Goldy With Fin Rot

[Johnlenham]

Hi
I have a common gold fish that i unfortunately inherited 6 months ago and have been looking after while trying to re home him.

I nursed him back to health on my very limited budget (all i could afford was an 11litre tank, filter/gravel/dechlorinater)
at the time i got him he was unwell as a small section of his scales had come off, though with good feeding and daily water changes he returned to form and now those scales have healed really well.

Now about the 24th I decided to upgrade his filter to a fluval1 which is about 3 times the size of the old one as well as some sinking pellets.
He showed no signs of illness, was very active and happy from what I could tell.

I installed the new filter using the cloning technique and started him on his new pellets.

Since the new filters been in place he seemed sick. For the first few days he was fine then by about the 30th he was thrashing in the tank, twisting/spinning and would constantly look out one end of the tank as if something was scaring him (nothings there), closer inspection showed no signs of Ick or anything wrong atall So I did daily water changes of 20-30% to see if he improved.

It seemed to work and come new years day I had to go away for a few days, I told family members to feed him 2 pellets a day.

I come home 2 days later and his top tail fin appeared ragged and he would swim in the top 3inchs of water
Did a 30% change and went to bed

Next day he was still the same so checked properly and it seems people had massively over feed as there were pellets all over the gravel section so I removed him and did a a 100% change, cleaned the filter pads in tank water fully cleaned the tank and set it up again.
Gave him about 10 minutes to adjust then feed him some boiled /mashed pea.
After eating he returned to his normal self exploring the new setup and such though his top fin still appeared ragged from my google searches i assumed stress from the filter current (created a coke bottle current deflector) and poor conditions so hoped it would heal.

Next day no change on the fin and normal behaviour

Woke up today and his top fin has lost about 1cm and its started to affect the bottom.

Ive been into town and got some melafix and have added that in the hops of curing and reversing the damage but I wondering if there's anything else I can do?

I plan to add the stuff once a day with a 10% water change over 10 days but ive read salt can help also?

Im unable to test the water parameters as I dont own a kit (cant afford one) but i assume daily then onto ever 3 day water changes are enough to keep them to minimum right?

Any help if appreciated as I feel really bad for the poor sod and am only trying to do my best for him till i can rehome him

Quick edit to say ive managed to pick up the api master test kit for cheap so hopefully ill have a better idea of the waters state

 

[Neon.Tetra]

Next day he was still the same so checked properly and it seems people had massively over feed as there were pellets all over the gravel section so I removed him and did a a 100% change, cleaned the filter pads in tank water fully cleaned the tank and set it up again.
Gave him about 10 minutes to adjust then feed him some boiled /mashed pea.
After eating he returned to his normal self exploring the new setup and such though his top fin still appeared ragged from my google searches i assumed stress from the filter current (created a coke bottle current deflector) and poor conditions so hoped it would heal.

Did you do the water change, and then wash the filter stuff into the new water? or the old water? Make sure you did it in the old water or you will have to cycle again. When you next clean the tank out, try not to do a 100% water change without dechlorinator (apologies if you have used it!) only because this chemicalled water, however small the concentration, is going through the filter and will kill good bacteria.

Woke up today and his top fin has lost about 1cm and its started to affect the bottom.

Did it loose one cm over night? If it was just over one night then something in the tank might have damaged it, fin rot doesn't damage fins that quickly. Or in total has he lost this much? Are his fins red with black or white edges?

Ive been into town and got some melafix and have added that in the hops of curing and reversing the damage but I wondering if there's anything else I can do?

Just keep up what your doing with water changes and meds. The one thing you need to keep in mind is not to do large sudden water changes, but keep the water clean enough so ammonia and other bad stuff in the water won't be uncomfortable for your fish, and this is going to be difficult in a tank that size. Make sure the filter is succesfully filtering and this can limit the bad water quality of the water.

I plan to add the stuff once a day with a 10% water change over 10 days but ive read salt can help also?

Mmmhmm, Aquarium salt can be bought from your pet store, you might have to look for a small container of salt instead of a tub, as you won't need it.

Im unable to test the water parameters as I dont own a kit (cant afford one) but i assume daily then onto ever 3 day water changes are enough to keep them to minimum right?

Goldfish are very messy, and in a 2.5ish Gallon tank the water is going to become unsuitable very quickly, Someone else will have to give you the correct water change amount for every day or every three days as I'm not 100% sure.

