Buoyancy problem in young goldfish

[46GFreshwater]

Hello, I have a sudden buoyancy problem in a young goldfish, I noticed it yesterday with a slight problem with keeping in proper orientation. It is much worse today, the left side tries to float upwards, occasional barrel rolls and corkscrewing.

1~What type of fish is afflicted?
Buoyancy problem in a young single tailed goldfish. It was sold as a fancy goldfish but it looks more like a comet with long fins. It is about 1.5 - 2 inches long, including the tail. It has a slight kink in its spine.

2~What are your tank parameters ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 10-20, temp 23.5 C or 74 F, pH 7.8

3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
46 gallon bowfront
Partial redo of aquascape (swapped gravel) in February. Cycled with established filter media prior to introducing fish.

4~What type of filtration are you using?
Marineland Penguin 70 HOB
Tetra pro 50 HOB
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
2 medium sized orange fancy goldfish 2.5-3 inches
1 small calico single tailed goldfish 1.5-2 inches (*this is the sick one)
1 mature bristlenose pleco 3 inches

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?
Did 50% water change today
Usually do 25-50% water changes and vacuum the gravel every 1-2 weeks

7~How long have you had the fish?
Introduced all 3 goldfish in March this year.

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?
I feed the goldfish once a day
The large goldfish eat sinking goldfish pellets
The small goldfish eats flakes that I soak in aquarium water before pouring into tank.
I feed them all dried bloodworms once every 1-2 weeks.
I fed them bloodworms the day before I noticed the buoyancy problem in the small fish.

I set up a quarantine tank today in a bucket with an air stone and some foam filter media from an established filter. The fish is still getting blown around a bit by the bubbles from the air stone, but I think the current is less than in the main tank.

Could this be a genetic or congenital problem in such a young/small fish? Or could it be an infection?

Anyone had a similar issue, any success treating with aquarium salt or antibiotics or other?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Andy Sager]

You have 3 issues that may not be the total cause but potentially parts of the cause. #1: a 46 gallon tank is not really large enough for goldfish. They will eventually outgrow it. #2: Goldfish do not have a stomach like other fish so they can't store food for later so they are constantly digesting the food as it goes through their digestive tract to the end. Goldfish should be fed multiple times per day a high vegetarian diet with supplemental foods like Bloodworms or Brine Shrimp, Daphnia and black worms. Hopefully the flakes you were feeding were Goldfish flakes and not regular tropical fish flakes which are more meat based then plant based so not the best for goldfish. #3: The slight kink in the spine can be a sign of Fish TB as it can be a sign of malnutrition or a genetic flaw. If the fish had this kink when you got it, genetics may have been the cause or the TB has been in the fish for a while and reached an advanced stage. ( Sadly, there have been many cases of fish farms with fish TB in their ponds. ) If the fish developed this kink while under your care, malnutrition is the most likely cause but not guaranteed.
Here's the bottom line: It would take a fish lab to determine if it's TB. Even if it were, you would need to use antibiotics to cure it (which is not an easy get in Canada now) and it's not an easy thing to cure. Success rate is very low.
Freeze dried foods have been known to cause obstructions in the digestive tract which can lead to an internal infection which can effect the air bladder, the organ which helps stabilize the fish when it swims and stands still. Frozen and fresh foods are better than freeze dried for goldfish ( and most fish).

The best thing to do with fish that are suffering from swim bladder issues is to keep the water as clean as possible. You can add aquarium salt ( or any non iodized salt) at a rate of 1 teaspoon per 3 gallons of water. It's not the best course of action but the good news is that it couldn't hurt.

Finally, I would not return this fish to the main tank because IF this is a case of Fish TB and the fish dies, the other fish can try to eat the dead fish and that is how the TB spreads in an aquarium. You want to be very sure not to handle the fish with your hands or allow any part of your body to get wet from the water if you have any cuts or abrasions on your skin because fish TB can be transferred from fish to humans. Use nets or grabbers instead of your hands and make sure you wash and sterilize your hands, arms, etc when you are done and your equipment before using it again in the main tank. It's just to be extra careful.

Hope this helps.

 

[46GFreshwater]

You have 3 issues that may not be the total cause but potentially parts of the cause. #1: a 46 gallon tank is not really large enough for goldfish. They will eventually outgrow it. #2: Goldfish do not have a stomach like other fish so they can't store food for later so they are constantly digesting the food as it goes through their digestive tract to the end. Goldfish should be fed multiple times per day a high vegetarian diet with supplemental foods like Bloodworms or Brine Shrimp, Daphnia and black worms. Hopefully the flakes you were feeding were Goldfish flakes and not regular tropical fish flakes which are more meat based then plant based so not the best for goldfish. #3: The slight kink in the spine can be a sign of Fish TB as it can be a sign of malnutrition or a genetic flaw. If the fish had this kink when you got it, genetics may have been the cause or the TB has been in the fish for a while and reached an advanced stage. ( Sadly, there have been many cases of fish farms with fish TB in their ponds. ) If the fish developed this kink while under your care, malnutrition is the most likely cause but not guaranteed.
Here's the bottom line: It would take a fish lab to determine if it's TB. Even if it were, you would need to use antibiotics to cure it (which is not an easy get in Canada now) and it's not an easy thing to cure. Success rate is very low.
Freeze dried foods have been known to cause obstructions in the digestive tract which can lead to an internal infection which can effect the air bladder, the organ which helps stabilize the fish when it swims and stands still. Frozen and fresh foods are better than freeze dried for goldfish ( and most fish).

