Problems with my goldfish swimbladder,nitrite, new tank syndrome.?

Question

I recently brought 2 black moors from a pet shop and when choosing a suitable tank was reared towards the Iborb 15L, being told it was suitable for the 2. Since set up I have had hell with amonia and nitrite levels, amonia is now but a trace though nitrite is at 5.0 and nitrate high also, I understand new tank syndrome but every other day water changes don't seem to help much, will this process balance soon, approx week 6 now, also cloudness of water and now my smallest blackmoor seems to have swim bladder, bouyancy issues mainly sleeps at top as floats to surface after struggled swim, a bit worried, and the larger blackmoor has started nipping and eating all the food, have cut out flake/pellets and started with peas, ordered swimbladder medicine, looking into larger tank as I believe the pet shop owner lied, but am low on cash due to the expense on setup so far, I have a small 3 gallon tank from childhood, should I quarantine smaller fish or do full treatment in main with meds. help

Answer 1

OK.. let's see.....

First, you are right, the shop told you incorrectly, 2 adult fancy goldfish (like your moors) need about 15 gallons (57 liters) each. A larger tank is in your future if you plan on keeping the two moors.

It sounds like your cycle is coming into the home stretch. It should settle down to almost no nitrite quite soon, maybe a week or so. The cloudiness in the water should fade as soon as the cycle completes. You may need daily water changes for a few days to bring nitrite levels down a bit.

As to the swim bladder issue, if the peas don't work, it's more than likely an infection. Yes, you should quarantine the sick fish for treatment as the antibiotics needed to treat the swim bladder infection will also kill all of the new bacteria needed for your cycle and you would be starting your cycle from the beginning again.

Honestly, thinks aren't as bad as you may be thinking in your main tank, it's almost done and stable, just hang in there.

If I can help further, feel free to write.

MM

Answer 2

Your bio orb is really is too small to adequately house your two goldfish. (about 4 gal, US) I think if you separate the two moors, so the waste volume is less in each tank, that would be a good start.

The fish that seems to be in the most distress right now may have swim bladder disease, as you predicted - the change in diet will help. That, and improved water quality may be all you need to do. There may also be a possibility that he's in early stages of dropsy, which may have a bacterial cause, or may be related to the ammonia and nitrite in the water. See the symptoms and treatments for these in the link below.

http://www.fish-disease.net/diseases.htm

The tank should be close to being cycled, but this will depend on your maintenance - you should be doing 20-30% water changes every week (or as your water parameters indicate). If you remove too much of the bacteria from the substrate, you'll prolong the time it needs to complete.

Answer 3

A number of factors play a part in this, over feeding,, over stocking regarding volume of water in your tank and number of fish in it. Especially goldfish as they pooh a lot and need a larger tank, at least 10 gallons per fish. If the tank has not fully cycled it could be a bacterial bloom.