New Goldfish Staying Near Bottom

[bengoshi2000]

Tank: 46g bowfront up for 2 weeks. Upgraded from a fully cycled 29g. Filters, media, substrate, decorations all transferred from the 29g. The 29 had been up for 16 months.

Filters: 3 x Tetra Whisper in-tank, 145 gph each. One is new, added during upgrade, two were brought over from the cycled 29g.

Parameters: Ammonia=0, Nitrite=0, Nitrate<20. Last PWC was yesterday about 60%. Tested with API Master Liquid.

Food: Omega One Medium sinking pellets, 10-12 twice daily. Every 4th or 5th feeding they get a dozen blanched, shelled green peas.

Fish: Three Orandas, 4.5 in, 4 in and 3.5 in. The larger two had been in the 29g for 3 months and were transferred over. The little guy is new and was added 10 days ago.

When I added the new guy, O.J., he was drip acclimated for a little less than 2 hours. Parameters at that time were 0/0/10. No, I did not quarantine him as I don't have a QT tank.

Anyhow, when first introduced O.J., he was well-received by the other two. They would all alternately swim in a close formation or just do their own thing sifting gravel (rounded, pea-size river rock). No aggression.

I first noticed a problem with O.J. on Sunday, 12/18. He was hanging in the lower left rear corner of the tank, just hovering about a half inch over the substrate. Fins were not clamped. He comes out to eat and will occasionally swim around with the others, then he goes back to the corner.

The next day he was doing the same so I checked the parameters and found Ammonia and Nitrite to be 0, but Nitrate was 40. I did a 60% pwc that got the Nitrate under 20. He's still hanging out in the corner. He still comes out to eat and he's pooping as best as I can tell.

His tank mates, The Digger and Mr. Pigg, are acting perfectly normal and have "jazz fins" nearly all the time.

I haven't noticed anything odd about O.J.'s appearance. No red streaks in fins, no worms, normal gill color... nothing that makes me think he's ill. He just hangs in that corner and, well, looks unhappy. The leading spine of his dorsal fin is bent (it was that way at the lfs when I bought him), so it's hard to say if he's keeping it down... but when the food comes out his dorsal fin perks right up.

Am I being an overly cautious, fretting parent or is there something here I need to worry about?

 

[jlk]

Hi! Thanks for all the great information on your guys!! It makes helping you alot easier! Your water looks fine & your fish appreciate you being viligant on their care & well-being. I recall your post about how well your other fish were treating the new guy. Ok, so do trust your lfs? Are any of their fish sick (or dead) that you have noticed? Most stores run on a central filter system so 1 sick fish means all of the fish have been exposed to the same illness/disease. Because he was not quarantined, we really do not know what he may (or may not) have. The best approach is simply going to be wait & see. Nothing wrong with being a fretting parent (i do the same thing!)!! If he starts displaying any unusual symptoms (beyond just moping in the corner) such as you mentioned-not eating, floatiness, discolorations of his scales, strange poop, etc then its time to worry! I believe he is just adjusting to his new home & water & diet. I purchased a fish 2 1/2 wks ago from a breeder- it took her 2 full weeks before she came out of the corner of her tank & actually started swimming & eating! So, lets just give him some time & see if anything changes!!! Nothing wrong with worrying!

 

[Dwohlge1]

+1 give him some time keep a close eye. Keep your water pristine while he adjusts.

 

[bengoshi2000]

Well yesterday evening OJ was swimming about with a 5-6" poo streamer. Going to two full days of feeding peas to see if that will clear up the constipation.

 

[jlk]

What type of food do you feed (brand, floating/sinking)? Daily veggies are a good idea with goldies in general but def let us know if the peas help!

 

[Dwohlge1]

What type of food do you feed (brand, floating/sinking)? Daily veggies are a good idea with goldies in general but def let us know if the peas help!

+1 I have a veggie clip and give blanched spinach daily. Peas twice a week as a treat. Spinach does wonders!

When my Oranda got constipated I did twice daily Epsom salt baths. This is the advice I was given.

"Yes I thought that too. You could give him a 30min bath in Epsom salt. Dose is 1/8 of a teaspoon per 2 liter of tank water for 30 minutes. A friend of mine does it twice a day if needed, daily until improvement. Some dont even poop right away on those bath which should be continued in those cases.

In case you dont know, Epsom is magnesium sulphate and you can get it at the supermarket or chemist."

Worked like a charm!

 

[bengoshi2000]

From above: omega one medium sinking pellets.

Based on some advice I got over at Koko's GF, I've salted the tank to .1% and have ordered some hikari prazipro. They are of the opinion that a mild case of gill flukes is likely to blame since OJ was fine for well over a week before he started this corner sitting business.

Tank was actually salted about 24 hours before I found the poo streamer so I'm guessing that helped somewhat with the constipation. I've got Epsom salt, but I'm going to hold off on that for now since I have other treatments in the works.

OJ is much happier, and behaves normal when the tank light is off, so I'm limiting the light to only a couple of hours/day. That being said, even when he's moping in his corner he will come out for food and will greet me at the glass... but he goes back to the corner after a couple of minutes.

 

[jlk]

Thanks for information! I dont believe its gill flukes but thats just my personal opinion. I would be more apt to suspect an internal parasite first. I would consider switching to a higher quality food as well- Hikari makes excellent goldfish foods that are breed specific as well. Let us know how everything works out for you!

 

[bengoshi2000]

UPDATE 12/29:

Well... my prazi won't be here until the 4th. Fortunately, OJ has been spending less time in his corner since I've dropped the lighting from 8 to 2 hours/day. When he does come out, he's rooting in the gravel and acting very normal (aside from the light aversion). He's a bit skittish about sudden movements outside the tank... he'll shoot back to his corner, then work his way out after 30 seconds or so.

My largest oranda grew his own poo streamer too, sooo...

I decided to follow the blanched spinach advice. The Digger (largest of the three orandas) figured it out pretty quick and ripped off a strip of leaf and began munching away. Mr. Pigg and OJ were less inclined to try the spinach... they'd swim up to it, fake a nibble and then swim off to root in the gravel or nibble at the silk plants. It was funny to watch The Digger swim over to the other two, swim back to the spinach, nibble on it and then swim back over to his tank mates. Like he was saying, "No really guys, this stuff is pretty frakkin' good... c'mon, see for yourself!!" Eventually, the other two got into the act, but I think The Digger got the larger portion of the spinach.

Tank is still salted at .1%.

As far as my pellet food choices, I went with Omega One because it was the best stuff I could put my hands on at the time I acquired my first two orandas. None of my LFS's carry the Hikari breed specific stuff or the New Life Spectrum that I've seen people rave about. I'm going to check out one last LFS tomorrow to see what they have. If no NLS or Hikari, I'm likely going to order some Pro Gold from Goldfish Connection (GoldfishConnection.com - Pro-Gold).

 

[jlk]

Im glad to hear theres been some improvement! Pro-gold is an excellent food as well. I actually have never found any of the Hikari goldfish foods in any of my lfs stores either & always buy them online. Cooked broccoli florets are another good choice for a green veggie to feed- my guys & girls get a few every day & they will spend the entire day picking at them. Good luck & keep us posted!