All of my goldfish get dropsy and I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

[Naughts]

Not sure what repashy gel food is?

Google says it is krill, spirulina and flies.

 

[Naughts]

I declorinate the water everytime I add it but I add the dechlorinator before the water and then wait 15 minutes before turning the filter on. I saw a solid gold video where she did that

Not related to your fish deaths (I'm thinking that is due to the squashed short bodies), but I don't understand why wait 15 minutes? My thinking would be to have the filter running to mix the dechlorinator.

 

[Essjay]

This is the water report. Is there anything more information I could be missing?

Is that all your water company gives? Mine lists a lot more parameters than just hardness and sodium.

 

[GaryE]

This is a "fine line" posting, but you probably can't blame the store or much other than fashion, really. A practical approach with designer fish is to look for the ones that are slightly less designed. In a competitive market, breeders push the possibilities to create novelties, and fish welfare isn't a consideration. With some fish, they've crossed the line into non-viable, and buying those fish becomes an exercise in frustration, and frankly, sadness.
If you really like the short bodies and odd fins, always choose the fish that swims best in the tank. If it's a Betta, forget how big the fins are and look for the activity levels. Watch out for wobbler goldfish, and choose the slightly less cool looking one that can get to the food and maybe even digest it in spite of the compressed intestines.
Fancy goldfish aren't easy to keep, and they sure aren't the ones my great grandfather used to breed in the backyard. Fancy goldfish can be hard to simply keep alive. Their way larger relatives are tough if they have enough space, and live for decades, but fancies can really struggle, and make their keepers struggle with them.

 

[Fantail328]

Yes, it contains spirulina. The peas are good too.
Cute fish

Thank you!!

 

[Fantail328]

Not sure what repashy gel food is?
Are the eggs cooked or raw?

I would look at changing the diet, especially considering this is happening to all your goldfish, including new ones.
Use a basic goldfish pellet or flake once a day. Use small pellets not big pellets.

Add marine mix (contains prawn, fish and squid) or make up your own. Raw prawn is good.

Add some plant matter like blended up spinach. You can also feed them pumpkin, zucchini and peas. Blanch or partially boil the plant matter to soften it up and make it more digestible for the fish. Remove the skin from these items and don't feed the fish the skin.

Grow duckweed (floating plant) and other soft leaf aquatic plants like Ambulia in the tank for them to eat.

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10% water changes don't do anything. If you want to reduce chemicals and pollutants in the water, do 50-75% water changes.

If you do a 10% water change each week you leave behind 90% of the bad stuff in the water.
If you do a 25% water change each week you leave behind 75% of the bad stuff in the water.
If you do a 50% water change each week you leave behind 50% of the bad stuff in the water.
If you do a 75% water change each week you leave behind 25% of the bad stuff in the water.

If you only have 1 or 2 fish in the tank, they won't be producing much in the way of anti-growth hormones and a 75% water change once or twice a week should be sufficient to keep the water clean and any hormone levels very low. Most anti-growth hormones produced by fish are produced during the first 3 months of a fish's life. If the goldfish are more than 1 inch long (not including the tail) they are probably over 3 months of age.


If you have a 20 litre bucket for the fish, add enough dechlorinator to treat 20 litres of water, to the bucket. Fill the bucket with tap water and aerate it for at least 5 (preferably 30) minutes. Then use that water to fill the tank.

If you only have chlorine in your tap water, then you can fill buckets with tap water and let them stand for a couple of days to allow the chlorine to come out of the water by itself. Aerating the water helps speed this process up, as does having the bucket of water out in the sun where the ultra violet (UV) light gets rid of the chlorine. Although the UV levels in the UK are pretty low so I would use aeration or a dechlorinator.

I looked online and the ingredients of the repashy gel food are - Krill Meal, Spirulina Algae, Black Soldier Fly Larvae Meal, Chlorella Algae, Squid Meal, Dandelion Leaf, Seaweed Meal, Whole Egg, Pea Protein Isolate, Rice Protein Concentrate, Banana Powder, Brewer’s Dried Yeast, Mussel Meal, Mango Powder, Lecithin, Locust Bean Gum, Citric Acid, Stinging Nettle, Garlic, Ginger, Cinnamon, Dried Kelp, Phaffia Yeast, Dried Watermelon, RoseHips, Hibiscus Flower, Marigold Flower, Paprika, Turmeric, Salt, Calcium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate (as preservatives), Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Manganese Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Copper Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate. Vitamins: (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Calcium L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex).

I always cooked the eggs and only fed them the egg whites.

Yeah ill start changing the diet and thank you for all the advice it's really helpful!! I didn't realise 10% water changes weren't enough and about the hormones either. I'll also start treating the water in the bucket too and yeah we barely get any light here in the UK especially in the winter it gets dark by 3pm these days.

Thank you again for all the advice I really appriciate it!!

 

[Fantail328]

Not related to your fish deaths (I'm thinking that is due to the squashed short bodies), but I don't understand why wait 15 minutes? My thinking would be to have the filter running to mix the dechlorinator.

4 years ago a pets at home employee told me it takes 15 minutes for the dechlorinator to work but I'm not 100% sure how accurate that is.

 

[Fantail328]

Is that all your water company gives? Mine lists a lot more parameters than just hardness and sodium.

Yeash but I could contact them and see if I could get more infomation if it helps.