Any help if appreciated as I feel really bad for the poor sod and am only trying to do my best for him till i can rehome him

I know, its good that you actually want to do something for him/her, other people are so likely to just stick an unwanted fish in an unfiltered fishbowl and only clean it out when the water goes green . Your making sure that your doing the correct things for the fish, and thats what a good owner does. If you still don't want it when he's healed and healthy then you could probably find a neighbour or friend (or friend of a friend!) who has a pond that will be willing to take him off your hands.

I hope he gets well soon and that all goes well! Good Luck!

 

[Johnlenham]

Thanks for the response!

Cleaning the filter sponge in a jug of the old tank water so that's right I think?
I did want to avoid the 100% change but there was no way my vac could pick up the amount of mess in there before pumping it dry I suppose it was more a 90% though as a litre of old tank water was what the fish was in.

about the 1cm the top half had broken down but not to such an extreme amount its was still "whole" put split into strands the next morning it was all gone

Ive got some pics so maybe you can make it out abit better.
<a href="http/www.flippersandfins.net/Images/GoldieFinChart.JPG" target="_blank">http/www.flippersandfins.net/Images/GoldieFinChart.JPG</a>


Dorsal is fine, neither of the plectoral or Ventral are clamped/have fungus or look raw its only the tail that appears affected.

<a href="http/img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tailmissingrl5.jpg" target="_blank">http/img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tailmissingrl5.jpg</a>

<a href="http/img513.imageshack.us/my.php?image=housepl4.jpg" target="_blank">http/img513.imageshack.us/my.php?image=housepl4.jpg</a>

I cant understand what could have done the damage as nothing new other than the filter has been added in about 4 months

 

[Neon.Tetra]

Thanks for the response!

Cleaning the filter sponge in a jug of the old tank water so that's right I think?
I did want to avoid the 100% change but there was no way my vac could pick up the amount of mess in there before pumping it dry I suppose it was more a 90% though as a litre of old tank water was what the fish was in.

about the 1cm the top half had broken down but not to such an extreme amount its was still "whole" put split into strands the next morning it was all gone

Ive got some pics so maybe you can make it out abit better.
<a href="http/www.flippersandfins.net/Images/GoldieFinChart.JPG" target="_blank">http/www.flippersandfins.net/Images/GoldieFinChart.JPG</a>


Dorsal is fine, neither of the plectoral or Ventral are clamped/have fungus or look raw its only the tail that appears affected.

<a href="http/img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tailmissingrl5.jpg" target="_blank">http/img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tailmissingrl5.jpg</a>

<a href="http/img513.imageshack.us/my.php?image=housepl4.jpg" target="_blank">http/img513.imageshack.us/my.php?image=housepl4.jpg</a>

I cant understand what could have done the damage as nothing new other than the filter has been added in about 4 months

Yeah, just swishing the sponge in the old tank water was right =]

It could be that your fish is biting it's own tail. I've heard of Betta Fish that do it, but It's possible your goldfish could be doing it to. It's unknown why fish actually do this to their own fins and people have come up with a variety of theories, some say it's down to stress, others say boredom.

If it is the case that your fish is biting it's own tail then it could be either of the above. Stress could be caused by a dirty environment, or if the fish is wary and jumpy. Reading over the internet, it says that boredom can be cured by rearranging the fish's tank around, maybe by adding new plants/decorations. For stressed fish the water stats will need to stay stable and the area that the aquarium is in will need to be quiet and out of strong sunlight or vibrations.

At this moment in time, and judging by the pictures showing its caudal fin damaged it seems likely that it is tailbiting as I suppose that this is the only fin he can reach. I'm not 100%, but it seems most likely and cases of severe fin rot over night causing such damage is incredibly unlikely. Try changing his environment about a bit and maybe add a jungle of plants such as Elodea which will look really nice and gives your fish a natural setting to hide and explore in. Even if the fish takes apart the plant [which goldfish sometimes do] instead of it's tail it will reduce the harm on itself and keep it interested in something else.

Let me know if he gets better.

 

[Johnlenham]

Thanks for the response!

Cleaning the filter sponge in a jug of the old tank water so that's right I think?
I did want to avoid the 100% change but there was no way my vac could pick up the amount of mess in there before pumping it dry I suppose it was more a 90% though as a litre of old tank water was what the fish was in.

about the 1cm the top half had broken down but not to such an extreme amount its was still "whole" put split into strands the next morning it was all gone

Ive got some pics so maybe you can make it out abit better.
<a href="http/www.flippersandfins.net/Images/GoldieFinChart.JPG" target="_blank">http/www.flippersandfins.net/Images/GoldieFinChart.JPG</a>


Dorsal is fine, neither of the plectoral or Ventral are clamped/have fungus or look raw its only the tail that appears affected.

