Fish Bent And Lying On The Bottom

[nagaraj]

Hi I have 2 goldfish in a 10g tank, the ammonia is 0, ph is 6.6 to 6.8, i have an aqueon powerfilter, i also have an airpump and a airstone. I saw one of the goldfish lying on the bottom, bent on one side. what should i do? I am new to this hobby and have lost of fish. The other fish is ok.

I immediately did a 50% change, put 2 teaspoons of aquarium salt and 10ml of the stress coat. I also changed the filter in my powerfilter.

[Iheartfishies1172]

You may already know that goldfish, depending on the type, need ten gallons each. So I won't go into detail unless you have questions!

What kind of fish do you have?

Can you answer the questions up at the top?

The 50% change was excellent! Did you dechlorinate it? Temperature and PH match it?

The thing that you did that was not so good is change the filter insert.

Unless you have another type of media in there that you did not change, you have just crashed your cycle. This is very bad for a sick fish! It's okay if you didn't know, that's why we have Koko's!

Keep a VERY close eye on water params, specifically for ammonia and nitrite in the case of a crashed cycle. Do you have a test kit? Drops, like the API Master Test kit for fresh water are best. We need those readings to properly diagnose any fish illnesses, so pick one up if at all possible.

Keep us posted. I'm sure someone with more experience will stop by to help out!

[Chrissy_Bee]

The thing that you did that was not so good is change the filter insert.

Unless you have another type of media in there that you did not change, you have just crashed your cycle. This is very bad for a sick fish! It's okay if you didn't know, that's why we have Koko's!

Take a look at that link I posted in your other thread about cycling. Filters actually house good bacteria that consume ammonia and nitrite, but they need time to grow - that's what cycling is. So once you have a healthy colony, your ammonia and nitrite levels stay down. However, if you toss all the filter media, you toss the bacteria and crash your cycled. Instead, it's best to just rinse the media in dechlorinated water.

I would suspect you're seeing the results of nirites. Have you tried brining a water sample to a pet store to have them test it for you?

[Sakura]

Something nobody has touched on yet is that your pH is way too low for goldfish. 6.6-6.8 is quite dangerous. You want it to be at least 7.4. Do you know the pH of your tap water? Can you also find out the KH of your tap water? What kind of test kit are you using?

[nagaraj]

i have a sick calico and a healthy black moor. The power filter has a bio holster which is not removed, i threw the carbon insert only.

[nagaraj]

yes I did dechorinate it and checked the temp.

[Chrissy_Bee]

Something nobody has touched on yet is that your pH is way too low for goldfish. 6.6-6.8 is quite dangerous. You want it to be at least 7.4. Do you know the pH of your tap water? Can you also find out the KH of your tap water? What kind of test kit are you using?

Actually it's in another post http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/forum/index.php?/topic/87828-using-buff-it-up/page__pid__1002603#entry1002603

I didn't realize your fish were fancies, that's slightly better. It means you should aim for a tank with a minimum size of 20 gallons.

I am still thinking nitrites may be to blame. It never hurts to do water changes, if I were you I'd do another one - this time as big as possible.

Also, do you have gravel in the tank? That can make problems worse when you are overstocked by holding a lot of rotting food and debris.

[nagaraj]

hi i found the old filter catridge. How to transfer bacteria from the old filter to the new one

[seheap]

If the filter was in the trash or somewhere else that it could possibly be contaminated, do not replace it.

You don't actually transfer the bacteria from one piece of filter media to another, you just never replace the media until it literally breaks down. Usually you should just rinse the media (by swishing it in a bucket of OLD TANK WATER). But since you already threw it out, I would just leave it out.

Can you also answer all the questions from the top of the page (in the white box)? That will help us get a better picture of what's going on.

[nagaraj]

hi i found the filter in the bucket i use to change the water so its not contaminated.

[seheap]

If that is the case, then it should be fine. Is the media still wet? Or has it dried out?

If it's dried the bacteria have all died and putting it back in will do nothing. If it's still damp, though, put it back in the filter.

Please, still answer the questions from the white box at the top of the page. I know you have answered a lot of the questions here and there, but having them all in one post will make reference easier.

[nagaraj]

Hi ryukin girl, I am updating all the information as u suggested.

Ammonia is 0,

ph is 6.6 (tank), 6-8 (tap)(today),

I don't have a test kit for nitrates, nitires, kh & gh.

I use the API drop test kit for ammonia & ph.

I don't know the water temperature. I live in a apartment so it must be room temp.

Tank size 10g, I've have it for the past 6-8 weeks.

I have a Aqueon power filter 10,it hangs on the back of the tank.

I changed the water today 50% when i saw one fish was in trouble.

There are 2 1" long goldfish, one is a calico and the other is a black moor ( telescope),

I use the API stress coat, 10 ml for each water change.

The fish are fed once a day, I feed them the tetra fin flakes, one flake per fish, size of the flake is the size of their eye.

