Very Sick Goldfish, Urgent Help Needed

[sallyann]

I have a very sick goldfish, I have owned this goldfish along with another in the same tank for 10 years , they have been perfectly healthy until now, about 2 weeks ago, one goldfish started swimming upside down and sideways, so I went to a pet store and was advised to usee Aquarium salt to help, this I did, the other goldfish loved it ! but the sick one did not improve, and after 3 more days i went back to the pet store and was advised to get some Anti bacterial treatment to use, which after a partial water change I added to the tank, the fish did not improve, but continues to lay at the bottom, fins clamped, I really thought it was going to die, after 4 days the pack of treatment said to repeat the dose, which I did, again the other fish is perfectly healthy, the sick fish continues to lay at the bottom of the tank, its spine is now bent and it has developed a black mark on its side, and fins, the underneath of its mouth is swollen and around the gills, it is not eating. I am amazed it has survived 2 weeks being this sick. Last night it went into the little castle I have in the tank and it was their when i got up this morning, I think it does it to get away from the other goldfish. I have put a tilted glass jar in the tank to help it hide. I cannot bear to destroy it, as it refuses to give up, please help

 

[Miss Wiggle]

oh that sounds horrible, poor thing. we'll try and help you out but we need a bit more info from you

tell us everything you can about the tank and your maintenance routine please. how big is it, what equipment do you have running, how often do you clean it and what do you do and what are your water stats for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

 

[Colin_T]

It sounds like the fish has an internal problem. Possibly along the lines of a ruptured swim bladder or other internal organ (liver or kidneys). If the fish has trouble swimming and either ends up floating or sinking then the swim bladder is the probable cause.
The bent spine would indicate there is now some fluid build up inside the fish's abdominal cavity that is putting pressure on the spine.
The black mark on its side is probably cell damage (similar to bruising). It could be caused by the medication or the internal problem.
If the fish did a long white stringy poo when this happened it could be a bacterial infection that has damaged the internal organs, (possibly Mycobacterium, fish TB).
However you look at it the fish is not very well and should be euthanased as soon as possible.

 

[sallyann]

Hi, thanks for the replys, I have a 18 litre tank, for 2 goldfish, and change about 25% of water every week, with clean tap water with safe water added, I also add some aquarium salt just a pinch when I do a water change, I have a filter and a light, ph is about 7.0, as for the rest i don't know, I must admit that I was very ignorant to fish keeping until a short while ago, having researched it on the internet I feel very ashamed that I have not tested for all these things over the years, believing that if the fish are ok, that everything must be fine, ignorance though! Its amazing these fish have lived so long, but I now aim to be a better fish keeper, the fish were bought for my sons bedroom 10 years ago, he is now at Uni. The one that is sick belongs to my daughter who is 12, she will not let me put it to sleep, I have just been upstairs to have a look at the fish, and it is sat up in the glass jar, with the other one peering in from the outside, the fish looks perfectly normal apart from the bruising, it did orginally have orange streaks on its underside which led us to believe it was a bacterial infection

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ok, well if you want to learn about fishkeeping and make yourself a better fishkeeper then you are in the right place. so long as you're willing to learn we will do all we can to help you out.

I understand reluctance to put the fish out of it's misery, however I do think he sounds in a pretty poor state. What I would suggest you do is set a timescale or something, so you work with our advice and try to learn and fix the problems, but if he's still struggling as much in a week's time then you will euthanise him. although euithanasia is horrible to do, sometimes it is the right option and best all round.

what sort of goldfish is he? fancy or normal and what sort of fancy if he is one?

I'm no expert on goldfish care but I think the tank is a bit small for 2 goldies, however at least it is filtered which is something.

how often do you clean the filter and how do you clean it? what sort of filter is it?

I would strongly advise you to go and buy a good liquid test kit which can test for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. It would help us to help you if we could get these readings. Should only cost around £15. If you can't do that then take a sample of water from the tank to a fish shop and ask them to test it, write down the results and let us know what they are. A lot of places do this for free, if they do charge you it will only be a few pounds.

