My wifes Goldfish is sick and we called the vet and over the phone they told me that you can get some drops from Wal-Mart for it.So we did that and it seemed to have made it sicker.The fish is in one place just sittin at the bottom of the tank.With the cost of a trip to the vet verses the cost of the fish, what should we do?
2007-02-09 05:44:32 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
It's not worth it, no. Often, the actual trip to the vet can be more stressful for the fish than just leaving it in its tank. The only time it would be advisable is if a) the vet did house calls, b) the vet was experienced with fish (most are not) and c) the fish was very valuable.
In your case, I would advise you to try to pinpoint the cause of the illness. You didn't mention any symptoms or anything so I won't try to enumerate all the illnesses here - maybe you could post another question with precisions regarding his symptoms? If you do choose to post again, also include his tank size, water temp, how often you clean the tank and how, if you use dechlorinator, tank-mates, what type of goldfish he is (koi, fancy, comet, common, shubunkin etc).
It is ill-advised to use generic treatments for fish; meds can be really harsh on fish and the biological system in a fishtank; so unless you know what you're treating for, you could in fact be making him sicker by using meds (think, antibiotics to treat a viral infection - the antibiotics will not cure a viral infection and you could in fact have side effects from the a/bs).
2007-02-09 05:50:38 · answer #1 · answered by Zoe 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
If its just sitting in the bottom it could be cold, bored, have internal parasites, unhealthy water -- in short just sitting in the bottom isn't really a specific symptom and a vet couldn't do much either.
whats his poop look like? is he eating ok? maybe you feed him too much? goldfish will eat all day -- only feed him what he can eat in a couple of minutes once a day. while morbidly obese goldfish are often the standard its not healthy for them. a fat fish is a fat fish.
when was the last time you cleaned the water? what size is his tank compared to what size he is? does he respond to anything other than food?
try posting another question that is more specific and some of these fish geeks will probably be able to help you without a trip to the vet.
2007-02-09 13:51:22 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Not worth it for many reasons. 1)The stress you would cause the fish by taking it to the vet will make things worse, 2)The money factor, a new fish is less than paying the vet(usually) 3)Most vets don't do anything for fish anyway
The only time a fish should go to the vet is if your $300 arrowanna has a tumor or something, and it still has to be a vet that will treat fish
2007-02-09 13:58:03 · answer #3 · answered by fish guy 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have to say no. First, very few vets are really current with fish diseases and treatments and they usually will tell you that themselves. Heck, three local vets send fish questions to me lol. ( I charge $30 hour to go to a home or pond site and diagnose the problem, plus more for meds) Second, just the move alone is so stressful on an already sick fish that it's just not worth the risk.
One of your best resources would be local fish farmers if you can find any.
2007-02-09 14:23:19 · answer #4 · answered by magicman116 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You don't say what makes you think the fish is sick - there are a lot of potential causes (from parasites, bacterial infections, poor water quality, etc.). Unfortunately, without more info, It's hard to know what's wrong or what to tell you to do for him. Some of the easiest things are to check the tank temperature (goldfish like it 65-72), do a partial water change if you haven't done one recently (or if this is a new, small tank), or add some non-iodized salt (kosher, canning, or aquarium salt at aroung 1 Tbsp/gallon of tank water). If he's showing other signs of disease or parasites, see these websites for disease info and treatments: http://www.fishdeals.com/fish_diseases/stressdisease.shtml, http://thegab.org/Articles/GoldfishIllness.html.
Hope he gets well!
2007-02-09 20:26:44 · answer #5 · answered by copperhead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would be very stressful to take the fish to the vet. Also, because of the cost and life span of fish, most vets won't know too much about how to treat them. Good luck.
2007-02-09 13:47:41 · answer #6 · answered by erinn83bis 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm an animal person and try to respect all living creatures, but goldfish can be had for little or nothing ($$) and a vet visit can be expensive and there's no guarantee it would help...most vets are skilled at caring for warm blooded animals.
I'm sorry the fish is sick, but I personally wouldn't spend money on it unless it was a high dollar rare fish.
2007-02-09 13:53:13 · answer #7 · answered by . 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
come on man.....its a goldfish---a 50 cent goldfish---buy a new one that looks the same and tell the wife the fish got better! DAMN MAN---its a 50 cent goldfish---with a $10-$750 rare fish it would be a whole different situation.
2007-02-09 21:58:51 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds to me like a trip to that particular vet would be a waste of time. When I have asked veterinarians about my fish it seems that they have very little training relevant to any thing but large animals or cats and dogs. If you can locate a successful importer of goldfish,or a professional breeder you will most likely get better information.--------Good luck.----PeeTee
2007-02-09 13:57:09 · answer #9 · answered by PeeTee 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Call a real fish store (one that specializes in selling fish) rather than Wal-Mart.
2007-02-09 15:39:04 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