Fantail Goldfish Not Looking Good. Advice?

[greengoddess]

Hi folks,

My 3 year old fantail goldfish is not really swimming around much and seems to be just floating unhappily in the water with its mouth opening and closing all the time. It's dorsal fin is still up.

Tank info: 240 litre, 2 fantail goldfish and 10 white cloud mountain minnows. Water quality is good, temperature 21 celcius. Lots of oxygen in the water.

I tried feeding the fish some cooked peas but it just keeps spitting them out. This is unusual as it usually loves peas. I occasionally feed peas to try and help avoid swim bladder problems. Last week I found 1 dead WCMM that had been there for 2 or 3 days. I am not sure why it died but I wonder if it may have something to do with my goldfish's condition.

Can any of you advise?

 

[winmore]

Hi folks,

My 3 year old fantail goldfish is not really swimming around much and seems to be just floating unhappily in the water with its mouth opening and closing all the time. It's dorsal fin is still up.

Tank info: 240 litre, 2 fantail goldfish and 10 white cloud mountain minnows. Water quality is good, temperature 21 celcius. Lots of oxygen in the water.

I tried feeding the fish some cooked peas but it just keeps spitting them out. This is unusual as it usually loves peas. I occasionally feed peas to try and help avoid swim bladder problems. Last week I found 1 dead WCMM that had been there for 2 or 3 days. I am not sure why it died but I wonder if it may have something to do with my goldfish's condition.

Can any of you advise?

Hi have you tried epsom salt thats good for all kinds of ailments.put about 20 tea spoons in your water mix it with hot water first.if you haven't got epsom salt then use sea salt.

 

[greengoddess]

Hi have you tried epsom salt thats good for all kinds of ailments.put about 20 tea spoons in your water mix it with hot water first.if you haven't got epsom salt then use sea salt.

I have a packet of Aquarium Salt. Is that what I need?

 

[winmore]

Hi have you tried epsom salt thats good for all kinds of ailments.put about 20 tea spoons in your water mix it with hot water first.if you haven't got epsom salt then use sea salt.

I have a packet of Aquarium Salt. Is that what I need?

yes thats fine be quick.

 

[greengoddess]

yes thats fine be quick.

OK, according to the packet I need to put in 12.6 tablespoons of salt to treat the full tank. I will go ahead and do that now. Thank you for your advice, I hope this helps the poor fish.

 

[winmore]

good luck.

 

[Fishy friend2]

aquarium salt and epsom salt are not the same, unfortunately aquarium salt will not help with SBD but peas, fasting the fish, and epsom salt will

 

[greengoddess]

aquarium salt and epsom salt are not the same, unfortunately aquarium salt will not help with SBD but peas, fasting the fish, and epsom salt will

OK, thanks for that important info. I have added the aquarium salt now anyway. Are you suggesting that I should avoid feeding the fish for a few days to see if that helps?

 

[Fishy friend2]

yeah, thats what i would do as it sounds like swim bladder disease

 

[greengoddess]

yeah, thats what i would do as it sounds like swim bladder disease

Thanks very much. It isn't floating around all over the place at funny angles so I'm not 100% sure that it's SBD. I'll try fasting them for 3 or 4 days to see what happens. I can't see any physical signs of other diseases or conditions.
I'll keep you posted.

 

[Fishy friend2]

your welcome, im glad to help you out. i hope your goldfish gets better, i know what it feels like to just go and check on your goldfish and see one floating around in the tank

 

[greengoddess]

Here's an update for those of you who have kindly helped so far. My fish is unfortunately no better it appears. I starved them all for 2 or 3 days and fed them some flash frozen bloodworm last night. The poorly fish hardly seemed to get any food. In desperation I also bought some swim bladder medication and gave the tank a dose of it. I think the fish's belly looks swollen. It's scales are not sticking out like a pineapple, they are flat to the body but the fish does look a bit bloated. Its dorsal fin is still straight up but the fish is unsteady when swimming and is very slow at moving around. Water quality is still excellent. If you can suggest anything else I can try I would really appreciate it. I don't know what else to do. I did see it have a decent sized poo poo 2 days ago.

 

[Fishy friend2]

I'm sorry to hear that your fish is not doing any better
And have you tried feeding peas, as this could help with your fish's problems

 

[Man of fish]

Why was the dead wcmm in there for 2-3 days? Just wondering because it could play some role, but prolly not.

 

[greengoddess]

And have you tried feeding peas, as this could help with your fish's problems

Tried peas but the fish kept spitting them out.

Why was the dead wcmm in there for 2-3 days? Just wondering because it could play some role, but prolly not.

That's my fault. I didn't notice.

Anyway, I am now 100% convinced that my fish has dropsy. His/her belly has really swollen even more today to the point where the scales are starting to protrude.
I am desperate to try and help it recover but I know it's probably a long shot now. Can you suggest anything? Any sort of medication I can try?
Also, do I need to remove the fish from the tank into isolation?