is also a vacuum.
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them? 10 months.
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.? No
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently? Flakes&granules, same brands for months, new containers started about 5 or 6 weeks ago.
