Black Moor is Floaty and Won't Eat

[newbiefancyowner]

I added a Black Moor to my tank about a week ago, and have tried desperately to get him to eat. He was unable to get flakes from the top of the tank, mainly because I think his eyes are especially large for his size. I stuck him in a separate container and put pellets in, but once he ate them he would spit them right out. On and off he's a little floaty, and I put some spinach in the tank two days ago that my Oranda ate, and I'm not sure if the Moor ate any or not. All the levels in my tank are good, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all zero. They are in a 20 gallon tank but are only about two inches each. What's wrong with my Moor? I wouldn't want him to be sick...

 

[Sharpchick]

Some goldfish get floaty on flakes and pellets. Do you soak them before you feed?

I have a ryukin who had a tendency to get floaty on pellets (I was feeding Hikari Lionhead, and soaking them). I switched to gel food and he has no floatiness at all now. I use Repashy, but a lot of people make their own.

You've already noticed that placement of a moor's eyes mean he sees differently than your oranda. One way to make sure a fish has access to food is to get a large plastic colander to feed him in - in the tank.

Spinach is one of the best "laxatives" for goldfish. Some people use green peas, squished out of the skin for the same purpose.

When he's floaty, is he headstanding, or just having difficulty swimming upright?

 

[newbiefancyowner]

I suspect that something may be wrong with the water that I'm not catching, my Oranda has been bottom-sitting for a few hours now and only takes a few minutes to swim around. My Moor doesn't seem to lean to the side or upside down, but he head stands a tiny bit, and he spends most of his time in the upper third of the tank, but doesn't seem to have immense difficulty in swimming to the bottom.

 

[newbiefancyowner]

Another thing- I didn't soak any of the foods before feeding, I didn't know about that before! But I definitely will start doing that

 

[jlk]

How long has this tank been running? What are you using to test your parameters? What is your water change schedule? I find it a bit odd to see zero nitrates, especially in a goldfish tank, unless it was very heavily planted or they were not being fed, I would also expect to see a spike in ammonia/nitrite, even if only for a few days, when you added another goldfish to a 20g. Your moors behavior of not eating and spitting food fit classic symptoms indicating an issue with water quality. Some more info will help!

 

[newbiefancyowner]

I had just done a large water change, probably about 60-70%, which is why the nitrate was probably so low. It's a 20 gallon tank, and I usually change about 20% of the water every other day. The ammonia did spike for a while, but it seems to have gone back down after about a week of adding the Moor. The water is also about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, as I've been told that's a suitable temp. for fancies. Maybe I'm wrong?

 

[jlk]

The ammonia spiked? How high and for how long? Ammonia spikes are followed by nitrite spikes. How high and for how long did your nitrite spike? Did you do water changes to keep these toxins under .25ppm? What are your numbers right now and what exactly are you using to test your water (liquid or strips- this is important to know)?

The temperature is fine but it your fish's behavior (not eating, spitting food, bottom sitting, floating, etc) are all directly the result of toxin exposure. A 20% water change on an overstocked goldfish tank with toxin issues is simply not sufficient. I honestly would work on increasing the frequency/size of your water changes with a good water conditioner until your fish recover. If there any further spikes in ammonia, nitrite or nitrate, this will be very important because even minimal future exposure to toxins will have a more profound health effect than past exposure.

I would suggest adding daily veggies and some occasional fruits to their diet as well. Veggies will have the greatest impact on helping with buoyancy issues when water quality issues are NOT a factor. Please ask if you have questions!