Sick Facny Goldfish

I know this is a tropical site, but I was hoping someone could give me some advice on one of my little boys goldfish.

The poor thing is just lying on the bottom of the tank, barely moving. It's in a 21L tank with two other common goldfish.

I've tested the water with my Nutrafin kit and ammonia/nitrite are 0, nitrate is low. The fish has been with us for just over a year, in a tank that's been set up for 18 months. No new fish or anything else have been added recently.

To be honest I think I'm going to have euthanise the poor fellow, as he can't seem to swim to the top and isn't feeding.

This is how he looks...



Thanks for your help.

real sorry to hear and see that pic mate

it does look like a fish in a fair bit of distress, but id wait to see if someone can help you out from here first before you decide what to do

swim bladder? had a few fish have it, i use interpet swim bladder treatment, worked on my molly that had been lying on the bottom for 3 days. worth a try if your only other option is killing it.

How often do you perform water changes?
21L = 5.5 gallons? Is my calculation correct there?
If so your goldfish may be unhappy because he feels like he doesn't have enough room to swim in the tank as you say you have to common goldfish in there. How large are they? Are you sure they have not been picking on him?

Also try feeding him a de-shelled pea. As this may help if he has a stomach problem.

Well goldfish aren't actually a coldwater fish. It's an age old monomer for them thats really not true. They are temperate water fish that prefer temperatures in the middle 70's. A true coldwater fish can't be happy in anything hotter than 68 degrees, like most sturgeon. But back to the point at hand. I don't see what could be wrong with him. Maybe your water quality is bad, can you post test results?

i see alot of algae and dirty water in that pict. how often do you do water changes? goldfish are very messy and need constant 3-5 day water changes

Thanks for the replies.

The water's changed every week, with the last change being 50% two days before the original posting.

Water quality is OK. Ammonia & nitrite are both zero, nitrate was 20ppm.

You could be right about the over crowding, we're going to get new tank when we can afford it.

As suggested I've bought some swim bladder medicine and given the first dose. Now we jsut wait...