Hi,
I'm really worried about my goldfish. For the past two days, I noticed he was swimming weird (as if his tail was dragging him down), and now he's just lying on the bottom of the tank. He will swim up occasionally, if he thinks there's food, and he breathes regularly. He shows no other signs of disease (no spots, no red streaks, no bloated tummy).
He's the only goldfish in a 20 gallon tank.
I haven't introduced anything new to the tank (no plants, no new fish, no decorations), everything is "business as usual".
We replenish the water about every 2-3 weeks, about 20% of the tank. I treat the new water with 1 teaspoon Seachem Neutral Regulator + 1 teaspoon Seachem Discus buffer (adjusts ph to 5.8-6.8).
We have an automatic fish feeder that delivers a pinch of goldfish flakes (Tetrafin brand) in the morning, once per day.
The aquarium has a bubble system, and a heater set to 76F.
I did the water tests right now using an API test kit.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 60. This seems a bit high, but my understanding is it's a lot less damaging than high ammonia or nitrites.
Today, I added 4 teaspoons of aquarium salt and a few drops of Prime as an emergency measure, and increased the heater temp to 79F. I also stopped the automatic feeder and will give him some frozen peas in a day.
Is there anything else I can do? He looks really miserable and I'm very worried about losing him.
Thank you, really appreciate advice on this.
I'm really worried about my goldfish. For the past two days, I noticed he was swimming weird (as if his tail was dragging him down), and now he's just lying on the bottom of the tank. He will swim up occasionally, if he thinks there's food, and he breathes regularly. He shows no other signs of disease (no spots, no red streaks, no bloated tummy).
He's the only goldfish in a 20 gallon tank.
I haven't introduced anything new to the tank (no plants, no new fish, no decorations), everything is "business as usual".
We replenish the water about every 2-3 weeks, about 20% of the tank. I treat the new water with 1 teaspoon Seachem Neutral Regulator + 1 teaspoon Seachem Discus buffer (adjusts ph to 5.8-6.8).
We have an automatic fish feeder that delivers a pinch of goldfish flakes (Tetrafin brand) in the morning, once per day.
The aquarium has a bubble system, and a heater set to 76F.
I did the water tests right now using an API test kit.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 60. This seems a bit high, but my understanding is it's a lot less damaging than high ammonia or nitrites.
Today, I added 4 teaspoons of aquarium salt and a few drops of Prime as an emergency measure, and increased the heater temp to 79F. I also stopped the automatic feeder and will give him some frozen peas in a day.
Is there anything else I can do? He looks really miserable and I'm very worried about losing him.
Thank you, really appreciate advice on this.