# : ( one of my goldfish died....



## squeekee35 (Feb 9, 2010)

well this is a bit of a mystery....i look at my fish every day and they are not showing any signs of illness at all but yesterday morning when i went to feed one was dead on the surface of the water....and my other fish in the same tank look fine...i haven't had time to check the water perameters yet but i checked the nitrates like a week ago and they were only 20 and the week before that they were only 10...so i honestly don't think they could be that high. i have no idea what happened.

but the dead fish looked terrible. scales falling off fins schredded. i am guessing from just being dead over night i suppose. and maybe the other fish picking at it....

--Angel


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## v-paw (Feb 17, 2013)

What size tank was it in? Because many goldfish die from small tanks since their outsides stop growing, but the insides continue. A goldfish should be in a 20 gallon tank and 10 gallons for every additional.


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## squeekee35 (Feb 9, 2010)

well i had three goldfish in a 30 gallon. but they are barely an inch long...they are just babies. i took my water readings and had zero ammonia zero nitrites and 4 nitrates. and my other two fish are doing fine right now. i have three slightly bigger goldfish in another 30 gallon tank and they are all doing fine as well. i guess the little guy must have been sick but i didn't notice anything off the day before anyway. so i am still mystified anyway.

--Angel


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## weedkiller (Nov 18, 2012)

Some times crap happens....


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## DarwinAhoy (Mar 13, 2013)

4 nitrates? Most tests aren't that accurate. Is that a typo?


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## v-paw (Feb 17, 2013)

Huh, that's a perfect size. Maybe it was just stressful of a move?


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## squeekee35 (Feb 9, 2010)

i have a digit nitrate tester. i got it because i can't tell the difference between the oranges and the reds on my regular test kit and was tired of not knowing the real value.

--Angel


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## squeekee35 (Feb 9, 2010)

well oddly enough in exacly a month to the day pretty much one more of my goldfish in the same tank mysteriously died.....it was fine the day before then the next day i found it dead stuck to the filter intake. well the intake is behind my giant decoration in there so i waited till i got home after work to take him and because he was stuck to the intake for such a long time he had a tear in his gut and all this guts were falling out. it was smelly and gross. i cleaned out the fish net really really good. i haven't checked the water perameters yet though but the last time i checked them there was no ammonia no nitrates and very low nitrates. i have one more fish in there and one replacement fish in quarantine right now to replace the first guy who died. now i am not sure i am going to replace this one or not....it was my lion head that died this time. i am thinking maybe waiting another month to see if any more fish die...or just giving up all together on my fish. i still have one more tank with three other goldfish in it that are doing just fine. all my filters are the same for all tanks my water cleaning routine is the same for all tanks.....and all my fish are doing just fine so i really don't know what is going on. like i said one day they are just fine then the nexy mysteriously dead.....i am getting a bit frustrated i tell ya.....

--Angel


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

what is the tank temp ? they need to be cool..72 or below.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

1 month. Could be a nitrite spike. That's the sneaky one many test kits don't do. Could be aggression. They get to a certain size and then another fish kills them. Could be a slow-killing disease like internal parasites, but usually you see some sign like a sunken belly or not eating. 

If you keep replacing dead fish w/o QT you can bring in new disease to the tank with each new fish. Can't say a tank is reasonably clear of disease until 8 weeks past last new fish or dead fish. Patience is your friend. Stop adding fish and wait another 2 months. If it is illness or water quality, you may see another death. If all the fish die from disease, you can bleach everything and start fresh. It it was a "cycling" issue, you will likely get past it in that timeframe.


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## squeekee35 (Feb 9, 2010)

i have the temp right at 72 but my thermometer isn't too exact. it's one of those rainbow color type and the highest color is on 72 so it might actally be a bit lower than that.

well i have my one fish in quaranine right now i guess i can wait a while before i put him in there anyway. there is no hurry he is about a half in long and in a one gallon bowl that i change the water twice a week...100% change both times. so there is only one fish left in the tank right now. he is my panda butterfly...i really hope he doesn't die as it took months for pet solutions to get those in stock and now i am not sure they are still in stock.

but i am telling you if they all die i am not getting anymore. i already have another goldfish tank anyway and a 10 gallon with some mollies and neon tetras.

--Angel


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Not getting any more of a the species of fish that died in your tank can be a good idea. you may have a species specific disease in the tank or just don't have the right conditions for the fish or your local source of that fish may be bad (selling you weak or sick fish).

But don't give up on fishkeeping. There is something for everyone.


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