My Fish Are Dying? Please Any Advise Welcome!?

Question

I have three large gold fish. This afternoon they were fine. Then tonight i noticed one of them was dead, i went to remove her from the tank and when i came out she was swimming again but just barly. Two of them are sick. They are haveing trouble staying submerged and keep floating to the top and flipping upside down. I would hate to lose these fish they are so special to me. Please what can i do?

I already checked the water quality and everything checked out ideal. I havnet changed the water recently. I did read that fancy goldfish espicially fantails can have swim bladder promblems but it was rare? and they have plenty of room but no live plants.

Answer 1

What size tank and how big are your goldfish? There are a lot of possibilities, but the main one is the water quality. You need to check the amonia, nitrates, nitrites, in the tank and make sure they are all in good order. If the water quality is fine you need to start checking for illnesses, i'll post a link for you, but the water quality is the fist and main thing.

http://www.animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/information/Diseases.htm#Tail%20Rot%20&%20Fin%20Rot

Answer 2

First -- make sure the water quality is OK. That is always the most common problem. Three large goldfish obviously need at least 30 gallons, preferably more. Make sure ammonia and nitrites, etc. are OK. This sounds like it could also be swim bladder, though I haven't heard of all fish getting it at onc e-- when fish all get sick at the same time it is often the water quality. But if it is swimbladder, try feeding some peas minus the skin, and then starve them for a couple of days. Do they have any other symptoms?
If there is an issue with the water, change 25 percent. If the water is really bad, then try 50 percent. Add aquarium salt to help prevent nitrite poisoning.

It is rare that all of your fish would have swimbladder at the same time, and die so quickly of it. But it's not uncommon for them to have. If your water is fine, then I am baffled. Maybe something got in the water... Or are you feeding a new food that could make them all constipated so easily?

Answer 3

I would take a sample of water to my local aquarium store. Any of them can check your water and the ones around my town insist on it before they will give you a guarentee on any fish they sale. If you just bought the fish, there is a chance that they got an infection at the store. Especially walmart. I don't buy any fish from my local walmart, because they almost always die. Goldfish need a lot of room. Large goldfish especially. They are basically carp and will continue to grow as long as they live, like any fish will. So you need to make sure the size of your tank is adequate. Food is probably not the problem unless it's a build up of food. You could try to switch your food, but as long as it has a pic of a goldfish on the front, you should be fine. Not changing your water could also be a problem. Toxens build up in the water over time and can be harmfull to your fish. You need to change about 25% to 30% of the water in your tank every two weeks or so. Get yourself one of those hoses that lets you clean the muck out of the gravel. It a labor savor. I included a link for one below and it's a good site for any pet owner. When you replace the water, make sure you use: 1. - Well water, 2. - tap water that's been sitting in an open container for around 24hrs, or 3. - water that you've used a conditioner on. Other things that could have been bothering your fish are if the tanks been in direct sunlight, they may not be getting enough air( a bubble stone would help and so would a filter), or the water may be too hot, because goldfish like cool water(sun could be heating it up). Good luck.

Answer 4

Ok first off if water quality is fine then goldfish won't do this. Recheck. Ph should be stable and above 6.8. Ammonia and nitrites should be zero. BUT did you have nitrAtes checked? High nitrates are exactly what causes what you are witnessing. If you get a reading above 20 ppm then they are too high. My clue in to high nitrates is that you mentioned you have not changed water in a while. That is definately a problem. Goldfish need weekly or bi weekly large water changes or the nitrates will soar. 25% per week or 50% every two weeks. I don't believe your water quality can be fine, if you haven't changed water in a while.
Another HUGE factor causing the goldfish to float is old poor quality food. Flake food lasts a maximum of 3 weeks! Pellet food lasts a max of a couple of months. Never the less food should be replaced monthly. Getting a higher quality food will also help. Choose a food that has no corn, corn meal, corn gluten meal, wheat meal or soy bean meal in the list of ingredients. It will be hard to find, you might look at the tropical fish food. Those listed ingredients are not digestible for goldfish and polute the tank, they are cheap fillers indicating poor quality food. On top of that you feed that stuff for 6 months out of the same can paired with not enough water changes and 3 goldfish that sink and float and go upside down is what you will get everytime.
Solution: Change 75% of the water (careful keep the temp the same)
Fast all fish for 4 days. Then for one week feed only thawed popped out of the shell peas and brine shrimp.
Check nitrates frequently. Anytime nitrates get to 20 ppm change 25-50% of the water. If you change water and they still are not acceptable change 50% of the water daily until it does.
The best thing you can do for your fish at any time is to change their water. It is so important for goldfish to have clean water, without it they become sick fast. Good luck to you.

Answer 5

Actually, swim bladder problems are more common in the fancy goldfish because of the shape of their bodies. If they still seem to have an appetite and are trying to swim, that may be the cause.

If they don't have an appetite, it's more likely something else. I'd check the water temperature and double-check the water tests. Also, you don't mention what tests you've done, but I'd start with nitrate and pH if you haven't done water changes in a while. A buildup of wastes can lower the pH which you might not test for regularly.

There are also other conditions that can resemble (or go along with) swim bladder problems (flipover, constipation). I've provided you with some links on these below:

Answer 6

Yeah, do a 1/3 water change, take the filter apart and clean the media in aquarium water in a bucket,buy some bottled bacteria to help break it down,the thing about gold fish is that they put out allot of ammonia,also the finding it hard to stay submerged sounds like a disease,are the fish bloated at all? if so they may have bloat if so.there may not be much you can do, but hope they stay alive.

Answer 7

None of the ones fish belong in a 'small variety tank'. The carp is obviously a koi which demands to be stored in a pond (no less than a thousand gallons). The four goldfish could want both fifty five or one hundred fifty+ gallons. The fish died considering they had been in a tank that was once a long way too small for them

Answer 8

Do a partial water change and then add some non iodized salt to the water about a teaspoon per gallon if they are indeed large you may need to get them a bigger space to live in and do not forget to use some kind of water treatment to remove the chlorine and such if using city water

Answer 9

They have a swim bladder disease, their swim bladder pops, just like how the appendix pops, they could not maintain balance and will die very slowly- My advice, make a Hospital Tank, a tank with the right temperature, ph factor, good filtration, some hydrilla plants, shelter and other elements of a tank.

Answer 10

Here are some things to check on.
Water temp must be around 70 degrees.
Filteration should be used.
Fish should eat 2-3 times a day.
Is the water balanced with drops?