Eww I think my fish have some sort of toxic diarrhea. Help! What's going on?

Question

I've got 2 koi fish, 1 larger goldfish and some sort of unidentified black fish with a gold bottom. I've had them for 2 weeks, feeding them 2-3 times a day as reccomended. I cleaned their tank a week ago. Today I walked into the living room where their tank is and the smell blew me away. It smelled AWFUL! Not to be gross but there were all of these thick 2-3 inch fish poos floating around. I IMMEDIATELY cleaned the tank again, but what's going on? The tank was clean yesterday, and all of the sudden the fish are having issues. I know nothing about fish, so any help is appreciated.

I have a filter. Not sure the size of the tank, but none of the fish are very big. 1-2.5 inches.

The goldfish and black fish(which I think is a pleco now) seem to be outgrowing the koi. I think I do need to invest in a larger tank, or seperate the fish out into different tanks. I'm new to this, the fish were a gift from my fiance who just picked the fish he thought "looked lonely", though he did ask for advice at the store. I didn't realize fish were so complicated! I had 2 goldfish when I was younger, they had a rather small bowl(they really didn't grow at all) and lived 7 years,which seemed sort of phenomenal for me. Thanks everyone for all your advice :)

Answer 1

The black fish might be a type of goldfish called a black moor (see photo: http://www.josephandgabby.com/pond/images/fish12.jpg ). I'm guessing this is a fairly new tank, and you're dealing with two things here, cycling and constipation.

The cycling is when your tank is building up a population of beneficial bacteria to convert the toxic waste products from your fish (ammonia and nitrite) to nitrate, which is usually safe at levels under 40ppm. Since your tank is new, you don't have enough for an efficient conversion, and ammonia and nitrite are building up in your tank giving a characteristic smell and cloudiness. This will go away in time (about 4-8 weeks), but you'll need to keep on top of partial water changes to remove the excess ammonia and nitrite until then. Use a gravel vacuum to clean as much waste off the gravel as you can while removing 25-30% of the tank water. Replace the water with fresh water with dechlorinator that's about the same temperature. Only clean the very top of the gravel and right in front by the glass each time. Only do a good cleaning on about 1/3 of the rest of the tank and rotate the area each time you clean. This will help keep most of the bacteria from being disturbed and let those reproducing in other parts of the tank repopulate the area just cleaned. If you try to keep the tank too clean, you'll only prolong the problem.

As for the long strings of "poo", this is fairly common in goldfish, plecos, and some others. See this site - I'm guessing the "long, thick poop" is what you have: http://www.mu.edu/~buxtoni/puregold/disease/technique/technique.html#JoAnns_diagnosis_by_poop . You can solve this by making sure you aren't overfeeding (only give what your fish can eat in 2-3 minutes twice a day - if any isn't eaten after 3 minutes, net it out of the tank - this also contributes to the ammonia and nitrites in your tank) and giving your fish some high-fiber foods, like cooked peas with the skin removed, blanced or frozen squash, lettuce, or spinach, and some occasional pieces of an orange.

See the link below for a more detailed explanation of cycling a tank:

Answer 2

If you can get the approximate measurements of the tank (width, length and height), I can figure out approximately how big the tank is. Goldfish need approximately 5 gallons per fish when small and 10 gallons per fish as adults. The black fish could be anything: if it is flat and sucks on the walls and floor of the aquarium: pleco. If it has telescope "pop eyes", then a black moor.
If it's a pleco, they're commonly sold around 3" but can get up to 2 feet in length. Most people don't realize it (probably because they get rid of them before they reach full adulthood due to size issues!) but common plecos also get territorial as they age. And for some unknown reason, like to eat the slime coating off goldfish :(
If it's a black moor..again...5 gallons per smaller fish and 10 gallons for an adult fish. Black moors are in group 2 of the fancy goldfish and should not be kept with any fish from Group 1 (ie. Comets, koi, etc)
Koi are pond fish: they're too big for most aquariums. As adults, they can be up to 32 - 40" long. They are supposed to reach half that size by 24 months old. You cannot give them the regular 10 gallon rule of thumb. They will also outcompete your other fish for food as they swim much faster and get much bigger than your other fish.

Answer 3

...I'm sorry...not sure the size of the tank? Did you buy it new or used? If new, then go back to where you got it...if used, then go to Walmart, Petco, Petsmart and compare...all you have to do is measure the lenght of it. For the fish you have, you need no less than a 29g...the rule of thumb is 1 gallon of water for each 1 inch of fish...Goldfish can get 8 in or so (feeder type) and Koi can get 2 feet or more. You really need a 55g for the 3 fish. If it is a placo in your tank, he may not live very long. Goldfish/Koi are major producers of ammonia.

Good luck with your fish.

Answer 4

I agree that it sounds like your tank is over crowded. You can take a water sample to your local pet store and they can test it and tell you what level your tank is at and what level it should be at. Also be prepared to tell them the number of each fish you have and if you are not sure of what breed of fish they are you can show them what they look like by identifiying them in the tanks they have there of fish for sale. Also look at the tanks at the pet store and determine what size aquarium you have, this will help them more with solving your problem. You may need to invest in a bigger tank or have less fish in the tank you have. They can also tell you how many fish you should have in what size of tanks and what fish are compatible with eachother. This will be your best bet and while you are there may I sugest you get a book on fresh water aquariums and how to care for them. Good luck and I hope this helps.

Answer 5

It sounds your like your Black Fish is a pleco which eats the algae in your tank. The long strands of poop you are seeing in your tank are from him. It means that there is an abundance of nutrients in your tank that the pleco is eating and pooping out. What you can do is buy AlgaeFix and use that medicine to get rid of the algae and the algae eater wont poop as much. Also the smell is because your tank is overcrowded from all your goldfish. How big is your tank, if its a 10 gallon your tank is WAY over crowded

Answer 6

Well, you could install a tiny little toilet with itsy-bitsy toilet paper rolls (no moist TP needed, though.) Provide some reading material - Field and Stream, Fishing Today, Women's Fish Daily etc. Don't forget the Airfreshner - I would pick either "Fresh Country Sardine" or "Lemon-Salmon" scent.
Or give them a teensy-weensy gulp of Pepto-Bismol....

Answer 7

Go to your local pet store and ask them what is going on. Also, if you don't have a filter, buy one. If you do, turn it on as long as you can. Hope this helps!

Answer 8

Do you have a filter installed in your tank? If not, invest in one.

Answer 9

larger tank

Answer 10

dude ur fish has serious problems u should like do something