Goldfish Dying, Tried Medicine, Wont Work!

[porcelaindreams]

HELP! I don't know what else to do, sigh my goldfish got ick from another fish I added about a month ago, unfortunately the fish died, cleaned the aquarium and treated my goldfish with ick jungle treatment, he recovered, some weeks later he got fin rot, checked the ammonia levels and they were 3.0 at that time. This time I gave him melafix, before that people recommended to make a 30% water change daily so I did. Today my fish is gasping at the bottom of the tank, ammonia levels 3.0 and I can see some red spots over his body, fin rot still the same, this is his third day treatment. I went to the pet shop and they gave me some gravel that go on the filter which would lower the ammonia levels but I dont see any positive reaction.

what else can I do?

More info
2 year goldfish on a 20 gallon tank, aproximately 2 months in the new tank.
-Ich treatment (jungle ich treatment tablets)
-fin rot (melafix)
-ammonia levels 3.0, cant get it any lower even with water changes.(gravels on filter)

 

[techen]

That ammonia level is going to kill that goldfish very quickly. It's pretty much swimming in a tank full of its own waste.

Do you use conditinoer for your water?

 

[porcelaindreams]

I didn't , forgot to mention they gave me stress zyme also, the thing is, the nearest pet shop available is about 1 hour from where I live, local pet shop don't have any medicine or treatment to give him. I only have aquarium salt, stress zyme, melafix and the gravel at the moment

.

He's been living with 3.0 ammonia levels since about two weeks ago, I mention this for the treatments I used and didn't work also, that I dont know how he is still alive with those parameters. Do the water changes really help? or they only stress my goldfish, you mentioned about the water conditioner, he lived on a 5 gallon tank for about 1 year 11 months, always had the same water. I buy that water from the same place ever since and he had never gotten sick until I changed him to the bigger aquarium.

 

[fluttermoth]

You need to do much bigger water changes to reduce the ammonia. That'll do your fish more good than any medicine.

Drain the water right down, leaving just enough room for the fish to swim upright before refilling with temperature matched, dechlorinated water.

Test again after half an hour, and if the ammonia isn't zero, then do another 80/90% water change, the same as before.

You can redose with Melafix or the aquarium salt, once you've reduced the ammonia, but you'll have to test, and possibly water change, every day.

 

[phoenixgsd]

the red spots you see is ammonia burns, the poor thing must be suffering, you need to do huge water changes with temperature matched dechlorinated water, you might have to compensate the ich treatment by balanceing out the treatment and water changes, im not familiar with tablets

 

[mark4785]

Remove the fish from the water gently with a net and place it in a bowl full of dechlorinated water. Perform a 100% W/C on it's home aquarium once or continually until the water has 0 ppm of ammonia and nitrite. The replacement water should of course be dechlorinated each time you are required to add it to reach a 0 ppm reading for ammonia and nitrite.

If you do not have dechlorinator, the fish will die from chlorine/chloramine burns rather than ammonia burns so you need to get some dechlorinator.

If you've never dechlorinated your water, I highly recommend that you install some zeolite filter media which removes ammonia from the water. You should never use salt with zeolite as it will secrete any ammonia it has absorbed in the presence of salt.

Until you have done the above, adding medication will have no effect due to the stressors posed by water quality.

 

[porcelaindreams]

If you've never dechlorinated your water, I highly recommend that you install some zeolite filter media which removes ammonia from the water. You should never use salt with zeolite as it will secrete any ammonia it has absorbed in the presence of salt.

some good news! I installed the zeolite filter media on friday, but as I said I dont have any positive reaction, ammonia is still high, they told me on the petshop that it would work, does it take a lot to work? and other question, by changing water do my goldfish stress? unfortunately the nearest petshop with medicine or something to help with water is about an hour from here, so its hard to go. Local petshop dont handle aquarium treatments or anything to do with small species.
thank you! the zeolite then gives me hope!

 

[mark4785]

If you've never dechlorinated your water, I highly recommend that you install some zeolite filter media which removes ammonia from the water. You should never use salt with zeolite as it will secrete any ammonia it has absorbed in the presence of salt.

some good news! I installed the zeolite filter media on friday, but as I said I dont have any positive reaction, ammonia is still high, they told me on the petshop that it would work, does it take a lot to work? and other question, by changing water do my goldfish stress? unfortunately the nearest petshop with medicine or something to help with water is about an hour from here, so its hard to go. Local petshop dont handle aquarium treatments or anything to do with small species.
thank you! the zeolite then gives me hope!