<a href="http/img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tailmissingrl5.jpg" target="_blank">http/img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tailmissingrl5.jpg</a>

<a href="http/img513.imageshack.us/my.php?image=housepl4.jpg" target="_blank">http/img513.imageshack.us/my.php?image=housepl4.jpg</a>

I cant understand what could have done the damage as nothing new other than the filter has been added in about 4 months

Yeah, just swishing the sponge in the old tank water was right =]

It could be that your fish is biting it's own tail. I've heard of Betta Fish that do it, but It's possible your goldfish could be doing it to. It's unknown why fish actually do this to their own fins and people have come up with a variety of theories, some say it's down to stress, others say boredom.

If it is the case that your fish is biting it's own tail then it could be either of the above. Stress could be caused by a dirty environment, or if the fish is wary and jumpy. Reading over the internet, it says that boredom can be cured by rearranging the fish's tank around, maybe by adding new plants/decorations. For stressed fish the water stats will need to stay stable and the area that the aquarium is in will need to be quiet and out of strong sunlight or vibrations.

At this moment in time, and judging by the pictures showing its caudal fin damaged it seems likely that it is tailbiting as I suppose that this is the only fin he can reach. I'm not 100%, but it seems most likely and cases of severe fin rot over night causing such damage is incredibly unlikely. Try changing his environment about a bit and maybe add a jungle of plants such as Elodea which will look really nice and gives your fish a natural setting to hide and explore in. Even if the fish takes apart the plant [which goldfish sometimes do] instead of it's tail it will reduce the harm on itself and keep it interested in something else.

Let me know if he gets better.

Ok had a browse and this is the stuff right?
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...25671e6fbb1ae2c

Is it true it needs no artificial light to grow ok? I don't have a light in my tank as its kept close to a window so gets natural light for about 10 hours a day.

Test kit should also be here in the morning so I can hopefully sort out any water problems aswell.

Thanks again

 

[Johnlenham]

Just wanted to bump this to see if anyone had some more insight.

Moved my goldy into a new 15 gallon tank, from tests the cloning worked and hes in there, temps 20oc

He become alot mroe active since the move (real plants of varying heights, better aeration and large swimming area)

His tail fin seems to have stopped shrinking and lost the redness that could have been Rot.

Now one thing still troubles me is that everynow and again (maybe once or twice) a day he has these almost like a fit.

Swims almost in a darting zig zag but at the same time as if he was getting shot with a tazer, wild bending and twitching for about 5-8 seconds then he returns to normal Oh just seen him do it. It looked like he was being yanked about by an invisible line

Could it be him almost flaring (like a betta) at his reflection? Theres 0 signs of Ick or white spot so im baffled.
My Mrs only suggestion is that maybe hes just a retarded fish coming from a funfair bowl to here has blown his mind or something

Sorry if the description is vague but its so strange I cant really explain it well...

 

[Neon.Tetra]

Just wanted to bump this to see if anyone had some more insight.

Moved my goldy into a new 15 gallon tank, from tests the cloning worked and hes in there, temps 20oc

He become alot mroe active since the move (real plants of varying heights, better aeration and large swimming area)

His tail fin seems to have stopped shrinking and lost the redness that could have been Rot.

Now one thing still troubles me is that everynow and again (maybe once or twice) a day he has these almost like a fit.

Swims almost in a darting zig zag but at the same time as if he was getting shot with a tazer, wild bending and twitching for about 5-8 seconds then he returns to normal Oh just seen him do it. It looked like he was being yanked about by an invisible line

Could it be him almost flaring (like a betta) at his reflection? Theres 0 signs of Ick or white spot so im baffled.
My Mrs only suggestion is that maybe hes just a retarded fish coming from a funfair bowl to here has blown his mind or something

Sorry if the description is vague but its so strange I cant really explain it well...

Congrats on the new tank! =]
15 Gallon should be fine for him. The only idea that I could come up with if hes darting about and twitching the way you described is that it is some form of parasites, check his body carefully, and if you see anything hanging off of it get some parasite meds immediatly. You could try adding some aquarium salt to the tank.

Also it could be the level of other substances in the water like chloramines(?) this often makes them move their bodies like this.

Good luck!

 

[Jazzzz]

15gallon will be fine for now but he will grow fast and will need more space again how about digging him a nice pond for the summer