Helphelphelp!

[Kipsie]

HELP HELP HELP MY FISH, PLEASE!!!

My fishy sits at the bottom of the tank and he's been like that since I changed a lot of his after two days ago (er, like 70%) since it didn't look very clear. I changed 50% today, since he's still... Odd.

My blurry "why-do-i-even-bother-with-this-crappy-cell-phone-camera" video of him is here:

I named the vid that because I thought it was what he had.

But he does have white dots on his chin like this:

... But it's more of a white splotch.
His under chin has always been red like that since I bought him. I thought it was normal. Is it?

He swims back and forth and back an forth in his tank, and usually just sits at the bottom not doing anything. He's opening and closing his mouth a lot more.

He's usually an active fish.

Now hes kind-of rubbing on the gravel, sitting in a corner.
I didn't see his dark greyish scales (like 5 of his scales on one side is like that) until today. Maybe they're missing?

He darts around too much when I try for a close pic, but his chin is here:

Okay, the thing is we don't have a water test kit (I know), but I'm trying to get one tomorrow (and anything else that you advise because we cant travel often).

He's in a 5-gallon filtered heated tank.

I wanted to name him salmon, but I dont want to name him yet if he'll die.


Please, HELP, ANYONE!
It may be swim bladder, velvet, and high amonia?
I dont know!

 

[Katty]

Can you test the water for ammonia and nitrites (plus pH and nitrates if you can do those tests too) and post the results here? What is the tank temperature?
How long have you had him? How often did you do water changes and how much each time? Is the tank cycled?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm sure someone's going to ask these at some point, might as well get them all over with now.

 

[Kipsie]

Can you test the water for ammonia and nitrites (plus pH and nitrates if you can do those tests too) and post the results here? What is the tank temperature?
How long have you had him? How often did you do water changes and how much each time? Is the tank cycled?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm sure someone's going to ask these at some point, might as well get them all over with now.

1. Yes. But i'm not going to a fish specialty store to get the test kit, just a pet store.
2. We have a heater that keeps it at 78
3. I got him June 16th 2010 from Walmart
4. When I first got him, I had him in his cup for a few hours (maybe 5), then a partly-filled tank for a few days. Then, he was moved to another tank with a filter and such. He's done a lot of moving. Since then, there have been two water changes in that tank he's in now 50% Wednesday and 70% two days before that.
5. I was trying to do a fish in cycle, but that apparantly failed without a kit and with my stupidity about this, so, no. Plus, I put him in too early. His old tank was leaking (thats why it was only 4-inches full), so I didnt want to wait.

Test strips are bad, yes?

 

[Katty]

Test strips are known to be somewhat unreliable so a lot of people poo-poo them. But they are better than nothing if it's all you can afford or find though. Try to get liquid ones if you can.

While your there, it might be a good idea to see if you can pick up some aquarium salt. It's a pretty standard aquarium treatment and will save you a trip if it turns out you need it.

 

[the biffster]

i know this sound daft but what size tank is he in
and is it filtered

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

i know this sound daft but what size tank is he in
and is it filtered

OP said 5 gallons and filtered

 

[the biffster]

how high is the temp through
the day in the tank
can you post your stats when you have them please

 

[Kipsie]

Uhm, I think I need a mod to merge my two threads on the same topic...
I have no themometer, but an automatic heater.

I'll get the salt.

 

[Katty]

Heaters lie all the time. If it's not too late try to get a thermometer too. One of those sticker ones will do.

 

[JoshuaA]

Heaters lie all the time. If it's not too late try to get a thermometer too. One of those sticker ones will do.

Noticed the Elite heaters we have at the moment struggle to maintain the correct temperatures also and frequently spike up or crash down. Fortunately for the last week it has been 25.5/6 although our heater is actually set on 24 degrees sooo...

I like using glass thermometers as I feel there a little less prone to temperature changes from the environment outside thought I don't know if there is even any science behind that, just personal preference and somewhat an excuse on my half . Unfortunately my glass thermometer was right in front of my filter output during my cycle and by the end when we removed it, it had a thick layer of biofilm/sludge.

 

[LaVidaBoring]

I have a Theo Hydor adjustable 25W heater and I really like it. I had a Marineland Eclipse 10w non-adjustable heater, which was cute and compact and easy to hide, but it always ran hot. It was supposed to keep the water temp constant at 78 deg F, but it kept it at more like 83-84! Once on a hot day, the water temp got into the high 80s. Luckily I was doing fishless cycling so no fish got overheated.

Once the tank was done cycling I switched to an adjustable heater.

The calibration on the Theo Hydor is maybe one or two deg F off, but it doesn't overheat my water. I like the fact that its light goes on when it turns on, so you can see that it's working.

I like using glass thermometers as I feel there a little less prone to temperature changes from the environment outside thought I don't know if there is even any science behind that, just personal preference and somewhat an excuse on my half

I prefer the glass too, having used both the in-the-water glass type and the external type. The external type always seemed to underreport the temp by a couple of degrees. Once I realized that, I could account for the error, but I was annoyed nonetheless. Also, they are a pain to remove. I took one off my glass tank but I still have some of the sticky stuff left behind, unfortunately, despite my best efforts to scrape it off.

 

[JoshuaA]

I prefer the glass too, having used both the in-the-water glass type and the external type. The external type always seemed to underreport the temp by a couple of degrees. Once I realized that, I could account for the error, but I was annoyed nonetheless. Also, they are a pain to remove. I took one off my glass tank but I still have some of the sticky stuff left behind, unfortunately, despite my best efforts to scrape it off.

For me, more annoyingly it displays up to 3 temperatures at once and the colour chart corresponding to what colour the LCD panel is doesn't always make sense in the scenario. Compared to the glass one you just pop it in and don't have to worry about it mis reading (much) or being effected by exterior effects.

With my glass thermo in I can get 25.5C and the LCD will read from anywhere 24 up to 28.

 

[Kipsie]

Can I treat for velvet even if i'm not sure he has it?
I turned off the light, used a flashlight to try to see gold/rust dust, but all I see is sparkles. Are fish naturally sparkly? Not nessisarily (SP) gold I would say, since he's peach coloured and it'd be hard to spot dead-on.

Would this help?

Or maybe this, I dunno.

Oh, and I think he ate part of his tail. It's scraggly looking and a part is missing.



EDIT - NOW HE'S BLOATED. A little. What substitutes for a pea?

 

[loraxchick]

firstly do frequent large waterchanges. every other day at least. i suspect he has ich. do you see little grains of salt like material stuck to him? if so it si ich. flicking and rubbing like that is generally from parasites but as you mention can also be from ammonia. so keep up those water changes for at least a week and see if he improves. his tail issue is also worrisome. doubtful he is biting his tail. probably either finrot or ammonia burns. again, clean water should clear this up on its own without the need for meds. if it were velvet you would see the gold dust-not just shiney scales.
any white fuzziness or fluffy growths on him? does he look bloated at all?
most important thing is waterchanges. keep that water clean.
is he still eating?
keep us posted.
cheers

 

[fry_forever!]

Heaters lie all the time. If it's not too late try to get a thermometer too. One of those sticker ones will do.

I like using glass thermometers as I feel there a little less prone to temperature changes from the environment outside thought I don't know if there is even any science behind that, just personal preference and somewhat an excuse on my half .

Glass thermometers are a lot better, since they are not affected by the temperature outside of the tank. They tell you a much more accurate temp, and they are easier to read, IMO. Anyhow, they aren't anymore expensive than the stick on ones - they are both about 2$.
Digital thermometers are really the best, but really, be realistic, just get a glass one.