Goldfish Problem?

Question

Hi I checked on Ariel my Red Comet Goldfish and I noticed half of her tail fell off. She was very hyper yesterday and she still had her tail. and also my other Goldfish was hyper smashing into the Glass,Diving and banging himself against the bottom of the tank. He doesn't stop so I have to put a net around him so that he will calm down. Could he be territorial and maybe tore off Ariels tail?

Answer 1

Sorry this is so long, but there is a lot of information that needs to be given. Goldfish are not aggressive animals. In fact, especially when it comes to their own kind and tankmates, they become very close buddies. They love having friends and are probably the most social fish; almost equal to the personality of puppies. Ariel's fin fell off from fin rot. Fin rot is caused by poor water quality caused by overcrowding and/or poor maintenance of the water. Your other goldfish is behaving the way that he is because of the poor water quality and, specifically, this behavior is highly indicative of ammonia poisoning. Goldfish have an extremely high waste ouput, in the form of ammonia, which can quickly foul the water and cause it to become toxic if the goldfish are not given enough room in the tank and if the water is not properly maintained. Because of these diseases, the fishes' behavior and the fact that you have two goldfish, I am betting that your tank is overcrowded and that the water is not being properly maintained. The rule for goldfish is 10 gallons of water per fish. And that's for the fancies. And even for fancies it can be more once they get big enough. For comets, it needs to, ultimately, be 20 gallons or more per fish. So, for two goldfish, at least for the moment, you should have a minimum of a 20 gallon tank. a 40 gallon tank would be better. I'm betting you do not. If you do, great for you! If that's the case, then that means you just need to learn how to do proper water changes. If it isn't the case, you need to get a 20 gallon aquarium as soon as possible. If you can't afford one, those large plastic storage containers work great as a temporary aquarium until you can afford to get a real tank. You also need a very good filter that effectively maintains the mechanical, chemical and bacterial levels of the water. The rule for filters is that a filter should pump 10X the water as the size of the tank. Thus, for a 20 gallon tank, you should have a filter that pumps 200 gph. You should never completely clean the sponge in the filter. All that is required is to rinse it out in the old water that is removed from the tank during the regular cleanings. Also, there are very beneficial bacteria that live in the gravel that are necessary for the health of the fish. While you do need to clean out the gunk that accumulates in the gravel, you should never completely clean it "squeeky clean." That kills all of that beneficial bacteria. Water changes for a proper size aquarium should be done once a week only removing 25% of the old water and replacing it with properly cycled new water. You need to read up on how to cycle water, how to do proper water changes and proper feeding. For now, however, you need to get a hospital tank going with the plastic storage container using only spring water, not tap water. Until you learn how to cycle tap water, it has too many bad chemicals in it that are bad for the goldfish. And it should be spring water, not distilled water. Spring water still has all of the necessary minerals. Distilled water has had all those minerals removed. You need to get some Stress-Coat to help reduce the stress these fish are going through. There is a beneficial bacteria that you can add to your aquarium that helps along that beneficial bacteria process, but for now, you don't need it because you need to get these fish medicated to treat the fin rot and ammonia poisoning. The medication will kill the beneficial bacteria. So, you will have to add that after the treatment is over. It is called Bio-Spira. It must be kept in a refrigerator, so it won't be on the pet store shelves. You will have to ask for it. To treat fin rot, you need to get some Maracyn or Maracyn 2 and administer it according to directions. It can take a long time to get your fish back to health, maybe 6-8 weeks, so you need to be patient and diligent. The fins can grow back, not perfectly, but they will, if the fish get healthy again. You should only feed once a day and remove any uneaten food that remains after five minutes so that the food also does not foul the water. You also should feed medicated food as this is a bacterial infection and is internal as well. Feed them something such as Medi-Gold or Metro-Med. Also, get a test kit so that you will be able to determine what your water parameters are so you can get it healthy. Perfect water should read at 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrites and no more than 50 ppm nitrates. Good luck to you and your fish! I hope you all have a very happy ending!

Answer 2

Wow, what a laundry list of answers....and only half of them make any sense at all.

The problem sounds like poor water quality to me, probably high ammonia or nitrites. I would suggest you give the tank a 50% water change to help improve the water quality. Be sure you change about 35% or so every week to help kep the tank clean.

Fin rot is not the problem with your fish. Also finrot is not caused by bad water or anything of that nature. Fin rot is a bacteria infection that only comes from contact with other infected fish or water. It doesn't suddenly materialize in a tank, it's doesn't lurk around a tank and wait to strike. If it's in the tank the fish get it, pure and simple. If someone tells you otherwise then they are wrong, pure and simple. If they have a web site to back it up, then the site is wrong, it's just the facts. Same with most other diseases, including ick.

Your fish don;t have an internal infection that is causing this. There is no internal infection that would cause those symtoms. None. Not one. Feeding medicated food will do no good and will stress the fish for no reason. Don't do it. Same as with the fin rot, if someone tells you other wise they are flat out wrong.

