# First poor little Goldy... Please help



## unspankable (Apr 19, 2013)

HEllo everybody,

This is my first post and I'm very new to fish. I really really need help. I love animals very much and my silly girlfriend accepted a small goldfish as a present knowing nothing about them. We have a Puny 'fluval Chi' 5 Gallon tank and at first everything seemed fine. Our fish got lethargic and started resting on the substrate, but would wake up in the morning. Then I noticed the poor little guy gasping at the top of the tank a couple of days later so I did a 50% water change.
Next day the poor guy was covered in white spots and part of his tail had started to erode, although i didnt know it at the time. I freaked out and read as much as I could as quickly as I could and bought NOX ICH to clear the white spots.
The next day he looked way worse. Had clamped fins, rotting tail and white cloudy substance all over his rear half of his body. He looked very very sick.
I went and bought API test kit, API triple sulfa and API Fungus cure aquarium salt and prime and came home and started a treatment of Triple sulfa and malachite green at 24 hr intervals, Fungus cure at 48 hour intervals and daily 30%-50% water changes with prime. I'm putting in top fin Bacterial supplement temporarily to try and help him through this although I know they will not form a sustainable colony.
Every water change i put in about a 1/2 teaspoon of aquarium salt.
Its been 3 days and he still seems very very very rough.

He has white cloudy looking 'mucusy' stuff hanging off of him, and white dots, no tail, all fins clamped. Is floating on the surface. Has a very hard time swimming down.
I don't know what to do.
The cloudy fungus looks worse than it did yesterday.
The white patches on his back and tail look almost yellow.

I know our tank is too small but it is all I can do for at least two more weeks. I need to get him through this with the small tank.

I think this was all caused by stress from ammonia poisoning and poorly matched temp water changes.

My levels

pH is 7.6
Ammonia is now 0ppm but rises to 0.25 between daily changes
nitrite is 0ppm
nitrate is 0ppm

I've attached pictures.

He now has black/greyish patches on his gills and face.

Thanks so much for reading. Any help would be a Godsend.

Please click the links for pictures!

http://s12.postimg.org/wexj7arop/IMG_20130418_194232.jpg

http://s12.postimg.org/ukkopk4o9/IMG_20130418_194129.jpg


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

Poor little fellow. You're right to suspect the water quality and/or temp. Sounds like more than one disease. Ich is a parasite. The white stuff could be fungus. The rest sounds bacterial. Goldfish need a tank with a heater to maintain the temp. at 72-75*, does yours have a heater? With ich involved, salt helps, but warmer (76-79)water temp. will kill it in the free swimming stage. For combination bacerial/fungal infections, I use Maracyn and Maracyn2 combined, as directed on package. This can be used with salt, but I would not combine with other meds, like the fungus cure, unless the diections say it is okay. By using the triple sulfa & fungus cure together, you are doing basically the same thing as the Maracyn/Maracyn2, but I have more confidence in Maracyn because it is a more broad spectrum. Hope he makes it! Oh-if you do increase the temp, do it slowly, over a day or two. The last thing he needs is additional stress in his environment.


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## unspankable (Apr 19, 2013)

C. King said:


> Poor little fellow. You're right to suspect the water quality and/or temp. Sounds like more than one disease. Ich is a parasite. The white stuff could be fungus. The rest sounds bacterial. Goldfish need a tank with a heater to maintain the temp. at 72-75*, does yours have a heater? With ich involved, salt helps, but warmer (76-79)water temp. will kill it in the free swimming stage. For combination bacerial/fungal infections, I use Maracyn and Maracyn2 combined, as directed on package. This can be used with salt, but I would not combine with other meds, like the fungus cure, unless the diections say it is okay. By using the triple sulfa & fungus cure together, you are doing basically the same thing as the Maracyn/Maracyn2, but I have more confidence in Maracyn because it is a more broad spectrum. Hope he makes it! Oh-if you do increase the temp, do it slowly, over a day or two. The last thing he needs is additional stress in his environment.


Thank you very much for your reply! I really appreciate any input i can get on this whatsoever.
I have kanaplex on order at the moment. The parasites were non responsive to nox ich, so i have switched it out for Tetra Parasite guard today.
His activity has definitely picked up, although i don't know whether that is a good or bad sign because he is darting. His tail is bent now and I have no idea why. His body is not bent and he is not C shaped, just at the end of his tail right before his tail fin he is crooked to the right..
After i finish the course of triple sulfa I will switch to the Maracyn combo or kanaplex if it has arrived by then, provided he has not improved.

I do not have a water heater unfortunately. His tank temperature is 18 degrees C which is 64.5 F. 
This is probably too cold but will keep any bacterial infections from exploding out of control Im hoping.

Again, thank you for your help.


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## yannis2307 (Apr 23, 2012)

64F is too low even for a goldie I think... try raising it at least to 72-74...


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## unspankable (Apr 19, 2013)

He died last night.

But for anyone who gets into this mess, Tetra Parasite guard cleared the parasites on his body.
I miss the little guy.


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

Sorry for your unpleasant experience. This could be a great time to study up on tank water cycling, and invest in a bit larger tank, with heater! Fish keeping can be a rewarding, even addicting hobby, with proper equipment and knowledge! I hope you &your girlfriend will not become discouraged.


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## fuzzi (Dec 29, 2012)

Sorry about your Goldfish.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

actually goldfish should never be kept in a heated tank...they live in most of the colder regions of the world..they will do just fine outside in the winter with water temps at 34-36 degrees F...as long as they are kept below the freeze line...
goldfish need specific diets formulated for them...floating foods are not always good as the fish can swallow air and become bloated....they need diets that are high in vegetable matter...


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

I agree that the types of goldfish that are closest to their wild cousins do quite well without heaters. But the fancy varieties, which have been inbred so much over the years for their for genetic aberrations, are much more delicate. I raised some beautiful fancy varieties like oranda, lion heads, moors, and I found that a heater is an absolute necessity to keep the water temp from fluctuating. They do require cooler water than tropical fish- 72 as opposed to 78, give or take a few degrees-- but they are prone to life threatening diseases when their environment is not stable, or water is consistantly too cool. I have not had experience with koi, but since they are commonly kept in outdoor ponds, I suspect they are much more hardy.


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