couple of fish goldfish problems?

Question

4 fish in a 8 gallon tank. 1x bubble eye, 1 gold fish, 1 gold lion head and 1 shabumpkin.

the fins are looking worn. the large gold fish who is quite old shows veins running through its large rear tail. the black small bubble eye has clouding eyes. on his left eye it looks like a small bit of skin is hanging off its eye. the others rear tails are looking tired and worn too. Please help. I have ordered a PH test kit and have already added aquarium salt.

Should i remove all toys and live plants?

thanks for reading and taking your time to answer xxxx

the largest one is 11cm, the other 3 are 6cm

its manual says it is 48ltr tank

Answer 1

wow, a lot of problems here. when you say the one is quite old, how old? goldfish are supposed to live over 20yrs

bubble eye goldfish - should only be kept with other special eyed goldfish because of poor vision. can get up to 10" and need 10gallons EACH.

goldfish - all of the fish you listed are goldfish. when people say goldfish they they usually mean a slim bodied goldfish. these get up to 24" and should be in a pond or at tank of AT LEAST 40gallons. if you mean a round bodied goldfish these also get up to 10" and should have 10gallons each.

lionhead - up to 10" and needs 10gallons each.

shubunkin - easily gets over 12" and needs a tank of at least 40gallons for one with 15gallons for each additional one.

as you can see your main problem is over crowding. this causes many other problems like poor water quality, which causes weak fish which are prone to disease. pH is the least of your concerns. what you need is master test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites.

first order of business, do a 30% water change. use a grave vacuum, siphon, or turkey baster. suck out 30% of the water and replace with new conditioned water. be sure it's the same temp as the tank water. after this you need to treat the tank with fungus medicine and bacterial medicine. got to your pet store and look for any fungus medicine and any wide range bacterial medicine. follow the directions on these.

next step. is to get a new tank, I'd get at least a 40gallon. you'll also need a really really good filter. I'd get one for at least a 50-60gallon tank (goldfish are extremely dirty fish). if you can't have a tank bigger than 8 gallon you're going to need to take at least 3 of the 4 goldfish back or find them a new home somewhere, your options for that tank or the lion head or bubble eye, and really that's a tight fit for even one of them. you'd be better off making that tank a tropical community tank. I suggest while you're treating the fish you set up the new tank and start to cycle it. read up here on how to cycle the tank without using fish:
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/FishlessCycle.html

oh, and no need to remove toy or plants.

Answer 2

Firstly it sounds like you have both fin-rot and fungus so get the appropriate treatment from the shop first before worrying about water quality.
Second some facts you should know >
Although there are always exceptions, Common Goldfish will usually out-compete fancy varieties for food, and can cause damage through a boisterous nature so fancy and common Goldfish should not be kept together.
The Goldfish can only be kept in large, coldwater aquariums and require exactly the same basic care and respect as any other fish.
In nature Goldfish can grow up to almost 60cm (2 feet), whilst in average sized ponds they usually grow to 20-30cm (8-12in), and in aquaria of a correct size they will usually reach up to 20cm (8in) The myth here is that the size of environment does not matter because the fish will only grow to a size which suits its environment. It is true that Goldfish will not grow large in a small environment; this is due to a growth gene that switches off when the fish is kept in a confined space. However, if the fish are kept in a very small environment they may appear to stop growing but will be prone to growth related deformities and early death caused by organ growth problems. Therefore it must still be considered cruel to keep the fish in small aquaria. At up to 20cm, and regardless of size because the fish needs swimming space, you will need at least a 120cm (four foot) aquarium to keep these fish properly.

Answer 3

It's probably not a pH problem. Why are you adding aquarium salt for goldfish? They are freshwater fish. Goldfish are not for saltwater or even brackish aquariums. Brackish is somewhere in between freshwater and saltwater, as far as the salt content. My goldfish get frayed fins often. This could be from sickness, or it could be from bumping into things, or from other fish nipping at its fins. How big are your fish? The rule of thumb is no more than 1 inch of fish for every gallon of water. Your 8 gal tank should not have more than 8 inches of fish. Otherwise, you're overcrowding the tank, which can lead to illness and death. From the other symptoms you've listed, it sounds like you may need a fungus eliminator. If you do need to add any medicine to the tank, please make sure to read ALL instructions enclosed, as well as to read the box and outside of the bottle of medicine. I added medicine one time to my 46 gallon tank, but missed the small print that said to remove everything from the tank first. I now have lots of large BLUE aquarium rocks! The meds dyed my tank decorations. Read everything first before you start!!! Jungle brand makes medications and other chemicals just for goldfish. Try the website below, I haven't been on it myself, but hopefully it can help.

