My goldfish is sick!

[katielev1]

I've had my goldfish since February, and its by itself in a tank. The main problem with my fish is that it sinks. She is always on the bottom of her tank, and can't get up. This has been going on for about 3 weeks now with few signs of change or improvement. Sometimes she gets stuck on her side, and it takes her a while to get back up. At first I thought it was a swim bladder problem, so I gave her some frozen pea, but she would barely eat any. I tried fasting her for 3 days, and nothing changed. Then I tried a salt bath. Initially, it seemed to really help, and with some effort she could wiggle her way to the top. But her condition has gotten worse, and now she doesn't respond to the salt baths. Any ideas of what might be wrong? She still eats, although not as much. I have changed her water recently.

 

[katielev1]

I forgot to answer these questions:
1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).
Vail tail shubunkin goldfish. She is stuck on the bottom and cannot swim to the top.
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
Unknown
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
Its about a gallon-sized bowl, and its been set up since February.
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.
No filtration.
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
One fish.
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?
No gravel, but I changed the water last night (completely) but this has been going on for about 4 weeks.
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
Since February
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?
Aqueon flakes and granules, and now the occasional cut up frozen pea.

 

[StuG]

I forgot to answer these questions:
1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).
Vail tail shubunkin goldfish. She is stuck on the bottom and cannot swim to the top.
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
Unknown
Finding out these values will give you a pretty good idea if water chemistry is affecting your fish
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
Its about a gallon-sized bowl, and its been set up since February.
A gallon isn't really a big enough tank for even a single goldfish, and this probably has something to do with your probs.
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.
No filtration.
Again, you probably have very poor water because of this lack of filtration
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
One fish.
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?
No gravel, but I changed the water last night (completely) but this has been going on for about 4 weeks.
How often did you generally change the water before this? A bowl that small would need a lot of water changes
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
Since February
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?
Aqueon flakes and granules, and now the occasional cut up frozen pea.

I would imagine that a lot of your problems are stemming from the fact that you are housing a fish that produces a lot of waste in a tank that can't support it sufficiently.
Does the fish look bloated at all?
Any other symptoms, such as spots, marks, red gills, etc?

 

[katielev1]

I do a total change once a week, and partial changes more frequently. However, other than the fact that its on the bottom, nothing seems to be wrong. I was thinking that it might be a swim bladder problem? But I don't exactly know what to do to fix it.

 

[HN1]

No where enough to keep the water right for the fish. Stability is important as well. No offense, but I would recommend rehoming the gold fish and saving up for at least a 30G tank if you want to keep goldies properly. I know the pictures on the %^$@ boxes show gold fish, but they really do need more space and quality filtration.

 

[Spizwa]

I would get a bigger tank. Sometimes you get lucky and find sum 1 who just wants to get rid of theirs. The water quality is so important (talking from unfortunate experiences). I just lost my darling goldfish Cheeks :-( because she got dropsy. The only thing I could find wrong was the PH in my tank. Its pretty much impossible to keep the water right in anything less than 30 gal.
Hope she gets better!

 

[dkpate]

You can try feeding boiled, shelled peas. They are a laxative.
+1 for the other posters, she really needs a bigger tank ASAP.