is my sons fish breathing its last??

Question

fish tank over last day went really grotty, went to shop to buy fresh gravel and tap water stuff and came back to what i thought was dead fish, got him out of tank it stunk, filter was blocked, cleaned it all put fish back in, its lying at the bottom on its back gasping, has been for half an hour now, son home from school in half an hour, in the last 3 weeks our cat has died our dog has been rehomed and this might tip him over the edge!!! might it recover?

Answer 1

It sounds as if the water hasn't been changed in a while and the filter has stopped so the ammonia and nitrites are probably off the chart. He is probably suffering from ammonia poisoning so solving those problems may save him. If you can change the water and get the filter running again, he may be OK but it could be too late. For now, just get him into some clean water (check the temp and pH to make sure they are close to what he is in now). Don't use the sink though as the first person suggested as the soap, cleaners and grease that have been in it will not be good for him. Good luck.

Answer 2

You have a tank, what kind of fish to you have? Sounds like the tank itself isn't cycled. However if your other animals are dieing as well there could be something more going on in your home.

From your form of heat to something you are spraying or a cleaner you are using.

As for your tank, 25% water change with dechlor water and a good clean filter. Use your gravel siphone to clean the bottom of the tank.

Since we don't know what kind of fish, if it is a gold fish, make sure you don't have a heater on the tank. Lower the water level around 1/2 - 1 inch and allow your filter to DUMP water into the tank.

Sounds like an ammonia problem in the tank (this will not cause your cat to pass away however). Be sure to clean the tank well. You may have to do a water change every other day until the cycle for the tank is complete.

Here is a link to help you understand the cycling process:

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biologicalcycle/a/nitrogencycle.htm

Also, what has your water in the tank tested at?

Answer 3

Yes unfortunately it seems as though the fish is going to die. I’m concerned that the fish was in a dirty tank for so long that it became sick and the water stunk. That meant that the tank had not been cleaned for a long period of time and it also sounds as though the fish might have been over fed to make the water that dirty for just 1 fish. What you can do is get your son another fish. Instead of getting him just 1 fish try getting 2. Depending on the size of the tank I’d stay away from goldfish due to them needing a lot of space. If you want a care free fish that doesn’t need bubbles, try a beta however they can only be 1 per tank. More than 1 in the tank they’d fight until 1 is dead. However they’re beautiful fish and don’t require much care. You feed them every 3 days and they only get as much food as they can eat within 5 minutes. I have 3 of them and I use a toothpick, I wet the very tip of the toothpick and stick it in the food and whatever few pieces are on the tip (no more than 5 pellets) is what my fish get to eat that day. Let your son go shopping with you for the fish if you and him decide to replace this one that's not doing to good.

Answer 4

Put some clear water in the sink and put the fish in that for about an hopur and try that it normally works while you clear out the tank properly

Answer 5

Possibly in my experience fish are esp ,Gold fish are very hardy indeed and recover when you think they are on there last legs.Who can really say but I hope so :)

Answer 6

Should be okay in the fresh water hope so for your son's sanity

Answer 7

It might, hopefully now that there is fresh water there again.

Answer 8

doubt it.

smudge your house with sage and hope for the best.

ps, son might start needing counseling.

Answer 9

i think it should be ok i will keep my fingers crossed for you all!