Bloated Stomach

[Frazy85]

Hi there, ive been pretty worried recently, tried aquatic shops etc, and i just thought id see what you guys thought as well.

Ive got an 8 year old fish named rodney, up until a year ago it was in mine and my dads care, however my dad moved away, and lodgers moved in who decided they would take care of it. However, around 4 months ago, i noticed theyd taken the water filter out. I thought this was wierd but i trusted them that they knew what they were doing, and i am now beating myself up for not saying anything.

Recently, rodney has gotten really poor. His stomach is so so bloated, he really looks like he is going to explode, however his scales are not pertruding, they are flat. He does swim still and he does eat, but he goes through a lot of periods where he just sits in the corner staring at nothing, even though it could be his reflection that he is staring at.

Using advice, i started to give him peas, and am in the process of giving him myxazin, which after 3 days seems to have done nothing.

Has anyone got any advice as to what i should do? I feel awful just sitting here letting him get on with it when he could be in pain.

 

[KittyKat]

So your goldfish(?) now has no filter? This is bad news. You need to make sure it goes back in and then keep testing the water to make sure there is no ammonia and no nitrite in it.

What have they been feeding him and how often?

 

[Frazy85]

No it dosent, im angry that they took it out. Im unable to find where theyve put the filter, theyre away, i cant contact them, i really dont know what to do. Will a filter actually help anything now hes already sick?

 

[KittyKat]

Without a filter, your fish will be slowly poisoned by ammonia (and probably also nitrite). Please post a full description of your set-up. Aquarium dimensions, full stock like, full equipment list, water readings (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, hardness and temperature).

Is your fish, by any chance, constipated? To me, this seems the most likely problem, especially if he is a fancy goldfish. The easiest thing to do to correct this is to not feed him for a day or two and then feed him only boiled and de-shelled peas until you start seeing some improvement (usually, in 3-5 days).

 

[Frazy85]

Unfortunately, its been 3 days already and ive been doing what you said. Around 3 days ago i took the water to a aquarium and they tested, however there didnt seem to be any problems. The person said themselves that it could be that he is constipated, but hes not showing any signs of improvement at all. Im in two minds whether to go out and just buy a new filter today.

I couldnt quite believe he was constipated though, his belly his huge, really huge.

 

[KittyKat]

Still, please post the set-up information and the readings, we might come to very different conclusions.

Is there anything remotely worm-like hanging out of his bum?

 

[Frazy85]

Yes there is, its stringy, white and long. The tank is a 30 litre tank. I dont know the readings specifically as they did them at the shop. Hes being fed normal goldfish food twice a day, but ive stopped feeding him it recently, and giving him peas.

 

[KittyKat]

It is clear poo: that is another sign of constipation.

The only things you can do is improve his living conditions (for example goldfish require very large aquariums and excellent water quality). Without improving the housing, the only thing you can do is keep feeding him peas and not feeding him (alternating day-to-day). Doing very frequent water changes will also help (do treat new water with dechlorinator).

In all honesty, I am quite surprised that he has survived for this long in such a small tank.

 

[Frazy85]

He was fine up until a few months ago, seemed happy as anything. Do you think i need to urgently get a new filter then?

 

[KittyKat]

Yes, I think you need to get a new filter quite urgently. You should also ask the shop, very nicely, if they will let you have some mature media for the filter (which I doubt they will give you) or look for someone close to you who is willing to donate some (this is a link).

The problems from small tanks and poor water quality are not always immediately visible and usually have an effect on the fish mainly in the long term (for example, shortened life span, stunted growth, bad immune system). For example, an average 8 year old fancy goldfish should be about 8" in length.

If at all possible, please do seriously consider getting a bigger tank for him.

 

[Frazy85]

Id love to, i really would, but at the moment im unemployed, even getting a new filter is stretching things for me. It was never really my fish, my dad took it and did everything for it, now the new people do, but obviously theyre neglecting it and im trying to pick up the pieces to make everything ok again.

 

[Frazy85]

You know what, thinking about it, the only logical solution would be to rehouse him, could that be a sensible way of doing things?

 

[KittyKat]

Well, firstly you can try places like Freecycle, Craigslist and eBay to see if you can find something.. I have had free/almost-free tanks, filters and a LOT of other equipment from those over the years.

If you do want to give the fish away, you should advertise for example in the trade section on this forum and other similar places.

How is he doing today?

 

[Frazy85]

He really looks the same as he has done all week, everytime i go downstairs he seems to be in the corner or next to the side of the tank staring outside, not sure if thats normal or not. He still does swim but he spends a lot of time at the side of the tank.

 

[Frazy85]

Ive heard of a lot of fish dying cause of stress, cause of changes to their environment. Well rodney was not happy when the filter was put in, he was looking very destressed for a few minutes, am i gonna find him dead in the morning because im trying to do the right thing?