Unsure about fish

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Feathring

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Hey all,

I'm currently a little unsure about my fish and if they look healthy. Looks a little on the swollen side, but I'm also new to fish ownership.

They're currently in an uncycled 1 gallon (currently cycling a 5.5 gallon to move her into after I originally got her out of a coke bottle). Ammonia is reading 0 after a water change (was ~0.25 pre change), nitrite and nitrate at 0. ~78 degrees with heater. There was a swim bladder issue at first where they were on the bottom most of the time, but that seems to be going away and they spend a lot of time near the surface now.

https://imgur.com/gallery/pIwVwhl

These were as clear of pictures as I could get over the last 2 days.

And I've taken that plastic plant in the pics out in favor of a silk plant.
 
The fish looks really skinny and the first picture it looks like the scales are sticking out a little on the left.
Can you see if the scales are sticking out sideways from the body?
If they are, the fish has an internal bacterial infection (dropsy) and could die.

If the fish is eating well then it's a good start. Monitor its poop and see what that looks like. If it's coloured (brown, black) then it's fine. If the poop is white and stringy, then it's a problem.

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Feed the fish 3 times a day for the next month. Use dry, frozen but defrosted and live foods if you can get them.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for the next month. The extra food will help fatten the fish up and hopefully help it recover from any stress it has been through. The big daily water changes will keep ammonia levels down and reduce the number of disease organisms in the water.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
 
The fish looks really skinny and the first picture it looks like the scales are sticking out a little on the left.
Can you see if the scales are sticking out sideways from the body?
If they are, the fish has an internal bacterial infection (dropsy) and could die.

If the fish is eating well then it's a good start. Monitor its poop and see what that looks like. If it's coloured (brown, black) then it's fine. If the poop is white and stringy, then it's a problem.

I keep seeing that slight jagged outline in pictures, but irl it's hard to really see them. Don't know if that's the camera or the fish being pretty active. There were 2-3 on the fish's back that looked like they protruded slightly a few days ago but today the back looks completely smooth. Maybe it's just early? Because the dropsy pictures I've seen are always very pronounced.

Only had them a little over a week, but in that time they've gone from laying on the bottom like a sinking stone (swim bladder issue) to hanging all around the tank. And the appetite has kept up with that progress. I'll see about another feeding mid day if I can.

I will have to keep an eye out for the poop. I don't see any thing white and stringy in the tank though.
 
Are you doing daily water changes since the tanks not cycled. You need to do large ones daily if 75%. Also use Seachem Prime as the dechlorinator as it binds ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates for 24 hours. Keep us posted on him. I was horrified when I read your first post and what they were doing to the poor fish. Glad you rescued him.
 
I keep seeing that slight jagged outline in pictures, but irl it's hard to really see them. Don't know if that's the camera or the fish being pretty active. There were 2-3 on the fish's back that looked like they protruded slightly a few days ago but today the back looks completely smooth. Maybe it's just early? Because the dropsy pictures I've seen are always very pronounced.
It will be the digital camera causing the jagged edge. Digital pictures are made from tiny squares called pixels. They can sometimes have issues producing a smooth curved edge because the pixels are square.

If the fish looks normal to you in real life, then that is fine.

Dropsy is a fast acting disorder and any fish affected by it will swell up overnight and the scales stick out within 24-48 hours. The fish usually dies shortly after that.

Just keep feeding them and doing lots of water changes and they should get better.

Good on you for trying to save them :)
 
just keep feeding them and doing lots of water changes and they should get better.

As far as the water goes, the 5 gallon is cycling surprisingly quickly. I'm going to let it run for a little bit still, but in about a week it's already produced measurable nitrites and those have gone to 0 after a single night and it's producing nitrates. And the ammonia is steadily going down. Once that settles there shouldn't be an issue introducing them into the new tank, right?
 
Are you doing daily water changes since the tanks not cycled. You need to do large ones daily if 75%. Also use Seachem Prime as the dechlorinator as it binds ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates for 24 hours. Keep us posted on him. I was horrified when I read your first post and what they were doing to the poor fish. Glad you rescued him.

I've only been doing 50% water changes as most days the ammonia won't even show up (doing the liquid tests). The 0.25 reading was after having to leave it from Friday night to Sunday night. So did a larger change for that one. I can up it to 70% though. I've also been vacuuming up food and waste recently with a turkey baster and that's helped keep it down a lot I think.
 

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