The best thing to do with fish that are suffering from swim bladder issues is to keep the water as clean as possible. You can add aquarium salt ( or any non iodized salt) at a rate of 1 teaspoon per 3 gallons of water. It's not the best course of action but the good news is that it couldn't hurt.

Finally, I would not return this fish to the main tank because IF this is a case of Fish TB and the fish dies, the other fish can try to eat the dead fish and that is how the TB spreads in an aquarium. You want to be very sure not to handle the fish with your hands or allow any part of your body to get wet from the water if you have any cuts or abrasions on your skin because fish TB can be transferred from fish to humans. Use nets or grabbers instead of your hands and make sure you wash and sterilize your hands, arms, etc when you are done and your equipment before using it again in the main tank. It's just to be extra careful.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for your reply!

The fish did have the kink in the spine when I first bought it. I wondered if it was a bit sickly when I bought it but I wanted a calico colour and I thought it just needed some TLC. I should know better than to buy possibly sick or deformed fish but what's done is done.

I bought the fish in March, is it still likely it could have fish TB and only be terminal now in August? It seemed to swim alright up until yesterday. I thought it's body shape looked a little odd from the start, a little thin. It hasn't really grown too noticeably since March.

Yes I fed it goldfish flakes. (Cobalt Aquatics goldfish flakes) It's mouth seemed too small to eat the 2 mm goldfish pellets that I initially bought for the goldfish. (Omega One small sinking goldfish pellets)

What kind of fresh or frozen goldfish food do you recommend?

I had been worried about overfeeding all the goldfish so was only feeding once a day. How much should I feed them at a time if I feed twice a day? If I should feed more often than that I will probably need to get an automatic feeder. Currently, I feed a little bit at a time until they start losing interest. Usually between 2-5 minutes.

I will try the aquarium salt for now.

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you for your reply!

The fish did have the kink in the spine when I first bought it. I wondered if it was a bit sickly when I bought it but I wanted a calico colour and I thought it just needed some TLC. I should know better than to buy possibly sick or deformed fish but what's done is done.

I bought the fish in March, is it still likely it could have fish TB and only be terminal now in August? It seemed to swim alright up until yesterday. I thought it's body shape looked a little odd from the start, a little thin. It hasn't really grown too noticeably since March.

Yes I fed it goldfish flakes. (Cobalt Aquatics goldfish flakes) It's mouth seemed too small to eat the 2 mm goldfish pellets that I initially bought for the goldfish. (Omega One small sinking goldfish pellets)

What kind of fresh or frozen goldfish food do you recommend?

I had been worried about overfeeding all the goldfish so was only feeding once a day. How much should I feed them at a time if I feed twice a day? If I should feed more often than that I will probably need to get an automatic feeder. Currently, I feed a little bit at a time until they start losing interest. Usually between 2-5 minutes.

I will try the aquarium salt for now.

Fish can carry inactive TB their entire lives but if they get stressed or their immune system becomes compromised, then the inactive TB becomes active TB so yes, it's possible that you fish has it which is why the deformity.
The best diet is a variety of foods. I would suggest Goldfish flakes for one feeding, spirulina flakes for a second feeding, a frozen food for a third feeding. While Brine Shrimp does not have a good reputation for nutritional value, it now comes gut loaded with algae ( frozen) so it not only helps with the digestive system, there is some extra nutritional value to it. Fish should be fed as much as they will eat in 2-3 minutes. ( Your 2-5 minute timeframe is right on target. ) In reality, fish can be fed a number of times per day but to avoid overfeeding, you take the total amount of food you would feed in a day then divide it into the number of times you are going to feed. For example: If you fed 1 teaspoon full of food per day, you could feed 1/2 teaspoon 2 times per day or 1/3 teaspoon 3 times per day or 1/4 teaspoon 4 times per day, etc. At the end of the day, the fish will still only have eaten that 1 teaspoon of food but there would be very little if any food left over in the tank or decaying in the filter. Other foods you can add are chopped up spinach or crushed peas. Goldfish will also feed on frilly plants if you want to add the expense. ( Some people grow the plants in a separate tank then just add some stems as feed. )
So you have a number of options.

Lastly, my only fish buying advice is " It's better to miss out on a good fish than taking a bad fish. " If you see a fish that causes you to question whether you should buy it or question it's health, it's better IMO to skip it. There will always be more sometime in the future. Sadly today there are so many variants to so many species that come with either diseases or conditions that are common. For example: Goldfish and certain varieties of Bettas commonly get benign tumors. Rainbowfish - TB. Balloon fish, shortened lifespans and internal organ issues. I've also noticed so many deformed fish come in with regular shipments and the stores or wholesalers do not remove these fish from shipments. It's up to us hobbyists to not accept these deformed fish to get the message across that deformed fish are not acceptable for sale. ( I'm getting on my soapbox here ) As a commercial breeder, I took painstaking care to not send out bad fish. A bad fish to me was one that was weak or deformed or sick. Yes, it was money out of my pocket but my reputation was worth more than the cash. Too bad other farms don't feel the same way. ( I'm stepping off my box now. )

Hope this helps.