My calico goldfish

[dmoney87]

Im worried about my Calico goldfish.. hes in a 30g tank with two other fancys.. and they have all been in there for well over a year.. but ive noticed within the last week or so.. the calico has not been very active.. he pretty much just sits on the bottom dosent really move at all and barley eats.. meanwhile the other two never stop looking for food.. and are very active.. there are no signs of disease eg ich.. fin rot.. red gills.. etc.. I dont know what to do.. im going to test the water mybe that will tell me something.. :S

-davE

[Devilishturtles]

Do you have the tank heated? If not, do you monitor temperature at all?

[jsoong]

How big is the fish? An old fish is apt to be less active than a young one, but totally off food is a bad sign.

I agree that checking water parameters (including temperature) is the first thing to do. Maybe do a large water change as well, since that won't hurt. However, it is less likely to be water problem as the other fish are OK.

Other causes of lethargy can be an internal infection (bacterial, parasites or tb), or possibly swimbladder or other organ dysfunction. Apart from spots & fin, is there other signs such as - clamped fins, rapid breathing, swelling , cloudy eyes, etc. Also, is the fish pooping? <For a larger fish, you can also do a gentle physical - feel the slime coat & the belly - a mushy, sunken belly or hard bloated one indicates internal problems.>

If the water checks out & there is no obvious sign pointing to the problem, my preference is to try salt. Depending on how comfortable you are with salt-dipping fish, you can try salt dipping at 0.5-0.9% for 15-20 minutes (remove sooner if fish shows any sign of distress). A more gentle approach is to gradually increase the salt over 24 hrs to 0.3% - preferable in a QT tank/tub.

Salt is effective for a wide range of parasites - including ones that hide in the gills. Often a lethargic fish will perk up with salt, giving you a clue to the cause of the lethargy & treament.

[dmoney87]

Originally Posted by Devilishturtles

Do you have the tank heated? If not, do you monitor temperature at all?

Originally Posted by jsoong

How big is the fish? An old fish is apt to be less active than a young one, but totally off food is a bad sign.

I agree that checking water parameters (including temperature) is the first thing to do. Maybe do a large water change as well, since that won't hurt. However, it is less likely to be water problem as the other fish are OK.

Other causes of lethargy can be an internal infection (bacterial, parasites or tb), or possibly swimbladder or other organ dysfunction. Apart from spots & fin, is there other signs such as - clamped fins, rapid breathing, swelling , cloudy eyes, etc. Also, is the fish pooping? <For a larger fish, you can also do a gentle physical - feel the slime coat & the belly - a mushy, sunken belly or hard bloated one indicates internal problems.>

If the water checks out & there is no obvious sign pointing to the problem, my preference is to try salt. Depending on how comfortable you are with salt-dipping fish, you can try salt dipping at 0.5-0.9% for 15-20 minutes (remove sooner if fish shows any sign of distress). A more gentle approach is to gradually increase the salt over 24 hrs to 0.3% - preferable in a QT tank/tub.

Salt is effective for a wide range of parasites - including ones that hide in the gills. Often a lethargic fish will perk up with salt, giving you a clue to the cause of the lethargy & treament.

Ok so an update on my calico goldie.

I checked the water parameters.. everything checks out.

ph - 7.6
ammonia - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate - 15 ppm

The two other goldfish are quite large .. the largest probably from head to tail ( its a fancy) probably about 6 in and quite fat. the other is probably around 4 and quite fat.. and the calico is probably only about
2 1/2 in and quite smaller in comparison. He dosent have cloud eye, his breathing is not rapid.. but maybe a little shallow.. i have seen him crap but havent seen him eat.. (dosent dig at all like the others but he never really did) I do have a heater in the water and its usually a constant 70*.. but latley it has been extremely hot here (and i dont have ac). Im thinking he might have injested a small pebble? but I did add a little API aquarium salt (about 10 mg). Didnt want to do a salt dip on him though, didnt feel comfortable with that.

heres some pictures.









as you can see he just sits at the bottom pretty much all of the time unless the other goldies want to lift some pebbles near him..

-davE

[jsoong]

Originally Posted by dmoney87

I did add a little API aquarium salt (about 10 mg).

10mg? maybe you meant g or ml? For your 30 gal tank (120l), you are looking at 120 g (or roughly 10 tablespoons) of salt to bring salt level to 0.1% <That is a lot of salt even to get to low levels .... that's why I usu. treat in a smaller setup.>

If you've seen poop, what is the color? White stringy poop often indicates an internal infection, while long dark strings hanging behind the fish would be constipation.

To see if the fish is totally off food, you can try a bit of chopped shrimp. If the gold doesn't go for that, then something is wrong for sure.

If the fish has a pebble stuck in his mouth/throat, he still should be active. Although if that happened a week or more ago, the fish might be weak from starvation. The only way to tell for sure is to take the fish out, sedate it & look. <If the fish will come to the surface - say enticing it with a bit of food - it will open its mouth right at the surface & you might be able to get a quick peek without handling it.>

BTW - I don't really see the sick fish in the pics. ... It would be helpful to see its belly & fins. Also, maybe you can take the actual temperature of the tank .... since you guys are having a bit of a heat wave out east (I am jealous .... shivering in 4 degree mornings!), this might be an overheating & low O2 issue. <Less likely, as the fish would then be up at the surface, and the bigger fish should be more affected rather than the small one.>

[dmoney87]

Originally Posted by jsoong

10mg? maybe you meant g or ml? For your 30 gal tank (120l), you are looking at 120 g (or roughly 10 tablespoons) of salt to bring salt level to 0.1% <That is a lot of salt even to get to low levels .... that's why I usu. treat in a smaller setup.>

If you've seen poop, what is the color? White stringy poop often indicates an internal infection, while long dark strings hanging behind the fish would be constipation.

To see if the fish is totally off food, you can try a bit of chopped shrimp. If the gold doesn't go for that, then something is wrong for sure.

If the fish has a pebble stuck in his mouth/throat, he still should be active. Although if that happened a week or more ago, the fish might be weak from starvation. The only way to tell for sure is to take the fish out, sedate it & look. <If the fish will come to the surface - say enticing it with a bit of food - it will open its mouth right at the surface & you might be able to get a quick peek without handling it.>

BTW - I don't really see the sick fish in the pics. ... It would be helpful to see its belly & fins. Also, maybe you can take the actual temperature of the tank .... since you guys are having a bit of a heat wave out east (I am jealous .... shivering in 4 degree mornings!), this might be an overheating & low O2 issue. <Less likely, as the fish would then be up at the surface, and the bigger fish should be more affected rather than the small one.>

good news! hes back swimming around not laying at the bottom and eating. Im not sure why but i decided to raise the temp of the tank to about 75 from 69 and almost within an hour he seemed to go back to normal.. ill be keeping an eye on him though make sure hes %100. thanks for the advice and what not jsoong

davE

[jsoong]

I am glad that your fish is better!

Fancies generally do better in the mid to high 70's year round. This has got to do with metabolic rate & gut motility. Some of the fancies get badly constipated in colder water & that affects their swim bladder so this could have been the problem.

[Musket]

glad to hear your fish is feeling better.
It's always better to say gippie than so sorry.