My goldfish is sideways!?

Question

I have two calico goldifish named Koi and Daisuki.

Lately Koi hasn't been eating and sits at the bottom of the tank with all her dorsal fin down and just doing nothing.

The tank was pretty dirty and the filter wasn't working.

I've been feeding them about once a day.

I came home today after looking up some info on them online and saw Koi laying sideways. At first I was really sad cuz I thought she was dead, but then I saw her move so I changed the water, I cleaned the entire tank and all the stuff inside, found a filter bag and checked the PH and Ammonia. The ammonia was a little higher than it should be so I put some stuff in there.

I tried to force feed Koi, but she wouldn't open her mouth at all.

When I put them back in the tank Koi seemed to get a little better, though still laying sideways, her fin was up and she was opening and closing her mouth. She was also moving around a tiny bit.

I'm wondering will she be okay or is there some other things I should try?

Answer 1

Well, clearly you know about testing your water and clearly you know what the readings should be. Ammonia should be 0 ppm. As she seemed to get a bit better with the water change, I think the best thing is to keep on doing what you're doing and testing the water often and getting the water back to where it should be. Her laying sideways could just be from the slight ammonia poisoning, but also, it could be swim bladder disease. This is very common in goldfish. In the case of SBD, you should fast the fish for 3 days and then feed fresh boiled or thawed frozen peas with the shells removed. Mash if necessary so they can eat it. Do this for two or three days. If that doesn't seem to work, increase the water temp to 78-80 degrees F and add epsom salts to the water at 1/8th teaspoon per 5 gallons of water. Don't add directly, pre-mix and pour mixture in slowly near the filter/water flow to mix well. If this doesn't work, move on to Maracyn. It can't hurt to fast the fish and feed them peas regardless, but, I would suggest trying to get the water parameters back in line before going further than the peas.

Answer 2

It sounds as though your fish have ammonia poisoning. Look at this website to check their symptoms: http://www.fishdeals.com/fish_diseases/ammonia_poisoning/

Rather than add something to their water (this will only fix things temporarily), you should change about 25% of their water every week. Maybe twice a week until you get a new filter. Try to make it as close in temperature as what they are in now and add something to that the chlorine out if you have this in your water. If you try to change too much, it can shock your fish. And if you clean everything out, you are removing the "good" bacteria that convert the ammonia to something that isn't as toxic. Until the bacteria multiply and you get enough of them, you'll have to keep an eye on your ammonia levels.

See this website for what you should check for: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

And this one on tank maintenance: http://www.fishlore.com/Maintenance.htm

Rather than how many times you feed, how much you feed is what is important - only what they can eat in about 3 minutes is enough. You can divide this into 2 or 3 feedings a day, or only feed once as you're doing now.

I hope Koi and Daisuki feel better soon!

Answer 3

Do you've consequences for nitrite and nitrate to boot? And any of those will be the problem, including too severe of a temperature (leads to too little dissolved oxygen). Did you position tank water in the bowl, or use sparkling (if there's a issue with too a lot of between the nitrogen cycle compounds, utilising new water, with dechlorinator, will be more beneficial help for him to get well, yet in trouble-free terms substitute about a million/2 of the water). also, are you particular the ammonia consequences are maximum ideal? attempt strips can bypass undesirable rapidly at the same time as uncovered to humidity or dealt with improperly, liquid attempt chemical compounds bypass undesirable after about 4-5 years. Goldfish and koi do have a tendency to furnish dissimilar ammonia of their wastes, so till you've a very tremendous tank and those are small fish, i'd have a keep or different source attempt a pattern to substantiate your consequences.

Answer 4

The ammonia level was too high so it couldn't breathe well. you did pretty much the right thing to correct the condition,but it may be too late. Wait and see,it might recover. Next time,don't overfeed and do water changes and filter cleaning at a regular basis. If you notice dirty conditions,correct that immediately.The filter not working could be a disaster for goldfish. Put on a second filter,so if one malfunctions ,the other will still help.

Answer 5

my sister has a monster common goldfish named king 9 inches long and he did the same thing most likely from the feces in the water it created ammonia and thats fatal to fish kinda like arsenic with humans but hopefully you caught it in time and it will recover keep trying to feed it and keep the water in check so this doesn't happen again with more fish

Answer 6

it may be sick. or it cant swim properly. but still, if Koi wont eat, it probably is sick. go to the vet and find help. that happened once to my goldfish, Sunshine.

Answer 7

Yep, she's dying. Probably ingested her own fecal & urine. Should have cleaned the bowl/tank sooner. Nothing you can do at this point...sorry.

Answer 8

she's dying.