Help!! - Goldfish disease

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SSeagal

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
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2
So I think I'm having the same problem.... Has anybody found a reliable cure?

My goldfish is completely lethargic. Hasn't eaten in days. It started with black spots. Then white spots. Now red blotches. The black spots are gone, as well as the white spots.

I changed the water. But the water might be too cold (70F). I think i'm going to get an adjustable heater tomorrow.

I used some copper salt but he really didn't like it.


red_spots.jpg
 
SSeagal, I split this off the old thread, since you will not get many people looking at a year old thread.

As to what is happening, more info will help ... Fish age, size, tank size, water parameters, etc. And how long has this been going on? How long have you had the fish?

Without more info, I am just guessing.
 
Thanks for the help...

Not sure how old he is, but I've had him for 7 months.

He was in a 2 gal bowl w/o a filter, but I just moved him into a 3 gallon with a filter since he started getting sick. I got him a non-adjustable heater, but I think I'm going to return it for a better one. Temp is now at 72, but I think it got colder than that when he got sick. So all this happened over the past week.
 
2 gal without a filter is not suitable for goldfish. The usual recommendation is 20 gal minimum .... you might be able to manage one or 2 fancy in a 10 when small, but you will need constant checking & fiddling with the tank to keep that stable.

Do you have a test kit? It is impossible to manage a small tank with goldfish without testing. <And I would recommend a liquid test kit, likt the API.>

When you move him to the 3 gal, did you move everything? substrate, decor, etc.

A tank need to "cycle" before suitable for fish. <Cycle means the establishment of bacterial colony - aka the biofilter - to handle fish waste. Read up on it in the articles section if you are not familiar.>

Without the bacteria, the tank accumulates ammonia, and that is toxic. Ammonia burns the fish, that likely accounts for the black marks you saw. If the ammonia burns gets infected, they can turn white. Possible, that is what your white spots are, or perhaps you have ick or some other parasite brought on by the stress.

The red spots on the pic don't look like costia to me, although this might be an early case that had not spread to the typical areas. I would think that some form of bacterial infection is more likely.

However, I think a lot of the problems are brought on because of water quality issues. i would suggest you test the water (or have it tested at a lfs) to see where you are at in the cycling process. In the meantime, do a large pwc. <Goldfish in a cycling small tank typically need 50% change daily. Some go as far as 100% change daily in a hospital tank - ie the tub-to-tub method.>

Without clean water, you are not going to be able to manage the fish well. Once you ge the water parameters under control, you might consider treating with an antibiotic food if the spots are not getting better. And you will need to seriously consider a bigger tank if you want to keep goldfish long term. <Do you know that your fantail can live up to 7-10 years & get to 8+" under good condition?>
 
It's essential you buy a test kit and test the water to see whats happening. Otherwise it's like trying to drive wearing a blindfold.

As others have said 11 litres is impossibly small for a goldfish, they require the biggest water capacity of just about any aquarium fish and yet are commonly regarded as requiring the least.

I certainly thought 6 months ago you could keep a goldfish in a quite small tank and it would be fine.

Also when I was starting out I dismissed the "you need a bigger tank" people as scaremongers, but they weren't wrong!
 

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