The black fish was added a week ago.

No medication used,

No signs of bleeding,

the calico lies on the bottom and is bent. When i fed them today he swam upright to feed.

[seheap]

Thanks for the info! I edited your post to make it a little easier to read, I hope you don't mind.

You need to get test kits for at least nitrIte and nitrAte. It's very important to know these levels in this hobby. Especially since you are overstocked. You need to get a bigger tank and bigger filter ASAP. Keeping your goldfish in these conditions for even a few months can lead to irreversible damage.

Your pH is much too low. Goldfish need a pH that is basic (above 7.0) in order to thrive. You could try either crushed coral or Buff-it-up by goldfish connection. (I know you already have this info, but it's really important you take care of this problem, and soon).

Also, you should not be feeding flakes. They lose their nutritional content very fast and are nothing but thin pieces of cardboard. Get a good quality pelleted food (I like Hikari brand and AquaDine brand) and try and feed veggies and frozen fish foods at least twice a week.

I think once you get the water issues taken care of and the nutrition issues addressed, your fish will uncurl himself.

Curling can be caused by a few things but most common is water quality issues and malnutrition.

[nagaraj]

Hi ryukin girl, Thanks for editing my post, I don't mind. I am going to get the nitrite & nitrate test today, i am going to order buff-it-up, its not available in stores so I have to order it online. Unfortunately I live in a small apt so i will not be able to get a bigger tank. I am thinking of a getting a hydro-sponge filter and I am planning to attach it to my airstone.

I'll get the pet food, as you suggested, from the lfs. I need more info about veggies and frozen foods, do you have a link where i can read them

Thank you for taking the time to advise me, i appreciate it very much.

[Sakura]

When I lived in a small one bedroom apartment, I managed to make room for a 55 gallon tank, a 29 gallon tank, and a 5 gallon betta tank. It can be done Perhaps you have a space somewhere you could clear out for a larger tank? It's honestly a necessity for these fish. If you can't get them a larger place to live, it would be in their best interest to rehome them or see if a pet store will take them in.

[Chrissy_Bee]

Here's a link about fresh foods http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/forum/index.php?/topic/86093-best-fresh-fruits-and-veggies-for-my-orandas/

If you can't get a bigger tank, I really think the best thing for you to do would be to re-home one fish

Even with a very high amount of filtration, a 10 gallon just won't provide enough space for two fish.

[dogsbykat]

Hope your fish gets feeling better, I just wanted to add that a 20 gal tall doesn't take up much more space than a 10; the footprint is only a couple of inches bigger each way. It's still not ideal, but it would be better

[nagaraj]

can you believe it? my lfs does'nt have any nitrate & nitrite test kits, the staff looked at me as if I was speaking greek. I've to order it online. does anybody know which site gives a good deals like free shipping?

[amynmitchell]

I believe P-mart and P-co may have them. I like Dr. Fosters and Smith and Big Als.

[nagaraj]

hi everyone, my calico is not as bent as before, but he stills sits on the gravel and hides in dark places. He comes up for feeding only. I tested the water, ammonia is 0 but ph dropped to 6.4, i've order buff-it-up, it should get here early next week.

I notice thin white wispy threads floating in the tank, is that a bad or good sign?

[amynmitchell]

I think that is slimecoat sloughing off from a PH drop which is pretty deadly. I don't know enough about PH, but I think you need to do something now. I belive coral and baking soda can raise PH. Do you have an airstone running in your tank?

[nagaraj]

Hi amy, yes I've an airstone in my tank. how much of baking soda should i use for 10g tank? Once I get the biu, I'll do a water change and add the biu

[pss_gold]

I wouldn't use too much as it can make pH sky rocket to 8 something easily. a quick change up is probably as bad as a quick change down. 1/2 teaspoon per 100 Liters raises the KH by about 1 dH. You probably want about... 2-4 dH but you don't know how generally hard your water is, i'd keep an eye on the ph. probably test a couple times a day. It almost sounds like you have reverse osmosis water or something close to it so that buff it up should work. if not, kent r/o right worked for me. keep the bubbles going as they will get the access co2 out.

[Cynders]

I would add a handful of crushed coral in your filter for the longterm. Make sure you rinse it well or else your water will be a very cloudy white. This will raise your pH up slowly but surely. You can put it in pantyhose in the filter incase you don't have a filter bag.

[nagaraj]

hi I am sorry to inform you that my calico died. I have only one left, the black moor. Thank you for your help. Water in new york is so bad that I use a counter top purifier at home, which is the only system that uses Ultra violet light and a carbon filter that removes 145 organisms, chemicals and heavy metals, it purifies 99.99%, these are far better than r/o or any other unit. I use them to purify water for drinking, cooking and for water changes in the fish tank. I love these filters so much that I am distributing them.

I will keep testing the ph, keep the bubbles and wait for the buff-it-up.

Edited December 5, 2010 by nagaraj