My fish is dying help?

Question

I have 2 goldfish in a tank at home. One of my fish started lying down and getting stuck in the plants. I stirred the water and then she moved. When she was swimming she sort of got dragged down and she was weak and getting stuck to the filter. I turned the filter off because I didnt want her getting hurt but they cant live without the filter.should i buy a treatment?

There are some brown things on her fins. Also she isnt eating. I gave a little food and my other fish started eating. My other fish is acting fine

Will my other fish be ok if I use salt?

Answer 1

Yes, buy a treatment. Talk to the Pet Store fish dept. for which one to choose. I'm sorry but your fish does sound like she is dying. You will want to determine what is causing her illness and remove/correct the problem or your other fish may well start behaving the same.
You may want to take a water sample and/or the following information to the Pet Store with you.
1. Age and type of your Gold Fish
2. Water temperature and pH
3. Time since last water change
4. Diet and appetite
5. When symptoms started and what they are, etc.
You didn't say whether she had lost weight or not.
Is she looking thin? That would be a different illness diagnosed.
Good luck, I hope your pet lives!

Answer 2

The first question I would ask at this point is how long has the tank been running with fish in it? it sounds as if you may have a new tank that has a high ammonia problem. The fishes inactivity and brown areas are signs of ammonia poisoning, but can also be signs of disease.

I would suggest first a 50 - 75% water change int he tank and then add 1 tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons. This will treat many potential fungus and even some parasite problems. The water change will thin out any potential ammonia problems. It will be important for you to keep the filter running and even more so if this is in fact an ammonia problem.

Without more history on the tank it's impossible to be certain what the possible problem is, but I would strongly suspect ammonia as the main cause. If possible, test the tank for ammonia or have a water sample from your tank tested at a pet store.

In case you are new to aquariums and this is a new tank for you, I'll include a very helpful link that will help you understand what goes on in a new tank and how to best deal with it for the health of your fish.

http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

Hope that helps

MM

Answer 3

While your analysis of your fish's behavior is a start, it's not enough to help diagnose what might be wrong with your fish. We need more physical things, like does it have white cottony patches, red streaks in its tail or red patches on its body, bulgy eyes, a puffed up body, do the scales stick out, does it roll to its side and seem to not be able to navigate, etc. There are different medications for different treatments and using the wrong treatment may not help at all. Salt is a basic all around treatment that's good for a lot of ailments. You can add about 1 tsp of pre-dissolved non-iodized salt per 5 gallons of water. Also, stop feeding your fish for about 3 days and then give them some thawed, frozen peas with the skins removed and slightly mashed. Give them the peas for about 3 days. This would be the first things I would do. And you have to leave the filter on. Good luck!

Answer 4

Yes- its hard to say what is wrong without more information. How big is the tank? How old are the fish? Is she eating normally?

I recommend a salt treatment for the fish. This has worked on a sick goldfish of mine in the past:

http://www.westernpond.com/fish_treatments.htm

Salt is an easy and affective treatment used for all cold water fish including Koi.

NON-IODIZED Salt ( canning salt, sea salt, water softener salt) are used in the treatment.

Salt, buffers the pond water soothing the gills and causing the fish to produce more slime to help fight bacteria invasion.

SALT APPLICATION RATES:

If the fish are showing signs of stress: 1% salt solution is added once per day for 3 days ( 1 pound of salt per 100 gallons of pond water / for small ponds - 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon of pond water )

The total solution of 3% will not harm most aquatic plants. But we have found that if you have tropical plants remove them and keep them in a separate container.

IF your fish are showing sighs of extreme stress (laying on their side , gasping for air, or very lethargic )

A 6% solution of salt is recommended and applied immediately.

Application is 6 pounds of salt per every 100 gallons of pond water.

Additional aeration is recommended .

At 6% salt solution it is recommended that all plants be removed.

Answer 5

I was able to keep one of my son's goldfish alive for about a year after it came down with some affliction by putting additives in the water -- at least I _think_ it helped. Unfortunately, it kept getting the same problem over and over again, and eventually succumbed.

So I don't know, maybe it would only prolong the fish's troubles -- hard to say.

Answer 6

well, I haven't had goldfish in a long time, like a year, but I would suggest as for tropical fish to buy a heater even if they don't need it, there mus be some sort of treatment though, maybe they're just stressed, try buying that one stress coat relief, I think, they are in a bottle, it's like a liquid, they sell them at petco and at wal-mart. The situation is sort of bad, but never give up.

Answer 7

there is nothing u can do!!! :( sorry