Sick Goldfish (Bob)

[gdiggy1999]

I have recently been struggling with my fancy goldfish Bob. He is fairly resilient for a goldfish, but over the past three weeks he has had various health scares that are very concerning to me. Bob has struggled with swim bladder disease for practically all of his life, although I switched his food after realizing this to non-floating pellets. This is a condition that I haven't been able to totally fix, but have tried to mitigate, and he usually is able to right himself for the majority of the day. However, I found him gasping on the bottom of the tank about three weeks ago. After researching, I thought he might be having oxygen deprivations, so I put a bubbler in the tank and cleaned the tank so that there was no algae competing for oxygen. He recovered quickly after this, but about a week later, it seems that we over-oxygenated the 5.5 gal tank, (I know this is kind of small, but he had seemed to be doing okay in it until now). I took the bubbler out, and he seemed fine for about another week. During this time, I changed his water out, and replaced it with conditioned water and tested the pH, seeing that it was fine. However, after changing the water, I noticed he developed ammonia scarring, leading me to believe there were also high levels of ammonia in the water before being changed. Yesterday, I found Bob upside down on the bottom of the tank barely breathing. I put the bubbler back in again, thinking it might be reduced oxygen levels, but that didn't affect anything. I re-tested the pH, and I found the water to be extremely alkaline (~7.6). This is higher than usual, but I know that goldfish are supposed to be able to tolerate this high of a pH. I am wondering if I should attempt to lower the pH or whether there is another problem that I am not seeing? I am also concerned because he's undergone a lot of stress over the past few weeks, so it is unclear where exactly the source of the issue is. I am very distraught, as I feel I am catching each issue too late and would be so appreciative if anyone has any advice.

(The first picture attached is what he looks like normally. The second shows his ammonia scarring The third shows his current situation)

 

[SaraB]

I would put him in a bigger tank asap. You need to be doing large water changes multiple times a week in a tank that small. Leave the bubbler in too.

 

[gdiggy1999]

Thank you for your responses. Unfortunately Bob passed away last night I appreciate your help.

 

[SaraB]

Sorry to hear that. Losing a pet is always hard.

If you want a new fish better suited to that sized tank I reccomend a single betta. They are smart and friendly like goldfish. Especially the female bettas. Just make sure you have a heater.