# HI, New here!



## Mike. (Apr 19, 2010)

Hello guys! My name's Mike (self titled, really!) and I live in Redcar, North East England.

A few home truths for you. I have three goldfish, but I know their conditions are not ideal. Their tank is fine, 3ft by 1 1/2 ft. Gravel substrate, fake plants and a few ornaments for them to hide around.

But I have a consistent problem with cloudy, green water and it's just not ideal for the fish. I performed a 40% water change two days ago, siphoning the gravel which was revealing almost black muck coming from the bottom. I'm doing the same again tonight and will continue to do so every 2-3 days until the water clears up. Everything is covered in an invisible 'slime' which I know is good for the water chemistry but again, I've never ever tested the water.

The three fish I have are very hardy, and I've never noticed any problems. They always feed well, are very active on a night time, they 'clean' the gravel themselves picking up food.

Four weeks ago I added a Butterfly (?) plec to help with the tank walls (and also, they're great to watch) upon the advice of the local aquatic store who advised this would be fine. It's only just over an inch long so I presume it's still young?

This doesn't seem to have caused any problems at all as I rarely see him from hiding. 

One of my fish in particular over the last two years has been very territorial and has been resonsible (I believe) for the death of at least six other fish I've kept with her. Last time she did it, I bought two fish (which makes up my now three) so that she couldn't just focus her attention on one. It has been harmonious for the last six months or so, but the last few days I'ce noticed that she is constantly chasing the two other fish and one of them in particular has fallen victim to her bullying. His tail fin is all shredded, and he swims slightly on his side now. I've removed this 'sick' fish and placed him in a tank with half pre-tank water and half dechlorinated water, with no air flow or filtration. My intention is to change 50% of this water every 2 days whilst he recovers and gets some 'rest'.

What can cause this behaviour? do fish act this way when they are pregnant, or 'mating'?

I checked him this morning and he's relatively static but does respond wuite wuickly if I approach the tank, and is eating bits of food off the floor. The remaining two fish and the plec seem to be getting on fine, she's not picking on either of them, which could suggest that the 'sick' fish is causing this reaction?

I'm at a loss at the moment. I'm gonna clean the tank water this way for two weeks at which point I'm purchasing a much stronger filter (the one I have now just isn't sufficient and I'll admit this). I know it's only a fish, but I'd hate to be responsible for this and I really just need some advice and a few pointers if possible?

Please don't shoot me down, as I've been open and honest about the way I house my fish, but I've read a lot of this forum and am going to make some big changes very soon. Fish fascinate me and I see it as very theraputic, but I need to do it right.

Thanks for 'listening'!!:fish:


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## Mike. (Apr 19, 2010)

Please help! I notice a few views but if you have any advice on what to do with him, it's quite urgent!


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2010)

green water could be 2 things: excess sunlight or overfeeding. is your tank near direct sunlight?


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## Mike. (Apr 19, 2010)

It's near a window but the blinds are always faced away from the tank.


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2010)

try moving your tank to a less sun light area and see the diff.


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## Mike. (Apr 19, 2010)

Eluviet said:


> try moving your tank to a less sun light area and see the diff.


Thats not possible but like I say it doesn't get any direct sunlight at all


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2010)

are u over feeding?


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## Mike. (Apr 19, 2010)

Nope. I put enough flakes in for them to eat within 5 minutes, there are very rarely any left over.


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2010)

then its the sunlight.


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## Mike. (Apr 19, 2010)

With all due respect, the tank is not exposed to sunlight as I've twice indicated.


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2010)

look dude. it doesnt need "direct" sunlight. as long as your tank is the path of diffused sunlight, your tank is getting fed lotta sunlight thats helping the green water grow. if you cant move your tank your stuck doing massive water changes.


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## Mike. (Apr 19, 2010)

OK, now you've detailed your answer, I get it. Thanks.


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## pinetree (Nov 29, 2009)

Lots of issues to address here, but I'll focus on the injured fish. You really should have filtration and an air stone in the hospital tank for it. Do you have an additional filter with some cycled media you could add to the hospital tank? I would also add some aquarium salt to help stave off infection of the injured fins. Add 1 teaspoon salt/US gallon (sorry I don't know the metric conversion on this offhand). Make sure the salt you add has no additives or caking agents to it. Also make sure when you change water in the tank, you add back enough teaspoons of salt to replace those that you have removed. For example, if you remove 5 gallons of water, add back 5 teaspoons of salt with the fresh water.


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## Mike. (Apr 19, 2010)

pinetree said:


> Lots of issues to address here, but I'll focus on the injured fish. You really should have filtration and an air stone in the hospital tank for it. Do you have an additional filter with some cycled media you could add to the hospital tank? I would also add some aquarium salt to help stave off infection of the injured fins. Add 1 teaspoon salt/US gallon (sorry I don't know the metric conversion on this offhand). Make sure the salt you add has no additives or caking agents to it. Also make sure when you change water in the tank, you add back enough teaspoons of salt to replace those that you have removed. For example, if you remove 5 gallons of water, add back 5 teaspoons of salt with the fresh water.


He's only in a very small tank, probably about 5-6 times the length of him, it was a quick thing to get him out. I don't have a spare air pump to use unfortunately!


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## Mike. (Apr 19, 2010)

He's still eating today, Im informed by my better half!

Still quite static but does move when approached so I genuinely think he's just shattered from all the chasing!

I need something to treat his broken tail now.

Would this suffice?

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/interpet-fungus-finrot-100ml-25609


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## pinetree (Nov 29, 2009)

Does the fish have signs of finrot? Or is it just a chewed up tail? Usually, I don't treat with meds unless it is apparent infection has set in. If the tail is just torn up for being bitten, then clean, healthy water and nutritious food should help the fish heal. That's also why I suggested salt, it can help prevent an infection from setting in if it hasn't already.


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## Mike. (Apr 19, 2010)

No signs of fin rot as such, no, its just shredded from being bullied.

He seems very lively today and as I say, the other two seem to be getting along great. Can 'mating' or 'being on heat' cause such behaviour?


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## llogan (Apr 5, 2010)

Id try using some Interpet or wildwater methylene blue unless it is definatly fin rot/fungus, it also does any cuts or abrasions as i use it for pretty much everything, saves on buying treatments everytime, your local fish shop should have some, but its also available on-line, its basicaly an anti fungal and a medicated bath at the same time. Those 2 are the best brands i find, hope this helps.


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