 

[Fantail328]

This is a "fine line" posting, but you probably can't blame the store or much other than fashion, really. A practical approach with designer fish is to look for the ones that are slightly less designed. In a competitive market, breeders push the possibilities to create novelties, and fish welfare isn't a consideration. With some fish, they've crossed the line into non-viable, and buying those fish becomes an exercise in frustration, and frankly, sadness.
If you really like the short bodies and odd fins, always choose the fish that swims best in the tank. If it's a Betta, forget how big the fins are and look for the activity levels. Watch out for wobbler goldfish, and choose the slightly less cool looking one that can get to the food and maybe even digest it in spite of the compressed intestines.
Fancy goldfish aren't easy to keep, and they sure aren't the ones my great grandfather used to breed in the backyard. Fancy goldfish can be hard to simply keep alive. Their way larger relatives are tough if they have enough space, and live for decades, but fancies can really struggle, and make their keepers struggle with them.

Yeah that's so sad. I always loved the really 'chubby' fish because I find them so cute but it's not worth it if theyre lifespan is shortened and they're weak. As much as I love goldfish I think I might take a break from them and start keeping hardier fish which won't suffer as much.

 

[Fantail328]

Firstly, thanks to everyone who has been incolved with this post because I have learned a lot and it has really helped to be able to talk to people about it.
Also I haven't been as active because of christmas and work but the red goldfish who I thought was healthy seems to have popeye. I have been treating her with Octozin but if she doesn't make it I was wondering if I should send her to a uiniversity to have her examined so I can find out the exact cause.

 

[StandbySetting]

Not related to your fish deaths (I'm thinking that is due to the squashed short bodies), but I don't understand why wait 15 minutes? My thinking would be to have the filter running to mix the dechlorinator.

My guess would be to allow the dechlorinator to work, which makes no odds anyway as from a chemistry point of view the reaction is near instantaneous, just swish the water round with your hands.

Tap water has dissolved CO2 also to prevent pipe corrosion, the 30 mins would allow it to gas off, but again it's not something I would worry about personally, CO2 is incredibly unstable in water, a quick swish with your hand will get rid of most of it, not that any shifts in pH due to carbonic acid are going to cause problems, unless your GH/KH is 0.

 

[Colin_T]

Dechlorinators work as soon as the dechlorinating agent (sodium thiosulphate) comes into contact with chlorine or chloramine molecules. However, it can take time for the dechlorinator to come into contact with these molecules and aerating the solution (water & dechlorinator) for at least 5 (preferably 30) minutes will allow the dechlorinator to come into contact with all the chlorine and to neutralise it.

Aerating the water also gets the dissolved gasses back into the water at normal levels.

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I looked online and the ingredients of the repashy gel food are - Krill Meal, Spirulina Algae, Black Soldier Fly Larvae Meal, Chlorella Algae, Squid Meal, Dandelion Leaf, Seaweed Meal, Whole Egg, Pea Protein Isolate, Rice Protein Concentrate, Banana Powder, Brewer’s Dried Yeast, Mussel Meal, Mango Powder, Lecithin, Locust Bean Gum, Citric Acid, Stinging Nettle, Garlic, Ginger, Cinnamon, Dried Kelp, Phaffia Yeast, Dried Watermelon, RoseHips, Hibiscus Flower, Marigold Flower, Paprika, Turmeric, Salt, Calcium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate (as preservatives), Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Manganese Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Copper Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate. Vitamins: (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Calcium L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex).

The list of ingredients looks like something people should be eating, not fish. The items in bold are worth feeding to fish. The other stuff belongs in a health food shop because fish can't digest most of it. That stuff might be contributing to the problem of your fish bloating up.

As for boiled egg, you can feed the yolk or white. I normally just use the yolk and give the white to the dogs.

 

[StevenF]

Tap water has dissolved CO2 also to prevent pipe corrosion, the 30 mins would allow it to gas off

TheCO2 does not prevent pipe corrosion. Elevated CO2 levels are common in well water. Also when Chlorine is added to to the water to sterilize it some will react with the carbonates in the water releasing more CO2. Since water is in pipes it stays in the water. It starts to outgas when it comes out of the tap.

Typically to avoid corrosion utilities add compound to increase the PH of the water. That can be a mix of calcium magessnium sodium and potassium hydroxides and carbonates. And in some cases phosphate compounds are added.

 

[Fantail328]

Dechlorinators work as soon as the dechlorinating agent (sodium thiosulphate) comes into contact with chlorine or chloramine molecules. However, it can take time for the dechlorinator to come into contact with these molecules and aerating the solution (water & dechlorinator) for at least 5 (preferably 30) minutes will allow the dechlorinator to come into contact with all the chlorine and to neutralise it.

Aerating the water also gets the dissolved gasses back into the water at normal levels.

-------------------

The list of ingredients looks like something people should be eating, not fish. The items in bold are worth feeding to fish. The other stuff belongs in a health food shop because fish can't digest most of it. That stuff might be contributing to the problem of your fish bloating up.

As for boiled egg, you can feed the yolk or white. I normally just use the yolk and give the white to the dogs.

That would make so much sense! I actually started having the problems with dropsy around the same time I started giving them this food but I didn't reallise it could be the cause of it!

 

[Colin_T]

The food might not be the cause, but it is where I would start. Get the fish onto a bland basic diet with no added anything. Then see how they do. It's a bit like people with food intolerances, You remove everything from the diet except the very basics and slowly add new foods every month to see how they go. With the fish, put them on a basic food and see if it helps. Then slowly add new foods one at a time. If they still have problems after that, then we look at other things like a dirty tank or filter, or getting fish from a different shop.