Your fish are acting as if they are under severe stress. The usual cause of such stress is something wrong with the water. It might be any one of several things. High ammonia, high nitrites, high nitrates, high temperature, sudden change in pH. a toxin in the tank...and lots more. I have no idea which it is for your tank, but the good news it the cure for most any of that is a big water change. Try that and see if they don't improve.

Now, the one that lost part of a fin might get a fungus in the damaged area, so watch for a cottony looking growth there. If you see that you will need to treat for the fungus. Any pet shop will have fungus medicine that will take care of it.

It's possible the fish that lost some fin has a bacteria infection that caused that. If so it will lose more finnage and you will see red bloody areas in or around the fins, if that is the case you do need to treat with antibiotics, but don't treat until you see the redness or more fin loss.

Hope this helps and write if you need more help.

Answer 3

You have water problems. The behavior of smashing into the glass is called flashing, and the fish is attemting to remove something irratating to it. The tail rottted quickly on the other I think you have a serious bacterial out break. Fin rot is brought on by stress. Stress can be brought on by bad water. Check water perameters and correct maybe even do a 100% water change. Use some salt (non-iodized rock salt - kosher or ice cream). Turn the heat up to 82 degrees and put in one teaspoon of salt per gallon in the morning and repeat in the night then repeat the same the next day for a total of 4 teaspoons per gallon. Do this after a huge water change. When changing the water be careful to put in water that is the same temp as the water they came in. They are under stress already. Ok leave them in warm salty water for 2 weeks then change out water till you no longer taste salt on your finger after you dip it in the tank. Order Medi- Gold from www.goldfishconnection.com. Its a anti-biotic food and it works. Do not medicate your tank with anything other than salt no matter what the pet store tells you. Salt works on many many ailments, medications can kill if used incorrectly. You do not have a microscope so you can't identify what is getting your fish so how would you know how to treat it? I assure you the high school kid at Pets mart doesn't know either. They have been told to sell product and they don't give a whop about your fish. It is very important to maintain good water quality, if you have good water then you do not get problems like the one your having right now. GF are not as easy to keep as everyone says they are, you have to work in your tank. Here is a good schedule for a stocked (not over-stocked) tank. (stocked = 10 gallons of water PER fish) Do 25% water change and clean gravel with syphon once a week. If you miss a week do 50% for 2 weeks. At least once a year do 100% water change. Clean and refurbish your filter once a month. Rinse bio-media in tank water, if you have a bio-wheel don't wash the wheels in tap water ever. Replace carbon once a month. Do not use zeolite and salt together. Zeolite is not necessary in an established aquarium. That's the "white carbon" BTW. Your water perameters should look something like this always...
Ph 6.8-7.2 ammonia=0 nitrites=0 nitrAtes= <20 ppm and keep a heater and set it to 77 degrees year round. (unless medicating). A lot of problems will occur in water that falls below 70 degrees, ick is one of them. The same bugs cannot survive in 82 degree water but oxygen saturation is lower at higher temps so if you do not have an airstone running you need to get a few. Air releases carbon dioxide from the water and also makes more surface area, which in turn creates make more oxygen for your fish. If you have an under gravel filter, then you most certainly need to remove the fish and tank water, pull them out syphon the rocks. Then when all the water is out take out the rocks and wash them, you can use old tank water to do so. Under gravel filters are no good, and messy. A hang on or canister filter works 100 times better. If you are going to remove an UG filter make sure you don't scrub out your other filter too heavily, you want to leave some good bacteria in there to do the work of cleaning fish waste. After this is done feed half portions for a week or two. Even if you get medicated food, just feed as instructed but give them about half what you usually would, it will still work and they will be fine. If you follow exactly what I told you, you will see an improvement by the 3rd or 4th day after salting. But if your water is dirty nothing will work.

Answer 4

The white stuff is probably a fungus infection (some of these can also cause fin and tail rot). Pet stores sell medication for it; it won't clear up on its own. You could change the water some before you start giving the medication if you want, but then don't change the water until after the medication is complete and the fish is better.

Answer 5

It could be their water needed changing. Unless you have a filter and an air pump, you need to change the water regularly so that the fish have oxygen rich water. They may have been hyper because they sensed that the water was no longer healthy for them.

Answer 6

sounds more like bad water and ammonia poisoning which has lead to fin damage. they will nip at each other but it wouldn't be a secret to you -- they would do it frequently. if you test your water check your ammonia levels. if you don't then change your water and learn to change it more frequently. for the fin damage you will probably need antibiotics -- maracyn and maracyn2 in combination work well. if you see any of your fish's tail flake off like bits of dead skin start the antibiotics immediately. the water change might help correct it but if the bacteria got in you will probably need antibiotics.

clean goldfish are happy goldfish.

Answer 7

Yes. You answered your own question. The one that is banging himself is territorial and probably tore the other fishes tail off. What aggressive fish do is nip at the other tails of the fish in the tank and harass them.

Answer 8

Test your water for ammonia and nitrites, sounds like the fish are poisoned from water toxicity.

Answer 9

are you feeding them??? if not, they the other fish is probably eating the other fishes tail and about the fish the bangs its self into the glass, i dont know what to say, maybe its stupid or bored or something?

Answer 10

Venice Girl is exactly right. Carefully read and do some research on the links she provided.