I had a sick black moor goldfish.?

Question

My 14 yrs old daughter has a 10 gallon fish tank. We had 2 black moor and one fancy tail gold fish. We help her keep it clean and she had these three fish for a year and 3 months. I recently brought a Hypostomus plecostomus to help keep the tank clean because she love to keep the light on to watch the fish and it get tons of algae. Well a week after I introduce the sucker fish all three fish died. Their fin started to shred and they grew white fungus all over their bodies. They also had red spots on their bellies. I think they got fin rot. I want to what went wrong. I am sad to think I killed her fish!! I tried Melafix but it didn't work. The sucker fish was fine. Can you please tell me how to keep this from happening again? I have picture if you need to see what they looked like. Thanks Mother of a heart broken daughter.

Answer 1

I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your fish. Please don't be too harsh on yourself thinking that it's your fault. Simply stated, the fish died due to widely spread misconceptions about goldfish.

Many people believe that goldfish are ok if kept in a bowl. This is a widely held misconception due to the vast availability of fish bowls at every major pet shop and mass retailers selling fish supplies.

I'm sure you thought you were doing everything possible to provide your daughter's goldfish a healthy environment by providing her with a tank.

The truth about goldfish is that they are high maintenance fish needing lots of space and a heavily filtered tank. The variety of goldfish your daughter were keeping needed about 10-15 gallons of water per fish in order for them to grow to full maturity. I've been keeping goldfish for over 25 years and even I would have had great difficulty keeping those fish alive in a 10 gallon tank for as long as your daughter did. She obviously took very good care of the tank!!

Honestly, your daughter's fish had weakened immune systems and you wouldn't have known that because they are extremely hardy fish! They would have eventually succumbed to disease and died in the tank regardless of your cleaning efforts. It is simply impossible to keep three goldfish in good health in a 10 gallon tank no matter how much care you took to keep it clean.

What happened is that the addition of the pleco created an imbalance in the tank's biological filtration. The additional fish created more waste than could be removed and your goldfished got a bacterial infection and died.

Many people get a "sucker" or algae eating fish to help with algae as they are led to believe this a good solution. Most pet shop employees simply don't understand aquarium systems and they give bad advice.

Please don't give up on fish keeping! That tank is ok for a single fancy goldfish. A 60 gallon tank is best for 3 fancies. In the future, don't put any algae eating or "sucker" fish in with goldies. They are simply a bad mix as they tend to eat the protective coating off of the goldfish.

Don't leave the light on in your tank for more than 6-8 hours per day. Light isn't necessary at all for goldfish. The ambient lighting from your home is sufficient. All goldfish really need is to be able to distinguish between night and day. They do need a rest period, and it's easiest to just let them "sleep" when you do.

You'll need to clean your tank thoroughly before using it again. Research online as to how to clean an aquarium....

Also, read this information on the nitrogen cycle: http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html

Before starting up your tank again, "cycle" the tank:http://www.fishlesscycling.com/articles/how_to_do_a_fishless_cycle.html

Be sure to have ammonia and nitrite test kits on hand so you can test your water on a weekly basis.

Feed your goldfish only 1 time per day, feeding only what they will eat in a . Use sinking pellets/granules to avoid the fish gulping air at the surface (can lead to swim bladder disorder)

You did not kill your daughter's fish. They would have died from an infection or overcrowding with or without the addition of the pleco.

When you get new goldfish, don't keep them with the pleco. Plecos and goldfish are very bad tank mates....

I learned my most valuable goldfish lessons exactly as you have. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to e-mail me. Goldfish are my specialty and I'm very good at caring for them.

Hope this helps a bit.....

Answer 2

Yeah, it was fin rot. Introducing the Pleco probably threw off the chemistry of the water enough to cause the fin rot bacteria to multiply.

I don't know if this will help for the future, but when my Betta got fin rot I did water changes twice a week, and used Maracyn (a fish antibiotic) for five days.

Answer 3

sounds such as you have an ich impediment. Ich is a fungus precipitated via rigidity and undesirable water extreme-high quality. My wager could be you do no longer choose an extremely huge tank for those fish. Gold fish choose in any case 30 gallons (for one). They produce extra waste than maximum fish. You additionally could be over feeding or have undesirable filtration. you should purchase some therapy for the ich asap. Take any carbon out of your filter out while you're administering the therapy. And in the experience that your tank is only too small take the fish lower back to the shop. Sorry if I sound recommend even with the undeniable fact that only affirming the advice.

Answer 4

I'm sorry to hear that, and sorry for your daughters loss

Well, first of all, your tank was way overstocked
Also you're not suppose to keep a pleco with goldfish

It definately sounds like finrot, and this is usually caused by bad waterconditions

here is some info on finrot
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/disease.html

And here is an article on the proper habitat and care of goldfish, that's the only way to keep it from happening again
http://www.fishlesscycling.com/articles/caring_for_your_goldfish.html


Hope that helps
Good luck


EB



Feel free to email me, i would love to see the pics you have