Sick comets

[natmeebs]

Hello!! I have 2 comet goldfish who are both 6 years old and I think they are diseased. I don’t know what they have, but I noticed it about 2 weeks after introducing a pleco fish that I didn’t quarantine. (I didn’t know I was supposed to at the time . One of my comets became lethargic and was staying at the bottom a lot. (Started 4 days ago.) Its tail has begun to turn a rust color and the top of its spine has started to turn pink. It also swims around erratically. My other comet isn’t as affected, its color has stayed the same, but it has also begun to sit at the bottom of the tank. I at first thought it might be ammonia poisoning but my water parameters are okay. I have the two comets in a quarantine tank right now and my new pleco in another. My pleco isn’t really moving and isn’t eating. My comets will eat and swim around occasionally, but they just keep going to the bottom for 90% of the time. They seem to be taking shallow breaths. I’ve been medicating them with safeguard broad spectrum just since I don’t know what is wrong, and using aquarium salt. I thought maybe ich but they don’t seem to have white spots. I also haven’t been changing the water since I started the medication 2 days ago. Any advice would be great since they don’t seem to be getting any better. I’ve grown attached to my little guys and want them to make it.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Please take a read through the "unhealthy fish" sticky and give as much detail as you are able to the questions.

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/before-posting-about-unhealthy-fish-read-this-32451.html

 

[natmeebs]

Please take a read through the "unhealthy fish" sticky and give as much detail as you are able to the questions.

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/before-posting-about-unhealthy-fish-read-this-32451.html

1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).
- 2 comet goldfish and 1 rubber-lipped pleco. My comets are lethargic, hardly moving and sit at the bottom. One of my comets has a red streaked tail, will swim erratically, and its body looks slightly pink. I also noticed small red dots between the 2 front fins. My other comet doesn’t have any changes look wise but is also sitting at the bottom. My pleco has started to get white streaks on its back and won’t eat.

2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
- nitrates and nitrites are both at zero, temp is 74, ph is around 7.6 and no ammonia. I recently purchased an ammonia drop test that will be here tomorrow to double check.

3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
-tank is 75 gallons and has been set up for about 3 months. Before I had a 55 gallon.

4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.
- Top Fin Silentstream 75 Power Filter, 250 gallons per hour

5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
- 3 fish: 2 comets about 5-6 inches long (longer including tail)and 1 rubber lipped pleco about 2 inches

6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?
- water change every week about 25%. If I go 2 weeks, I change 50%. Last 50% change was 2 days ago(after I suspected ammonia as a possibility) and before that it was 2 weeks ago. I vacuum the gravel as best I can, but I know I don’t get it all 100% with each change.

7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
- I’ve had the comets for 6 years and the pleco for about 2 weeks. I acclimated the pleco to the water for about an hour, but I didn’t quarantine the little guy.

8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?
- I’ve only added the new pleco and one small decoration.

9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?
-no change in their diet. For the comets, it alternates between pellets, flakes, plants, and baby shrimp. For the pleco, I’ve been giving algae tablets.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Can you post some pictures and video of the fish?
Check the pictures on your computer before posting and make sure they are in focus and show the issue.

You can upload videos to YouTube and then copy & paste the link here.
If you use a mobile phone to film the fish, hold the phone horizontally so the footage fills the entire screen. Make the recording about 1 minute long.

If the fish has changed coloured recently due to the issue, can you post some pictures of it from before it changed colour, assuming you have some pictures from before. Just so we can see the colour difference.

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How often and how do you clean the filter?


Re the safeguard broad spectrum. Who makes the stuff and what are the ingredients?
I can't find anything online about it.