Sick Fancy Goldfish - Advice?

[lauralonglocks]

Hi.
 
I have a fancy goldfish (no idea what type) it's around 3 years old. Background - lives in a Biorb, I think it's 30 litres, so it has the standard filtration that comes with it. He lives alone and has done for most of his life. (I say he..could well be a she?!)
 
He's never been a particularly active fish, but is usually very content and likes to stare at people.

We feed him once daily, just regular flakes.
 
A couple weeks ago his tank really needed a change of filter, but I couldn't manage to get to the shop to buy one due to work so for about a week I kept him in a backup tank with a basic aerator. Once I managed to get the stuff, I did a complete clean of his tank...100% water change, new gravel, new filter, new airstone, all plants cleaned with tap water...aaaand apparently this was a bad idea..totally thought I was doing him a favour! So he's probably been a little stressed lately!
 
Anyway, after treating the water and leaving it 24hrs we put him back in his home. The next day he kinda stopped swimming and just sat on the bottom of the tank - barely moving and looking like he was gasping for breath. For the next few days we did 10% water changes twice a day (since it seemed he didn't have enough oxygen)
 
Today I got up, and he's completely on his side on the bottom of the tank. After much worrying and research - I came to the conclusion he's got a problem with his swim bladder. I left work early to go to the fish shop here, and took a water sample with me. They tested my water and said it was fine for the most part, but they said I'm overfeeding him (which has led to a very slight build up of bacteria in the water but nothing to worry about).
 
So the advice they have given me is:
 
- Do NOT feed him anything for 2 days
- After this time feed him some live thingys in a bag they gave me..apparently this should de-clog his insides
- Proceed to feed him every other day on sinking pellets...(scrap the flakes)
- Add additional aeration in the mean time
- Stop cleaning his tank so regularly, never clean with tap water. Do not do any cleaning for at least 4 weeks from now.
 
I've added the aerator from the back up tank..it's blowing on the surface of the biorb to try and force some extra oxygen in. Is there ANYTHING else I can do to help him? Is their advice sound? I realllly don't want to wait two days to give him the live things because i'm so afraid he will die in the mean time..but if that's the best course of action then that's what i'll do. He just looks so sad, he keeps attempting to swim, but literally can't move.
 
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

 
Oh and thank you to anyone that read all that - I know it's a lot!!

 

[Lillefishy]

The advice you've been given is wrong.
You have a few problems, the first being the biorb is way too small for a goldfish, even fancies need to be in a much much larger tank, at least 30 gallons.
He's probably suffering from ammonia poisoning as by changing the filter you've lost all the good bacteria that helps process the ammonia.
You'll need to change the water every day, at least 50% don't forget to dechlorinate.
Don't feed normal food for a day or two, give him a deshelled pea in case he's constipated.
Only feed once a day, & just a small amount, you can also give him a deshelled pea once a week to aid digestion.
You should think about getting him a larger tank

 

[lauralonglocks]

30+ gallons for one goldfish..?! That's huge..there's no way I could fit a tank that size in my house..

why don't the people in pet shops tell you this stuff?! The biorb isn't exactly cheap!

If it was ammonia poisoning wouldn't that have shown up in the water test? I didnt ask the reading numbers but two were the lightest colour on the scale and the third was the second one down. I heard about the pea thing, I might go to the 24hr Tesco and buy some tonight..surely can't make things worse!

I'm going to try and attach a video of how he is looking...it might help you decide if its definitely ammonia. 

Thanks so much.
 
Here's the vid: http/s1273.photobucket.com/user/Laura_Entwistle/media/IMG_1442_zpse5299cd0.mp4.html

 

[BerryAttack]

if you can't have the proper tank size for a fish, then it isn't best to have the fish. you only have a 8 gallon tank for a goldfish, that is way to small! depending on the breed you can keep them in a 20 gallon, but make sure no over crowding, and proper maintenance will allow for fish to live happy, healthy and for a long time.
turn off the light to reduce stress on the fish, and add in a air bubblier to allow oxygen into the water.
i would say that you really shocked him with all the change, then he got ammonia poisoning... by the looks of it, he might die.
before adding in new water you must dechlorinate it, you can find products at the store which will assist you with this. and allow the water to stand for 24 hours for evaporation to occur. then you may do your water change. i always have my water ready, fill a container when you are done and allow to sit before doing the next water change, so you are always ready.
you do not always need to buy from the pet store, you can look on sites like www.kijiji.com, just know what you are buying and check it over, which if much cheaper.
 
for next time never do 100% water change, it will kill all good bacteria, which is what is needed for the fish.
plan ahead and research what kind of fish you can have before getting it.
when changing a filter do not do a water change that day. wait a few days to allow the filter to gather good bacteria. 
you can change bedding, but do not toss all water, just do a gravel clean with a gravel vacuum before removing gravel and it will now murk up water.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Unfortunately (as the others have said) it is most likely ammonia poisoning.
 
By changing the filter, you have removed all the good bacteria that removes ammonia (which the fish produces through respiration and excretion- ammonia is very toxic) and turns the ammonia into nitrite (less toxic but still toxic) and then another type of bacteria turns the nitrite into nitrate (only toxic in higher levels).
The filter will need to build up that bacteria again. 
In the meantime, you will need to do daily water changes of at least 75% to remove most of the ammonia. Make sure to use a dechlorinater.
I recommend that you get a test kit that can test for ammonia and nitrite (nitrate and pH is also helpful). API makes a good one. Make sure to get the liquid kits as the test strips are hard to read.
 
Goldfish aren't really suitable for tanks less than 20 gallons. 
The rule for fancy goldfish is 20 gallons for the first goldfish and 10 gallons for every goldfish after that. 
The rule for common goldfish is 30 gallons for the first goldfish and 20 gallons for every goldfish after that.
So, as long as your goldfish is the fancy variety then if you could get a 20 gallon then your goldfish would have a happier and longer life.
 
I'm afraid that your LFS have given you wrong advice. Some LFS do this so they can get more profit