 

[sallyann]

Hi thanks for replying, I agree I need to set a time scale, a week is probably about right, the fish is just a normal goldfish, he has a very long beautiful tail!
I rinse the filter out every week in the tank water that i have emptyed out, the filter is a fluvel 1,just a sponge one. I can go to my local pet store tomorrow and get the water tested, do you think it will be that? my other goldie, again a bog standard one is fine

 

[sallyann]

Just rang my local pets at home and they are going to test the water for me tomorrow, just need to take a sample in, my question is I am going in on my way to school will the water be ok in the car for an hour if I keep it cool?, won't effect the readings? i am such a beginner, but am willing to learn!!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ok, just wanted to check that the maintenance routine was fine as it's often the case that people are making a mistake with the maintenance which then leads to bad water quality which leads to disease. but what you're doing sounds fine.

yes i think you need to set a timescale, sit your daughter down to explain it all to her now as well, I appreciate it's tough, but at 12 she should be old enough to understand, and sadly it's a reality of having pets that sometimes they will become ill and pass on. i actually think it helps kids to learn to deal with death as unfortunatley it's something we will all have to face at some point.

anyway enough of that, lets focus on the positive things and what you can do for the fish now. yes please get the water tested, make sure you write down the results for pH, ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte.

first thing to understand is aquarium salt, this isn't needed. it's something fishkeeper used to use before we had a detailed knowledge of water chemistry, back in the day the general advice was that you didn't do water changes very much, what salt does is it reduces the effect of nitrates on the fish. if you're not doing many water changes you'll get high nitrates which can be deadly. because of this about 20 years ago it was thought to be a bit of a magic cure all, we now know that this is not the case, unfortunatley fish shops don't all seem to have caught on. so you can stop using the aquarium salt, it's doing them no good.

next thing to understand is that clean water is essential when dealing with any disease. just like if you're unwell sitting in a smokey room or inhaling a load of exhaust fumes could make you a lot worse, the same is true for the fish with their water. so you need to make sure their water is super clean. depending on the water test results we can advise how many water changes you should be doing. but i would say do a 50% water change immediatley to be on the safe side.

now we need to get a diagnosis so you can pick up the right meds at the shop tomorrow.

i suspect advanced bacterial infection and subsequent swim bladder problems. think you need a strong med to stand any chance of curing him, myaxin would probably be a good starting point. wait and see if any goldfish experts can give any more specific goldie advise later today.


water will be fine for an hour or two, make sure it's in an airtight container (which it'll need to be anyway or it'll spill). only thing that would change is if it's exposed to air for a long time (24 hrs+) then the oxygen in the air and water will swap around a bit and that can affect the levels. for an hr or two though it's no problem.

 

[sallyann]

Ok, but is it ok to still do a 50% water change if the anti bac medicine is still in the water? mind you, it does not seem to be working much anyway! Should I take him out whilst i do the changes or leave him be, don't want to stress him out anymore? Thanks for helping

 

[Miss Wiggle]

leave him in for the water changes.

what brand of anti-bac med is it? a lot of them are a bit rubbish, if it is then you'll need to get it all out of the water and start dosing with something stronger so yes to water changes. if it's something decent you're using anyway then do the change but top the medicine back up

 

[sallyann]

its interpet anti internal bacteria 9

will the other goldie be ok, with all this treatment, I don't have a seperate tank?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

other goldie will be fine, treatments are designed to work like this in tanks with other inhabitants. it may not be particularly nice for him (fish meds, just like ours sometimes have side effects or make the fish feel grotty) but he will live through it with no significant ill effects.

the interpet treatments are fairly decent, however this seems quite advanced so i think you need something stronger like the myaxin if you can get hold of it.

i would wait until tomorrow am when you have the water readings, post on here straight away and we'll decide what to do when we know what the water quality is like.

 

[sallyann]

Just like to add, would it be best if i get water checked tonight, if i can make it to shop in time, will they advise me what to use depending on readings, or should I just get back to you all here for advise.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yes, water readings asap please.

i'm finishing work shortly and may not be able to come on tonight to help but i'm sure someone else will be around to pick this up

if the water quality is poor all you need to fix it is water changes so don't buy any products that they try to sell you (they are after all trying to make a profit). have a look for Myaxin in the medicine bit and get that if you can.

 

[sallyann]

ok, Thanks miss wiggle, I will try to get it tested tonight, if they close before I get their, then I will do the water change and add the right amount of top up medicine, if I get a reading now before I change water, i can go again tomorrow after water chnage to see if its ok. I can also check for the Myaxin, how available is it? Will be in touch tomorrow, and let you know if the fish is ok!