One of my goldfish has died and the other was at death's door. so we took it out and put it in fresh water. We buried the dead one and cleaned the tank throughly. Yesterday we put the other goldfish back in the tank. I came down this morning to find that the goldfish's tail had started to divide into strands, one by one these strands began to fall off. Now it's only got about 5 strands left (each one is as thin as a human hair.) Could anyone tell me what is happening to our beloved family pet?
2006-07-27 00:06:55 · 12 answers · asked by Mariah♥ 3 in Pets ➔ Fish
He/she is still eating though?
2006-07-27 00:12:14 · update #1
In my own experience of keeping gold fish this problem occurred twice:
1. when these were kept with other fish who didn't go well with gold fish like blue sharks or mollies or a host of others.
2. when the fish has a disease commonly known as 'fin rot'.
Following steps might help:
1. Don't change water very regularly. Once in every 15 days is usually enough (depending upon the climate of course), ask your fish dealer about it. The water in tank contains necessary nutrients (much like good bacteria in our mouth and intestines) which if removed would cause fish to have many diseases.
2. When you change water, add a pinch of common household salt. It makes water more optimum for goldfish.
3. Never keep healthy fish with diseased ones. I have used a large glass bowl to "treat" the fish. Add a few drops of "methylene blue" or anti fungal (also called anti velvet) medicine in that glass bowl. Let the diseased fish live in it for 1-2 days. Feed it twice a day as you do in your tank. In between let it swim in the ordinary tank for few hours every day. It reduces the chances of infection to other fish.
4. Make sure the temperature of your tank is slightly higher (30 C). It makes the germs/ bacteria/ fungi die away.
5. Aeration pump's connections should be unplugged and cleaned before changing water in the tank.
Good luck with your fish. Hope they remain well.
2006-07-27 00:35:06 · answer #1 · answered by qualittee 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
It sounds like fin rot.
The number one cause of fin rot is poor water quality. You are either not changing their water often enough, or your tank is overstocked and under-filtered. Are these fish in a bowl with no filtration? If so, you are killing them. Invest in a 40-gallon tank with a nice filter.
If the fish are already in a tank, you should be doing 20-40% water changes every week. Otherwise, you're allowing your nitrates to build up, which can potentially cause problems like fin rot.
Treat with 2 teaspoons for every 5 gallons of water of aquarium salt or non-iodized table salt (do not use marine salt). Go to your pet store and pick up StressCoat, and add the amount directed to your tank in addition to the salt. StressCoat contains aloe to promote healing, and electrolytes to help balance the fish's water. If this doesn't start to show any signs of clearing up within five days to a week, you will need to go back to your pet store and pick up an actual antibiotic.
Melafix and Pimafix are relatively useless in this case.
Good luck!
2006-07-27 12:51:20 · answer #2 · answered by birdistasty 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's a fungal infection going on with your fish. Buy some methylene blue and follow the instructions.
Be sure to add methylene blue or any anti fungal medicine to the water tank before placing the fish. Allow the water to be aerated for 1 hour then place your fish back.
2006-07-27 07:13:33 · answer #3 · answered by vincentb88 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
YOUR GOLDFISH SOUNDS LIKE IT HAS FIN ROT. U NEED TO GET A FUNGAL TREATMENT THAT IS CALLED GOLD CARE FIN ROT. U CAN TRY MELAFIX BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE IT HAS GOT TO FAR FOR IT TO HELP. READ INSTRUCTIONS ON MELAFIX YOU MAY BE ABLE TO USE BOTH AT ONCE PLEASE READ THOUGH U CAN OVERDOSE A FISH. A HEADS UP IF YOUR OTHER GOLDIE DOES DIE, U WILL NEED TO TOTALLY CLEAN YOUR TANK REMOVE GRAVEL CLEAN EVERYTHING LIKE A BRAND NEW TANK BEFORE YOU ADD NEW FAMILY MEMBERS. BEST OF LUCK!!
2006-07-27 07:31:36 · answer #4 · answered by kim_tma 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sounds like fin rot ask a a aquatic shop for medicin.
also you did treat the water with tap safe didnt you? as normal tap water harms fish as it has high nitrate levels that a ok for us but not for the fish
2006-07-27 07:17:44 · answer #5 · answered by Joanne 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your fish could actually be upset the other fish had died. I hate to say but the fish might stop eating and trying to kill himself so he can be with the other fish.
2006-07-27 07:11:06 · answer #6 · answered by i<3 ravens 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like a disease. Have you treated the water?
2006-07-27 07:08:48 · answer #7 · answered by bookfreak2day 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you need to buy melafix it is a medicine to help your beloved animals tail grow back good luck to ya...
2006-07-27 07:09:40 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
not to run the risk of being mean... but start digging the other gave!
2006-07-27 07:13:02 · answer #9 · answered by mikhail_luh 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
try melafix
it should help
sorry so much about your goldfish
i remember when my goldfishies died!!!
:'(
2006-07-27 07:13:01 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