Fish Question

[Ashley]

Does anybody know anything about gold fish?

My mom started with 8 goldfish, 2 glass cleaner fish and two cat fish. She has had the original 6 for years. Then last spring she got the sucker, catfish and two gold fish as somebody didnt want them anymore and gave them to her. Slowly in the last couple months they have been dieing off. Nothing has changed.

The original fish were used out in her pond in the summer and then in the winter come inside in tanks. They did show some signs of amonia (?) burns. Then some white spotting (think that is called ick?). She treated them but it seems to come and go. They seem healthy, then they get sick, then one or so dies. They stop eatting for awhile and then they will randomly eat a bit then stop again.

I noticed this weekend that two of them seem off again. One has the white spots, the other has nothing visual but just sits on the bottom of the tank.

She is at a loss and has pretty much given up as she has tried everything she was told and that research suggested to do with no avail. She is down to 4 gold fish and one glass cleaner left.

Any ideas?

 

[jacks'thunder]

What size tank are they all in?

 

[Jill]

I also wanted to ask about the size of the tank. Goldfish require LARGE tanks. In a cycled tank, there should be zero amonia present.

 

[Sterling]

Check the temp too. Goldfish and some bottom dwellers need different temps. Goldfish thrive in colder temps and ick and diseases live better in warmer temps s well.

 

[Ashley]

They are in two tanks, 30 gallons each. There not that big of gold fish. Well on is bigger and the others are 3-4". They really haven't grown since she got them. They are in the basement where there is a pellet stove, but that has been there just as long as the fish have.

 

[jacks'thunder]

Well this is what I'd tell the customers in the pet store( my boss would get mad because I was not selling products or quick fixes) Do a big water change, use a stress coat, make sure all your filtration is clean, cut back on food( over feeding is very common) and make sure there is not drastic temperature fluctuations in that room. Gold fish are pretty tough cookies so something big is going on. Make sure during your water change your vacuuming the gravel and getting all that yuck out. A clean tank is a healthy tank.

That's just my suggestions from years of having tanks of all shapes and sizes

I wish her luck! Nothing worse then trying everything and nothing works!!

 

[Ashley]

She did do a big water change not to long ago. Dont know about the stress stuff tho. There isnt any gravel in the tank. She did have one decoration but we took it out as it just seemed to be a collector of poop and food. Filter has been changed like crazy as well. Right now they are only getting fed every other day as they hardly eat, but when they are eatting it is small amount once a day.

 

[Boss Mare]

It sounds like Ich (ick), but could be another parasite or fungal problem.

Raise the temp of the tank to about 78-80 degrees. Perform about a 25% water change or larger.. Not having plants or gravel in the tanks are actually a good thing in this case.. Use a prepared Ich treatment formula or you can actually use an aquarium salt -- do a little research as this process is precise.. Use a stress coat like Stress Zyme too. Melafix is a good product too, when needed.

 

[Jill]

With those size tanks, it would be good to do 75% or so water changes about 2x a week. Those are not large tanks for goldfish nor a common plexo.

 

[Charlene]

while i've seen it done and some people can get away with it, goldfish and tropical fish should never be kept in the same tank. goldfish have a slime coating that can be harmful to tropicals. as has been said, temperature is an issue, too. goldfish can live in ice water, tropicals need warmer temps. definitely sounds like you might have some ich going on or some other fungal infection.

 

[Jill]

Another thing with goldfish is that they use a lot of oxygen, and that's why they do better in cooler water. Also, yep, they have a slimier coating that many fish and that + a pleco / sucker fish can be bad news if the sucker fish isn't being fed (algae wafers or whatever) as it will then go after the goldies. My favorite fish are our fancy goldfish and some types of cichlids that we keep. So much fun, but weekly water changes (we do 75% plus) and LOTS of filteration are what seems to keep our fish happy. It's such a fun hobby! But it's one you need to wrap your mind around and understand things about biological media, beneficial bacteria, and the importance of water changes or probably won't work too well.

 

[Jill]

PS if you get the right equipment (it isn't very expensive), the water changes are actually part of the fun... I look forward to doing them each week. I wouldn't though if I was hauling buckets of fish water. We have a simple way to drain the tanks into the yard and a "Python" brand set up to fill the tanks (hooks to a sink)... it can drain them, too, but it's faster to use this inexpensive hose system I rigged up

 

[Ashley]

They have been together since day one is which is why they still are. My mom has has dish if some sort fit about 15 years, the only tragic thing I have seen is eggs being eatten cause I couldn't take them out.

She lost one more but has since totally cleaned the tanks and put the fish in the bath tube for a night. They so far are doing much better