Problem with Goldfish

[equinecpa]

I've had a 30 gallon cube set up for Goldfish for about a year now. I've had several goldfish over the year and today one that I had for about 11 months perished.

They all have died of the same symptoms: They start bottom sitting then perish.

I believe the tank water tests pretty well. Here are todays parameters:

PH-7.6
Temp: 76
Nitrates: 12.5
KH - 9.9
Ammonia = 0

I quarantine new additions and also treat them with prazi-pro to eliminate parasites. Other tankmates include 5 white mountain minnows, a lone female guppy and lots of cherry shrimp and MTS snails. The tank is also planted.

The tank is filtered by a fluval 204 with a bubbler in their for oxygen. I rinse the filter media about once a month. I was formerly changing about 5 gallons of water a week but when I noticed this goldfish bottom sitting I upped it to 10 gallons a week (since the beginning of the year).

I feed a homemade gel goldfish board as well as peas about 1x every 10 days.

I don't understand why I can't keep the goldfish. Can anyone see anything I'm doing wrong? I should perhaps mention the cherry shrimp population and the snail population have exploded in the last month - I was wondering could this be overstocking the tank? I'd think if the tank was overstocked I'd see the other creatures suffering too?

Anyone see anything wrong here? I'd love to keep some goldfish long term!

Carolyn

 

[mfdrookie516]

what kind of goldfish have you been trying to keep?

 

[equinecpa]

This one was a calico fantail the others were orandas.

 

[DragonFish71]

A poster on here named jsoong is great with goldfish questions, hopefully he'll catch this and have some ideas too.

 

[mfdrookie516]

yes, jsoong is a goldfish guy. if anything, do a member search and send him a private message, he'll be able to help you figure out whats going on

 

[jsoong]

You guys has far too much faith in me!!! I don't see anything really wrong in the setup, water parameters, etc.

Although a 30 cube isn't the best for goldfish - not as much surface area vs water volume - it should be adequate for a couple of fantails.

How big are the goldfish (and numbers of fish). It is possible that there is a bioload problem, but zero ammonia & low nitrates would make that less likely.

What other symptoms are you seeing, apart from bottom sitting. <Sitting at the bottom is basically the end stage of any disease.> Was the fish growing? Was it getting skinny? any spots, lumps, bumps? Any behavior changes prior?

It is possible that there is some chronic disease lurking in the tank population, such as fish tb or maybe various koi/goldfish virus. Without an autopsy, and cultures/ microscopic exams, that would be just a guess ....

 

[equinecpa]

The goldfish have ranged from 1" to 2" in body size. Most goldfish ever in tank at same time would be 3. Except for this one they all seemed to last about 3 months. And then there are the 5 white mountain minnows who have been in there almost a year now...they don't seem affected by whatever is getting the goldfish.

They eat well, look good, and then I'll see them bottom sit...and that will be the beginning of the end. Some will bottom sit for about a month and then die others it was just a few days. It's very disheartening as I try to be a good fish caretaker.

Someone on a goldfish board suggested flukes. I have praziproed the tank a couple of times but they said you have to dose much stronger than the instructions on the bottle indicate. Do you think this sounds like it could be flukes?

If it were flukes why wouldn't the white clouds get them? As far as strange goldfish diseases are there any symptoms to those??

Thanks - I'd like to figure this out before I add anything else to the tank.

 

[jsoong]

I normally use prazi in food. You gets much higher levels & better results than using it in the water.

Did the fish grow while in your tank? Generally 1" goldfish are frys & will grow rapidly. In 3-4 months, they should double in length. Goldfish that is not growing likely have something to start with. Although internal parasites are most common, you should be able to get rid of that with Prazi. So if you ahve treated with Prazi in QT, i would think flukes are less likely. The other possiblility is fish tb. The fish will be skinny & won't grow & waste away in a few months. Unfortunately, there is no good treatment. <Diagnosis is by autopsy/biopsy ... you look for lumps - granulomas - in the organs & microscopic exam for AFB - acid fast bacteria.>

Did you get all your fish from the same source? It is possible that there is a problem with the fish stock and you are getting fish that is already infected.

Because of the way commercial breeders treat their goldfish, a lot of them are unhealthy. You might try switching fish store (or better yet, get it from a local hobbyist/breeder). And be very picky on what fish you get. You might also consider getting a bigger specimen ... The 2"+ are generally better quality. They have survived the initial 3-4 months, and are better looked after. The small 1/2 - 1" are often culls & are treated as disposable by the lfs.