# Help please, sick goldfish!



## lbgoldie (Feb 20, 2013)

Hi, I am new to this forum and very new to fish keeping and I've had a bit of nightmare, so I'd be very grateful for any advice.
About 4 months ago my mum turned up with a present for my 4 year old daughter, a 30L fish tank, with filter, light, water conditioner solutions, 2 goldfish and a few liters of aquarium water from the pet shop. In went the fish and my daughter loves them. Not knowing much about fish I did a bit of reading and learnt that perhaps that wasn't the best way to start, still, the fish were happy and through trial and error I got the right balance between water changes and feedings and they settled in, all seemed well until a couple of weeks ago when the tank suddenly had a bit of an algae bloom, it really went very green so I reduced the amount of food to just 3-4 flakes a day and the light to 8 hours (from 12). The algae continued to bloom and I could hardly see through the tank by the end of that week. We were due to go on holiday so I did another 50% water change and left them a block of holiday food. We were gone for 7 days and when we came back the tank was a green soup of a mess but the fish were swimming around happily. I removed the food straight away, tested the water for ammonia which was 0.
The next day (sunday) I did a 50 % water change, cleaned out the gravel and ornaments, filter etc... and fed the fish their usual 4 flakes. I also had a chat with the man at the pet shop about the algae and he said I should reduce the light to only 4 hours for a week and gradually increase it until I found a happy medium. So I've been doing that. Fish were fine on monday, but on tuesday morning, the smaller of the two was swimming uncontrollably on its side. A quick search of the internet suggested swim bladder. I tested the water and nitrate was about 50 and nitrite about 10 (I think) still very green, so I didn't feed them that day, did a 25% water change, then that evening I fed the sick fish a boiled pea without the shell. Then this morning I found him lying on the bottom of the tank, still alive but it's body bent. Moves every now and then but can't really swim. Did a 10-15% water change, nitrate measured 25, water still very green, also changed the foam on the filter as it had been a month. I hate seeing the poor little animal like that  there is so much conflicting advice on the internet I don't know what to do for the best. From what I've read he's not likely to recover but if there's anything at all that might help, I'd be grateful for the advice. Thanks in advance!


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## lbgoldie (Feb 20, 2013)

Quick update, this morning his body had uncurled, but he's still laying at the bottom of the tank, making an attemp to swim everynow and then but not getting very far. I'm clutching at straws but I really hope this means he has improved a little.
I put two skinned, squished boiled peas in the tank for them, not sure the sick one will manage to get to any of the food. 
Oh and the water is looking much clearer now with all the water changes.


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## Fishyfins (Feb 28, 2009)

ok, It seems like you've been thrown in at the deep end here, without much choice in the matter XD so here is what i notice from your predicament. long post alert.

Ill tackle the algae issue first. Algae can be caused by 2 things in the aquarium. excessive light, and excessive nutriment. Usually its a combination of the two. The man at the shop was correct in telling you to reduce the light. To be honest, the fish dont need the light, its only there for you to see the fish. i usually dont light my tanks for more than 6 hours a day, on an evening, when im looking at them. it not only helps reduce algae, but saves electricity as well!

The nutrient problem can be a little harder to fix. First, you've already reduced feeding, which is good. uneaten food can break down, leading to algae, and fish waste itself helps feed it. generally speaking, in an ideal world, you should feed your fish twice a day, with enough food to have them activly eating it for 3 minutes. anything left after that should be netter out the tank and disposed of. But reducing it is fine until the problem has sorted itself out. The other way nutrients can be a problem is through overstocking. And now, ima just come out and say it, you are way overstocked! Goldfish are waste producing machines, and even at a small size, need surprisingly large tanks to be able to diliute that waste safely. your 30L tank has space for maybe abound half a goldfish. Fancy goldfish like oranda and moors (the "round" ones) need 100L for the first fish, then about 50L per fish thereafter (so 150L for two). Normal goldies such as comets and shubunkins (the long thing ones) need 100L per fish period (so, 200L for two, or, ideally, a pond). This is even at a small size, so having 2 in a 30L tank is really not doing them any favours. with their combined waste, algae is gonna be the least of your worries in the long term.

Now, the problem with the fish itself. there are many fish ailments that lead to swimming as described, and all too often people ascribe it to swimbladder problems. whilst swimbladder is a common problem, in many cases, its not swimbladder (if that makes sense). In many cases, a fish close to death will exhibit swimbladder symptoms anyway. I would think there is something else going on here, but i simply dont have enough information to say for sure. 

You say you tested the water, and got 10ppm for nitrITE? is this correct? at that level, i would be very surprised if anything was still alive in the tank. It should really be at 0, but anything over 0.50ppm is pretty dangerous, and ive rarely seen it over 2ppm. what test kit are you using to test the water? some are more accurate than others, and some (specifically the dip strip tests) can be very tricky to read proper results off. 
As for the nitrATE, dont worry about that. even the 50ppm you found at first isnt a cause for concern. science has yet to find a level thats dangerous to fish, Though it is food for algae. most tapwater in the UK comes out the tap at 40-50ppm anyway, so i wouldnt worry about that too much.
You say you recently cleaned out the filter? can you please explain how you did this? also, you mention that you replaced the sponge after a month. This is a common thing people get told, but its simply a way of making money by selling more foam. You shouldnt be changing it very often at all. Even if it gets dirty, it still maintains the same effectivness. It doesnt need to be replaced until it literally starts to fall appart, which takes years. So dont worry about doing this in the future. the golden rule is that people in aquarium shops will tell you anything to make money, and its very common for shops to give bad advice in the hopes that fish health deteriorates and you go back for expensive medications and the like. I would be very wary of any advice given in an aquarium shop!

So yeah, i think that just about covers everything at the moment. Dont worry about stuff, its not your fault things have gone a little wrong, and it could be a lot worse. Youve just been thrown in at the deep end, but you've come to us for advice, and were more than happy to give it. we all make mistakes, so dont think anything ive said has been us telling you off


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## lbgoldie (Feb 20, 2013)

Thank you so much for your reply. I had no idea goldfish needed quite that much water, poor fish must be so cramped in their little tank!
about the nitrite,I used the King British 6 in 1 strips, I don't have them with me at the moment to check the values but it was the second from lowest... actually just searched online and that would make it 0.5, could that be why he's sick?
The filter I clean out by taking the foam out and the little fan/rotor thing and giving them a good rinse until all the muck comes off, when we first got the tank I did this with tap water but I read that you should use aquarium water so I have been doing that for the last 4-6 weeks. Thanks for the advice about the filter, good to know I don't have to keep buying the foam pads, it does seem a waste throwing them away every month!
I appreciate your advice and anything at all you can suggest to help the fish!
Thanks!


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

Hi 

Fishyfins has given you a great answer, I don't think I can add much to what's been said. As advised, the best thing you can do for your fish is to get them a bigger tank (maybe try looking for second-hand ones as they're not too expensive). In the meantime, I'd look at changing about 50% of the water every day (making sure the new water is dechlorinated and temperature matched), and get yourself a liquid test kit as they're much more accurate that the strips (this is a good one: API Master Test Kit for Freshwater 120g: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies). And be very gentle with your filter sponges - you're doing the right thing by using tank water rather than tap water to rinse, but they really only need cleaning every month or so.


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## Guest (Feb 21, 2013)

Well there's a coincidence I've got a sick goldfish too. As said some great advice from fishy fins.


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## lbgoldie (Feb 20, 2013)

Thank you all for the advice, I will keep up the water changes and look for a bigger tank.
Fish seems much worse now  I just hope we don't lose them both now!


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