Sarasa Comet Getting Sick?

[brianna5691]

i have a mostly white with orange on top of her head sarasa comet goldfish, her name is Cupid. she (i dont know if its a girl or boy) has pinkish reddish streaks in her tail fin, her body is also becoming slightly pinkish, naturally shes a pure white. somewhat lethargic, she still swims around though, clamped fins, weight loss, some loss of scales. not really labored breathing just looking as if shes coughing or chewing on something a lot, constantly openning and closing her mouth as fin there is irritation possibley in the gills or mouth. shes at the top sometimes or at the bottom staying in one place. her gills are bright red and "seem" swollen because of her weight loss. shes not scratching, there are no lice or worms hanging from her. nitrate: 0
nitrite:0
pH: 7.5
gh: 120ppm
kh:about 120ppm
ammonia: 0.5ppm
i feed her flakes, freeze dried blood worms sometimes.
5 1/2gal QT tank.
Filter: tetra pf 10, which seems to not be pushing out a lot of water anymore.
decor: plastic log w fake plants comming off of it.
oh and she used to be in a 10 gal with another sarasa comet.
i'm not sure what's wrong with her, help please.

 

[phocoena]

It may be ammonia poisoning.
You need to change water with dechlorinator to remove the ammonia, small amounts of ammonia are toxic.

 

[WILDER]

To keep 2 goldfish you really need to be keeping them in a 40 gallon tank.
Also due to goldfish being massive waste producers you would need an 80 gallon filter.

What is the brand name of the rest kit you are using?
Immediate water change.
Add an internal bacteria med to the tank.

Red streaking of fins is septicemia.
It sounds bacterial but do need to also rule out the possibility of parasites.
Bad water quality.

Get a magnifying glass and take a look to see if you can see any tiny white worms behind the gill flap.
Does the fish flick and rub on objects in the tank?
Any red sores, or tiny red pin prick marks on the fish body, or fins.
Does the fish dart around the tank, or any signs of erratic swimming.

Septicemia

Symptoms:

Fish may have reddening at fin bases, blood streaks throughout the fins and body, small hemorrhages around the eyes. Dull listless behavior and lack of appetite may also be present.


Cause:

Systemic bacterial infection caused by various bacteria, including Aeromonas, Pseudomonas and Vibrio. The illness is often brought on by poor water quality or as a result of parasitic infestations or other infections. These bacteria enter the blood stream and circulate through the tissues causing inflammation and damage. Inflamed blood vessels in the skin and at fin bases stand out. Blood vessel and heart tissue damage cause hemorrhaging and consequently leakage of body fluids into the abdomen, which may lead to Dropsy.


Treatment:

Water conditions must be improved for all fish in the tank, regardless of how many fish are infected. Check your water�s Treat with Kanacyn or Tetracycline as well as with a medicated food if the fish will eat. If parasites are suspected, all the fish in the tank should be treated with antiparasitic medication. Using salt to help restore osmotic balance might be helpful.


fish-disease.net

 

[brianna5691]

thank you phocoena and wilder so much for your feedback. cupid's tail is red at the base, your symptoms list of the septicemia are pretty spot on with how shes acting, ill get right on fixing my ammonia problem.the test kits im using is tetra easy stips 6 in 1. im really scared to look behind her gill because shes kind of little and ive never handled a fish i dont want to do any damage. shes not darting around. she does look like she has a tiny slit on her side tho. ive never seen her scratch on anything tho, she leaves the decor alone.also no sores no bumps. no red pin pricks. i dont have any space for a 40 gal, 20 gal is about the best i can do space wise possibly 29gal. my orange comet is about 4 1/2in and cupid is about 4in. theyre not very big just yet but ive read the grow fast and big. do u think a 29gal would do for now? and i plan on getting the test kit using samples of water and the drops. testing strips ive heard arent always very accurate. so for now internal bacteria meds?

 

[WILDER]

Test strip cards are not very accurate.
Liquid test kits are far better. I would advise investing in a master test kit.

The 29 gallon not to bad for now. But they would need to upgrade as they grow bigger.
For now maybe add another filter to help cope with the load. 30 gallon filter.
Or get the 29 gallon tank now. Also buy a 60 gallon filter.

Septicemia hard to cure once it advances.
Furanol 2 by JBL is a good medication. But it will wipe the good bacteria out in your filter.
You could use the 2 gallon isolation tank. You would have to preform water changes daily. Adding the correct amount of medication back to water removed.
Also increase aeration.

Anti internal bacteria med by interpet. Only good on mild bacteria infections.
The red inflamed, swollen gills are more than likely due to bad water quality.

Till you get the medication. Water changes 3 times a day. Check water quality a few hours after a water change. (Ammonia & nitrite)

 

[WILDER]

A link for you to take a look at.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/43980-gold-fish-in-tanks/

 

[brianna5691]

i have her on tetracycline,i dont think its helping. ive been doing water changes, everything is at zero except the ammonia which is at .25ppm i cant seem to get it any lower than that no matter what i do. she kind of looks worse. shes wobbly, labored breathing, staying at the bottom, shes still moving but its almost like a slither through the tank. earlier she was on her side for a minute. and i dont think she ate any of her food this morning either. what else can i do??! i feel like crap because its my fault shes not getting any better but im doing the best that i know how ive only had fish for about the past 3 or 4 months which is definitely not a lot of experience.

 

[brianna5691]

and now i notice that there is a horizontal straight line of what almost looks like pin pricks (no color) u can tell by the tiny shadows they make from just behind the middle of her cheek all the way down to the center of her tail. it perfectly divides her top half from her bottom half.

 

[WILDER]

How is the fish now?

It's not sounding to good i'm afraid.

Are the tiny pin prick marks red, or no colour to them?

 

[brianna5691]

no color at all. she stays on her side now about 90 percent of the time. she flops a little from time to time. her breathing looks deep and slow. i think shes on her last leg

 

[Aquascaper]

Sounds a bit like Head and Lateral Line Erosion (HLLE) but I don't know if it occurs in freshwater aquariums as I've only heard of it in marine fish

Here's a link anyway if you want to check it out:
http/www.fish-disease.net/diseases/hlle.php

 

[WILDER]

Poor thing.
Have you preformed another water change?

I agree. It does sound like the fish is dying. They do tend to lay or there sides, even start to turn upside down, heavy breathing, before death.
If you think the fish is not going to pull throw. She does sound in a bad way. It might be kinder to end her suffering.
I like to give fish a good chance to recover, but it sounds like the fish is going downhill fast.
I'm so sorry.

The tiny pin prick marks down here side, do they have any white strands coming out of the holes.

 

[Blitz]

I think it's ammonia poisoning too. Sounds like your girl is on her last leg, I believe too. I'm sorry, I love my goldie babies too. THis once happened to my Halo (he was a sarasa comet too) too, he was all fine, and his tail fin was pure white but had a tint of red/pink in it. I freaked me out, but it went away in a few days. Hopefully, your girl will survive.

 

[WILDER]

Hows the fish Brianna5691?

 

[brianna5691]

she died the day after my last post but thats ok, she went to fishy heaven