Part of goldfish's fin has turned grey. Sign of fin rot?

Question

I am a beginner and this is the first fish that I have kept by myself. This is my third day with the goldfish and I am currently keeping him in a roomy bowl. I started him out in a smaller bowl, and then the next day put him in a larger bowl with treated water. He seemed to be inactive for very long periods of time yesterday, so I did a partial water change, replacing with bottled spring water. After that, he seemed to perk up. Today I noticed that the end of his bottom fin has turned black. He seems active, but is not eating his food. I left it there for a while, and came back to find him swimming around, with all the uneaten food littering the gravel. Is he sick? Could he possibly have fin rot?

Answer 1

To me it sounds like a combination of stress and probably ammonia problems. All the moving around can stress a fish and cause it not to eat for a few days. That's not a serious problem for a fish, they can go without food for a while. There is also the potential for ammonia problems though. That comes from his waste and from uneaten food in the bowl.

To be honest, a goldfish is really way too messy and gets way too big for just a bowl, he needs a tank. For now though, get the uneate food out of his bowl (sucking it up with a turkey baster is a good way) and replace the water you got out with the food with fresh water. Always use water from the same source and your tap water will probably be just fine for him. Make sure the water is the same temperature as the water in the bowl to keep from stressing him even more. Use your old small bowl and fill it with clean water and use declorinator drops to make it safe for the fish. Then set it next to his bowl for several hours. All day or over night. This will let the temperature become the same. Now you can use water from the old bowl to replace water in his bowl. Change about 25% of the water in his bowl every day for the next few days and then start doing it every 2-3 days. Always get any uneaten food out about 10 minuts after you feed him so it doesn't foul up his water.

it is possible your fish has fin rot, but its more likely ammonia damage. If it keeps kepping worse, you will need to treat for fin rot. A good local pet store has what you need and can help you with questions about how to treat him. Try to find a shop that only sells fish and fish goods, not a big department store or mega pet store, those have far less informed staff as a rule.

Best of luck getting him feeling better!

Answer 2

Yes, it is probably fin rot. And, I can tell you that it is due to overcrowding, poor water quality and a lack of filtration/aeration. Because goldfish produce high levels of waste, they need a minimum of 10 gallons of water per fish. Your bowl, no matter how "roomy," is still too small. It also has no filtration or aeration. Filtration is necessary to remove the waste that they produce. It also helps remove that excess food you're allowing to remain in the tank, which you shouldn't do. Aeration is necessary because goldfish need a huge amount of oxygen because of the waste they produce. You need a bigger tank for your goldfish. If you can't afford a 10 gallon aquarium, one of those plastic storage containers will work great until you can afford an aquarium. Good for you for using spring water. That is a good start and, clearly, it made a difference in how your fish responded. You don't have time to properly cycle your larger tank, so you will need to fill it with spring water and also get some stress-coat and a ph stabilizer of 7.0 for goldfish. Then you need to get some Maracyn or Maracyn 2 and administer it according to directions. Treatment can take up to 8 or 10 weeks, so a lot of patience, diligence and persistence is required to get your fish back to health. In the meantime, while you're nursing your fish back to health, learn about cycling water and get a good 10 gallon tank cycling with a proper filter. For goldfish, you need a pump that pumps 10X the water for the size of the tank. So, if you have a 10 gallon tank, you need a pump that pumps at least 100 gph. You also need to learn how to feed and what to feed. You also need to remember to remove all the food that the fish doesn't eat after five minutes. Good luck and take care!

Answer 3

Make sure the goldfish's water is the right temperature. Goldfish tend to like cooler water unlike tropical fish. I would medicate him with something that is safe to use in a bowl (that doesn't require a bubble wand to aerate the water). How much food are you giving him? If it is too much it will sink to the bottom quickly and give the illusion of him not eating. But if you don't see him eat, then medicate him soon.