Generally, when you do a large water change it will stress the fish because the replacement water may have a difference in: hardness, PH, temperature etc. However, where the water of the tank is unsuitable (i.e. where it has a high ammonia concentration) my advise is to remove as much of it has possible (i.e. 95-100%) due to the fact that ammonia is deadly to fish.

I once removed a 15cm Koi from my garden pond in the middle of winter because it had lost it's balance and was getting knotted up in blanketweed. I placed it in a 20 litre aquarium and did 100% W/C's every day and placed a zeolite bag next to its filter in-take. It suffered in no shape or form from the 100% W/C and wasn't even bothered when it jumped out of the tank and onto the kitchen table for a few seconds! 3 Years on, and the fish is 25cm and very healthy in its pond. So in summary, massive W/C's can do your fish a huge favour in emergency situations where doing a massive W/C will improve it's chances of survival.

With regards to zeolite dosage, you should be aiming to add 120g of it per 50 litres (see the dosing instructions here: http/www.waterlife.co.uk/waterlife/ammoclear.htm ). Never add more than the recommended level as zeolite exchanges ammonia for sodium which, while not lethal, is not a great thing to have in your aquarium water in high levels.

 

[porcelaindreams]

finally good news! i moved him to his old 5 gallon tank (only to clean the 20 gal tank 100% water change and to add again the zeolite bag) and he looks better! he keeps moving like he used to and searching for food, I know the size of the tank is not the proper, but he seems so happy and full of life in that small tank. Iam really scared to move him back to his big tank, ammonia is now .5 still somehow high but not mortal high like it used to. Thanks for the advice! ill put some pictures of him here on his big tank when the temperature is proper for him water is really cold, (60 F) still waiting for it to be better with the heater.

NEWS! .. ok so I moved him back to his 20 gal tank.. I mentioned he seemed to be better and moving everywhere on his small tank, but just when I changed him to his bigger tank, he stopped moving and went to a corner of the tank, Iam clueless about his attitude, water temperature is currently 68 F . What could it be? like he was afraid or something, the thing is its not the first time on that tank and the very first time I put him there he moved everywhere. now he's just still.. could it be something on the tank? please help, iam worried, he're are some pictures that might help somehow to understand me better. PLEASE HELP! this seems nonsense to me!

 

[porcelaindreams]

bump, help please

 

[DreamertK]

Keep taking most of the water out of the 20g tank and putting new water in, multiple times a day.

Your cells make ammonia or NH3 from their diet. NH3 is very poisonous to our human cells (as well as fish cells) so we transport it to our kidneys to our bladder to get rid of it. Fish in nature live in water that is continuously changing so fish never has to worry about just peeing in the water. Now the fish in your tank is sitting in water that doesn't change at all, so all of that ammonia is with the fish and burning his scales and gills. He's probably very unhappy like that, so always the best recommendation is to take out that ammonia water and refill the tank with fresh water.

 

[paradiddle]

if i was him id be hiding due to that ghastly gravel and decor, but thats just me.
Try using less bright and vivid surroundings, he could feel threatened on his own

 

[phoenixgsd]

you need to be changing the water everyday and as much as possible to get that ammonia to 0ppm, whilst the previous comment could have been worded better, i do agree, it would make him much happier with some more decor, fish do feel exposed without something to rest or hide in, although the water quality is your priority, 5ppm is deadly

read the link in my signature on fish in cycling, it will explain your situation and how to deal with it

 

[mark4785]

There is no need for you to be using a heater in any of your aquariums that contain goldfish.

If the fish was behaving more normal when you first placed it in the smaller 20 gallon tank, this would be because the PH and temperature of your tap water may have been lower. The lower the temperature and PH, the more NH4 ammonium (if any) is converted from NH3 ammonia. NH4 is not very toxic, however NH3 is a killer.

Tap water usually has a high CO2 content; CO2 keeps the PH of the water low. The water of your 20 gal therefore will have had more NH4 (if any), which is why your fish was happy.
Tap water is also lower in temperature, perhaps 12 degrees C, which again, would result in more NH4 and the reason for your fish being more happy.

This is why doing daily 90%+ water changes (REMEMBER to ALWAYS dechlorinate the tap water that you put into the tank) is going to help keep the fish in better health. Using zeolite alone will not be good enough because it won't eat up all of the Total Ammonia (Total ammonia is a measurement of NH3 and NH4).

 

[phoenixgsd]

There is no need for you to be using a heater in any of your aquariums that contain goldfish.

i thought that was part of the filter in those pictures but now that you say!!!! OP do you actually have a filter, i cant see one?