Goldfish with Burst Stomach

[vedder9]

Roger that. Should I continue to do the Kanaplex once the Medigold arrives? I'm guessing it's okay to do both, but I'd hate to overdo the meds for the poor guy.

I'll go order that right now as well as a couple of those sponge filters and testers for the ammonia. Hopefully the bio-bandage shows up in the next couple days as well.

As usual, thanks for pointing me in the right directions.

 

[jlk]

Nope, when you get the med food stop dosing and do atleast 2 big waters to remove the meds from the tank. Start the med food the following day. Your other fish doesn't need to be medicated but you will need to figure out how to feed the sick fish the food without the other guy eating it. A clean sheet of plastic, a plastic lid from a storage bin or even a clean cookie sheet will work to keep them separate for mealtime.

 

[vedder9]

Sounds great. I ordered the filters, food, and ammonia test kit. The kit should be here Thursday, so I will post my findings then. Stay tuned...

 

[vedder9]

The ammonia testing kit arrived today. It doesn't appear to be too far off. It is sitting right around 0.25 mg/L. I see that it wants it to be at 0.0, but considering the test goes up to 8.0 I figure it could be far worse.

This evening I will do a decent water change and put another dose of the Kanaplex in.

Anything else I should be doing while I wait for the Medigold and sponge filters to arrive?

 

[jlk]

Sounds good! You will want to check your tap too so you know what you are putting in your tank. As long as your tap is zero, a wc will drop the ammonia level further. Try to keep amm/nitrite as close to zero as reasonably possible.

 

[vedder9]

Well, looks like we may have an issue... The tap water is testing out between 0.50 and 1.0. I've tested it twice now just to make sure.

It is late enough that the local pet stores aren't open any more, so I'm going to hold off on today's water change and pick up something like Seachem Prime tomorrow after work to address that. Would that be a wise idea?

 

[Teakwood]

Well, looks like we may have an issue... The tap water is testing out between 0.50 and 1.0. I've tested it twice now just to make sure.

It is late enough that the local pet stores aren't open any more, so I'm going to hold off on today's water change and pick up something like Seachem Prime tomorrow after work to address that. Would that be a wise idea?

My tap was 1 as well. You could either consider buying the big bottles of filtered water and cutting with that. Prime detoxifies ammonia for 24 hours I think the bottle says. So it makes the ammonia safe for fish, if you do small daily water changes or every 2 days I think you will be okay until the tank finishes cycling.

 

[Teakwood]

Never mind about cycling I forgot about the no filter yet part. Just keep it as low as you can and you should be okay

 

[vedder9]

Yesterday was a good day as far as the Postal Service goes. The Medigold, Bio-Bandage, and sponge filters arrived. I ran down to the store to get some Prime, did a 50% water change, put the bio-bandage on my friend, and then installed the sponge filters after removing the air-bar that I had in there.

So far so good. The little guy still looks great aside from where the infection is. Still breathing incredibly fast and still avoiding regular food, but perhaps he will like the Medigold more once Monday morning rolls around.

Anything you guys think I'm missing? The filters appear to be happy. One is about 3"x3" and the other is about 3"x6".

I'm planning on applying the Bio-Bandage each morning and then once Monday rolls around I'll find a way to keep the two guys apart so that I can try feeding this guy his meds. Not sure how that will go, but so far he has been great about all the trouble he's had to go through, so maybe he will enjoy it. Who knows.

Once I see him away from his corner I'll try to get another picture to see if you guys think things are looking better, worse, or the same.

 

[jlk]

Good luck!! Keep us on how everything is going. Let's try to address the infection and water quality issues first- the heavy breathing does concern me but he has a lot going on right now so hopefully this will improve as things stabilize and he gets his meds. If it doesn't, then this is something that can be addressed further.

 

[Scottyhorse]

I also have some tips.
When you can, purchase a 40-55 gallon tank. This will help A LOT with water quality.
Plus, I liquid test kit would be very useful, because they are faaaarrrr more accurate than test strips. But they are better than nothing

Good luck with your goldie!

 

[vedder9]

I got a chance to get a better shot of the dude's infection. This is after putting on some of the Bio-Bandage, but it does look better to me. However, the one thing that was odd this morning that hasn't been there previously is a slime type substance on my hand after applying the new coat of Bio-Bandage.

Obviously, I changed quite a few things around yesterday with the new filters, the discontinuation of hydrogen peroxide, and the addition of the Bio-Bandage, so perhaps that is normal. He doesn't appear to be any different himself, but I did find it odd.

Anyway, I'll change out a bit more water today and then tomorrow start the Medigold.

Here is how he looks today. Not sure why it is coming up upside down, but it still serves its purpose I suppose.

 

[vedder9]

I also have some tips.
When you can, purchase a 40-55 gallon tank. This will help A LOT with water quality.
Plus, I liquid test kit would be very useful, because they are faaaarrrr more accurate than test strips. But they are better than nothing

Good luck with your goldie!

Thanks. I do plan to upgrade their home eventually, but this house of mine requires more work before I will have money sitting around to spend on such things as well as having a better location for them. For now they will have to settle, but hopefully in the next year or two I will be able to relocate them to a more luxurious home.

 

[Candiceg]

Check out Craigslist. You can get some great deals and even free tanks sometimes

 

[Teakwood]

He looks really good. As far as slimy, a slime coat is normal and should be a sign of a healthy fish.

 

[jlk]

I got a chance to get a better shot of the dude's infection. This is after putting on some of the Bio-Bandage, but it does look better to me. However, the one thing that was odd this morning that hasn't been there previously is a slime type substance on my hand after applying the new coat of Bio-Bandage.

Obviously, I changed quite a few things around yesterday with the new filters, the discontinuation of hydrogen peroxide, and the addition of the Bio-Bandage, so perhaps that is normal. He doesn't appear to be any different himself, but I did find it odd.

Anyway, I'll change out a bit more water today and then tomorrow start the Medigold.

Here is how he looks today. Not sure why it is coming up upside down, but it still serves its purpose I suppose.

Yes, he is improving! I don't see any of the white fungus/growths out of the sore anymore and it looks way less red and angry looking.

You should feel a bit of sliminess on your hand after picking him up. Nothing extreme or dripping off or anything crazy. If you didn't feel this picking him earlier in your endeavor to get him healthy, this indicates he had little to no slime coat and it made him vulnerable to infection & fungus. A fish shouldn't feel rough or dry- they should be slippery & slimy. Simply put, this coat of mucous is what keeps most of the bad stuff out and the good stuff in so a fish can survive happily and healthily in the water. Keep up the good work & keep us posted!

 

[vedder9]

As expected, he wasn't a fan of the idea of eating. I put a couple of the Medigold pellets in on his side of the tank after dividing it and they are still there after being gone at work all day. Any thoughts?

If he is doing better as far as the sliminess goes, should I take that as a sign of things getting slightly better and go back to using the Kanaplex and doing water changes every couple days to see if that puts him in a better mood?

 

[jlk]

Has he been eating anything at all? I am surprised he didnt try this stuff- I have never had a fish refuse it before. Give him until tomorrow. If he still isnt eating, redose the kanaplex.

 

[vedder9]

Will do. Also, I feel I should mention that he seems to have something best described as a twitch. He has been in the same spot that he was in when I left this morning and I can definitely verify that he hasn't yet moved since getting home from work a few hours ago.

About once every 10 to 15 seconds he makes a movement that is similar to how he would move if he were trying to swim, but he's pointed to the corner of the tank and only moves like this for a split second. Should I be concerned?

 

[jlk]

Ikes. I dont like the sound of this. How do the parameters look?