Answer 4

First, others are correct that your fish need a larger tank. Even one of those fish needs about 20 gallons to be comfortable and what you have really need far larger than that.... just something to consider for the near future.

As to their current condition, all of the things you outline point to a bacterial infection in the tank. I would suggest you begin treating with a 50% water change and clean the gravel well. From there start a treatment of antibiotics. Furanace or Furan 2 would be my first choices, but tetracycline would be an acceptable replacement if you can't get the first two. These should not hurt the plants and will not be affected by other things in the tank.

Do remove the carbon from your filter though as it will remove the medication within hours and render your treatment pointless. Treat as directed on the package for 2 weeks.

In addition tot he antibiotics in the water, feeding the fish medicated foods would be a good idea as streaks in the tail indicate an internal, blood borne infection. Medicated foods will be available in most pet stores. Be sure to get the antibiotic food and not the food for internal parasites.

Low levels of salt will neither help nor hinder this treatment, but will help prevent a fungus infection from compounding the problem. Contrary to popular myth, low levels of salt will not in any way harm your goldfish and in fact help create a healthy environment for them.

Best of luck and if I can help further feel free to email me.

MM

Answer 5

Well first of all you have 4 fish too many in that tank. For 4 goldfish you really should have a 55 gallon tank. Ammonia and or high nitrites are the likely culprit of your fish being sick. Veins showing and ragged fins are all signs the water is less than ideal. Change all of the water, or at least a real good portion of it. If you want to keep this many fish in such a tiny home you are going to have to change 75% of the water 2 or 3 times a week. If the water is good goldfish will not get sick. Get a goldfish guide or visit www.goldfishconnection.com, you have a lot of research to do on your pets.

Answer 6

first of all, 4 goldfish in a 8 gallon tank is little bit too tight. i have 2 goldfish in a 10 and still considered as too tight. i would suggest you switch to a 20 gallon minimum.

based on what you said, it sounds like they are suffering from fin rot and fungus. i just cured my goldfish with fin rot by using Fungus Clear (by Jungle Lab) and salt (1 teaspoon for every 5 gallon of water). Maracyn is supposed to work great too but it's because I didn't remove the carbon from my filter so it didn't work out for me. an expert later on told me the carbon should be removed. so if you want to either try Fungus Clear or Maracyn.

also don't forget to do a partial water change before you start a treatment.

good luck and i hope the fish will recover ASAP.

Answer 7

Hi they are all types of goldfish. First I would do a 25 percent water change and increase the temp in the tank to about 80 degrees slowly. Raising temp. along with the salt should help them. Goldfish tend to get very large. So what you really need is a larger tank for them. If you plan on keeping them together I would suggest that you get at least a forty gallon tank for them. That way they will have room to grow and be healthy.

Answer 8

I have 4 medium fancy goldfish in a 60 gallon and I wouldn't put not even one more in there because when they get big, they can get up to 8 inches long and very fat around. (And your common or comet and shubunkin can get up to an aquarium average of 12-18 inches long if you take good care of them! Goldfish have a habit of creating extremely poor water quality and, at the same time, are very sensitive to it and get sick easily. Magic (and parts of some others) said it all to the treatment. I just wanted to add one thing about the ph test. Pointless for your concerns. Ph is really irrelevant for the most part. What you do need is a test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. You can get all of these together in a "Master Test Kit;" however, not all master test kits have these three tests. Baffles me why they don't because you need them all. Get the drops and not the strips.

Answer 9

Your fish must be fairy small if you have four of them in an eight gallon tank. Take all of the 'live plants' out and throw them into the trash. Take all of the 'toys' out and put them AWAY. Give your fish CLEAN water, and change their water once a week. GET THEM A LARGER TANK ... at least a 20 gallon tank. Put in 'plastic pnats' for them to 'hide in' and get them maybe one 'architectural detail' ... you can use an 'awuarium decoration' film on the back to give them something to 'look at.' Your fish are 'looking tired' and old because your tank is WAY TOO SMALL for them, and they're injuring each other because they are BORED.

Answer 10

You should not have ONE goldfish in that small of a tank. Goldfish grow larger than that tank is. Of course you are having rpoblems. And you also should not mix bubble eyes with shabunkins, since the bigger latter ones will eat all the food. Veins show that they are suffering from ammonia poisoning, and they will die either way if you leave them in that teeny tank. Remember, you bought babies -- and if they are already dying from what you are giving them to live in, they have no chance as they grow bigger. IT DOESNT MATTER THEIR SIZE NOW, THEY ARE BABIES AND WILL GROW BIGGER OR DIE. I hope you get them at least a 40 gallon tank.