Why did my goldfish die? Help!!!!!!?

Question

I had three goldfish in my tank, 1 comet, 1 common, and 1 shubunkin. Anyways, the comet goldie had fungus, so I treated the water with meds until he was cured. The day after he was cured, the common goldie got fin rot!!! First of all, why didn't that fish absorb the meds in the first place? Why did he get fin rot right after I put in meds that could cure fin rot and fungus??? Anyways, I put more meds in, and he got worse and died!!! And those meds were supposed to cure fin rot, fungus, and a variety of other diseases... why did that fish just die on me like that???

And PLEEEZ don't tell me "They're goldfish. They die fast!" Umm, noo!! Goldfish have a lifespan of 20 yrs+ if you take care of them, which I do. And if I put meds in, it's not exactly supposed to die.

Fish experts, pleeez help! Why did this happen!?

Answer 1

The medication you use can make a difference and you have to follow the full course which is usually 3-4 treatments. Another consideration about aquatic medications that many Aquarium Stores and aquarists do not realize is that not all antibiotics that work well in humans, work well in fish. Most bacterial pathogens in aquariums tend to respond more to anti-biotics that are heavily gram negative. Antibiotics such as Penicillin or ampicillin are almost totally useless in aquariums, yet many pet stores persist in selling these antibiotics. With goldfish (if kH is 80 ppm or higher, which it should be), Kanamycin Sulfate and/or Nitrofurazone would be the antibiotics to start with.

Your water parameters are important too, you need an aquarium that is at least 8-10 gallons per goldfish as they grow (they can be more crowded when younger, but only temporarily). Your ammonia level needs to be 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 40 ppm or less, pH around 7.5, and a kH above 80 ppm. KH is an often forgotten water parameter, yet next to ammonia and nitrite, it is very important. KH measures (in basic terms) your calcium levels in your water, without proper calcium levels the fish osmotic processes will suffer and result in poor health and disease susceptibility. Another aspect of water quality that affects goldfish is the Redox Potential, which unfortunately many aquarists are not familiar with. You want a Redox Potential of about 300 mV. A UV sterilizer is a simple way of maintaining this. Goldfish are very dirty and although keeping a proper Redox Potential is not essential, in my studies it helps a lot with dirty fish like goldfish.

Feeding is also important to fish health, goldfish need more vegetable matter in there diet and one that has usable aquatic proteins, not mostly cereal fillers such as TetraFin.

A change of water between treatments is a good idea, and the use of products such as Wonder Shells which add electrolytes and improve kH are highly recommended.

For a lot more information that can help you backed by current research, check out this site:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Information.html

Here is a forum with a lot of professional knowledge:
http://groups.msn.com/EverythingAquatic/

Answer 2

First of all...how big is your tank and do you have a good filter? Each goldfish requires at least 5-10 gallons each. Also, if you had a carbon filter in your tank it neutralizes and removes the medicine. Oops! It is a good idea to keep a hospital tank - something like a 10 gallon up and going so that you can isolate and treat any sick fish as soon as they show signs of being sick. Also, have you tested the ph of the water? The ph and balance of the water can be thrown off by the treatments for fish. I have found that the best treatment for sick fish is just a little bit of salt, warm water, a clean tank and that medicine......what is the name.....copper-something. Ask your local petstore (NOT Petsmart of Petco -they're idiots) and they will know the name. Melafix is also a waste of money. Try the salt. Good luck!

Answer 3

a couple of thing may have taken place. fist, are you sure it was fin rot? not one or both of the others nipping at him. I know it's not common among golds but it dose happen, this could have stressed him. second if the water was over medicated it could have forced a loss of appetite, weakening your fish and making him more susceptible to disease, even while treating it. You should check your other two to see if they are eating or just sucking and spitting out food. Also check PH and temp.
Good fishy health.

Answer 4

What is the size of the tank? The three of them should be in a 29 gallon, minimum. They produce an enormous amount of waste, and small bowls or tank make the ammonia levels very concentrated which will make the fish sick.

Answer 5

haha * fish soup,cat soup,no fish soup,no cat soup....i'm getting a feeling that fridays each and every of those who've no humorousness visit this internet website,ought to nicely be they seem ahead to get in Y/A and be ugly,their weeks spotlight !

Answer 6

1. Old age.
2. disease.
3. Wrong type of water.
4. Starvation

It could be any of them!

Answer 7

all fish die sometime did you feed it