goldfish on hunger strike???

[fishyfishyfishy]

I posted a while back about my comet who was not eating. Well, since then he went through a period of time where he would go after the food, the spit it out. Now he's back to ignoring the food. I have tried goldfish flakes, goldfish floating pellets, and slow sinking pellets, as well as peas and dried tubifex worms. He shows no interest in any of these foods, but is surprisingly still alive and seems to be thriving after weeks of trying to get him to eat. I sometimes see him grazing at the tank bottom, but I worry because my fantail gobbles up everything that i put into the tank, and not much makes it down to the bottom.

He seems to be the same size as when i got him, and looks pretty healthy. The only thing I can see is that his gills look much more pronounced than those of the fantail. I have some pictures, if anyone thinks it might help.

Water params are good:
pH 6.9
ammonia 0
nitrites 0
nitrates 10
(tank is 25 gallons- just the two fish and artificial plants)

Any suggestions???? I hate to keep spending money on fish food, only to find out that he still won't eat. Could he be sick? Or is it possible that he can survive off the scraps of food on the bottom?

Help!

 

[jsoong]

Can't remember details of the original post, but I am surprised that he/she is still doing well after not eating for weeks. Is there anything stuck in the mouth/throat. <Maybe that's why the gills are sticking out?> Perhaps he can't eat pellets because of something in the mouth but is surviving by picking up microscopic bits of stuff from the tank bottom?

 

[dr_girlfriend]

I'm actually not suprise. Ive had fish go for many weeks without eating and surviving. i think you need to look inside the mouth and gills of your fish. You may want someone to help you. catch the fish and roll it onto its back while still in the water. you, or your helper can then open the fishes mouth and gill covers (if the fish is small you may want to use a magnifying glass) and see if there is any hair, gravel, or any foriegn body or ulcerations. when looking in the gills, they should be a healthy deep color. if they are pinkish or white youre fish is very ill.
But I most likley suspect a gill fluke infestation. If this fishes gills are swollen open, flukes are your most likely cause. Sometimes it can be bacterial though not often. If you have access to a microscope, you can check for flukes to be sure by scraping along the gills and lookig under the scope. HTH

A pic would help though!

 

[fishyfishyfishy]

Thanks for the help. Unfortunately, my goldfish was dead when I woke up this morning I guess I sought advice one day too late...

 

[dr_girlfriend]

sorry to hear that
keep a close eye on your other fish if they were housed in the same tank. hopefully if he shows any symptoms you'll have some indication of what may be wrong.