Goldfish is turning black

[MommaFish]

I am new to the aquarium world and I need help!
We got a 15 gallon tank about 1 1/2 weeks ago and didn't know about having to cycle a new tank. Now my son's goldfish is turning black and just sitting on the bottom of the tank. I brought the water in for testing and they gave me an ammonia neutralizer and stress coat and told me to do a water change. I did a 25% water change 5 days ago and one yesterday. He looks worse. Can someone tell me what I can do to help him? Should I do another water change and put more neutralizer and water conditioners in? How often should I change the water?

 

[jlk]

Hi! Welcome to AA!!! Please invest in a liquid test kit ASAP (such as api fw master test kit). You need to be able to test your water daily (or even multiple times a day) and do water changes frequently. Your fish is turning black from ammonia burns- this indicates that you have very dangerous levels of ammonia. Change 50% of the water with temperature matched, properly conditioned water immediately. Wait an hour then change another 50% with tempmatched, properly conditioned water. Then get yourself a liquid test kit & test your water & let us know how your numbers for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & ph look. You will likely have to do water changes atleast once a day, possibily more frequently to keep your toxin levels under control until your tank cycles. The ammonia burns will heal with LOTS of healthy water but this may take a month or longer. Please read the link below & ask any questions you may have!
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

 

[MommaFish]

Thanks so much for you quick response. I will get a test kit today. How do I make sure the water temp matches that of the tank if I don't let it sit overnight? I usually let the water sit overnight and then do the water change but if you say to do a water change immediately how do I make sure the water is the right temp?
Also, I know to add the conditioner with each change but do I add the water neutralizer and skin coat with each change too?

 

[jlk]

I am going to assume your using water from the faucet? If so, scoop out a cup of tank water & turn the hot & cold water on. Stick your hand in the cup tank water & feel the temp. Now stick it in the faucet water & adjust the temp to match what your hand 'feels' in the cup of tank water. Your hand is accurate within 2 degrees or less. When you pick up a test kit, you can also pick up a thermometer if you want to be precise.

What products do you presently have (condit, coat, etc)? You really only need a single product- Prime. It adds a slime coat, neutralizes chlorine/chloramine and makes ammonia/nitrite/nitrate less toxic to fish for a period of 24-48hrs. Adding multiple different products for every water change is going to get expensive very fast. Let us know what you have right now & we can advise what to use in the interim.

 

[MommaFish]

Thanks so much for all your help! yes, I am using faucet water. I will do the thermometer method a try.

These are the products I have:
Aqueon Water Conditioner
Aqueon Ammonia Neutralizer
Api Stress Coat

I was told to put enough in for 15 gallons each water change.

 

[jlk]

Yes, depending on how you do water changes. If you use buckets, you can add enough to treat each bucket individually. If your using a water changer/python, after you remove the old water dose to the size of your tank (15g) before refilling. Ok, for now, you should use the API stress coat & the amm neutralizer. The aqueon conditioner & stress coat are basically the same thing- they neutralize chlorine/chloramine & add a slime coat. Thats about it. The amm neutralizer works by converting ammonia to ammoium for 24-48hr period of time but only up to 1-2ppm (and your fish's condition indicates your amm is much higher than this). While ammonium is not as toxic to fish, its still not healthy. The only way to remove ammonia/ammonium from your tank is via water changes. When you get your test kit, also test your tap water straight from your faucet for ammonia,nitrite & nitrate so we can see where your starting from. Note on the tests- the ammonia & nitrate tests are 2 bottle tests (step 1 then step 2). All the bottles should be shaken but the nitrate bottles need to be shaken hard & banged on a hard surface before using (reagants can clump leading to an inaccurate result). Please ask if you have any questions!!!

 

[MommaFish]

OK, I bought the kit and just tested the water (I didn't do a water change yet today) the levels seem perfectly fine. Could this mean the fish is one the mend?

Ammonia is 0 ppm
Nitite is 0 ppm
Nitrate looks to be about 10 ppm

should I still do a water change today?

 

[MommaFish]

I forgot to include pH. pH is 7.6. Do I need to test High Range pH?

 

[jlk]

Yep, check the high range ph. 7.6 is the limit of the regular ph test- it will show 7.6 (blue) whether its 7.6 or 8 or 8.8. I would still do a water change anyway especially if he doesnt seem to be well. Do you know what type of goldfish he is? Keep us posted & dont hesitate to ask questions! Im also posting another link to goldfish care that will answer alot of questions as well.

http://www.myaquariumclub.com/goldfish-101-11174823.html

 

[MommaFish]

High pH is 7.4
He is a large goldfish that my son won at the fair. He was very happy in his small 1 gallon tank without a filter for a few weeks. Then we got another fair fish and bought this 15 gallon. The second fish was smaller and not well to begin with. (probably b/c my daughter kept dropping the bag she came in) she died after a few days in the new tank and this fish was happy and swimming fine for a week and now is getting black spots and just stays at the bottom.
we want to get another goldfish but don't want to do that until the tank is ready for another.
thanks for all your help!

 

[MommaFish]

also forgot to mention that the tank is cloudy. Not crystal clear like the ones at the store.

 

[jlk]

I am sorry but no more goldfish in a 15g. The 15g is honestly too small for a common goldfish as it is but I know he is very small right now. Commons can potentially grow well over 12in (up to 18in). They are realistically pond fish. You will be able to manage for now with lots of water changes but as he grows, you really should to look into finding him a happy pond home (or building one yourself) unless you plan on a very large tank for a single fish (55+g). Heres a visual on their growth- its not 100% accurate and estimates on the low side but it gives you a great idea on their growth.

http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/pdf/goldfish size chart.pdf

 

[MommaFish]

The other fish has died. What should I do to the tank before getting a new fish? the water is testing out at normal levels. do I need to completely empty the tank and start over again?

 

[jlk]

I am very sorry to hear this!!! My suggestion would be to do 100% water change and start a fishless cycle to properly prepare the tank for future fish. In the meantime, you can research fish you would like to consider keeping in a 15g. 15g really isnt suitable for goldfish but you could manage a single fancy short term with a good water change schedule and plans to upgrade to bigger tank in the future. Heres the fishless cycle link for more info- please ask any questions you may have!!!

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html