HELP! Instant, lethal fungas???

F

FishyFool

AC Members
Apr 1, 2008
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Sick Fishy

I have a several year old pearl-scale goldfish that lives in about a 3 gallon bowl with a small filter. He's always done wonderfully with 50% water changes every 3-4 days.

However, when I woke up this morning I was terrified to see him floating. :headshake2: His eyes seemed to be covered over in a white residue, as well as the edges of all his fins (see picture above.) I poked him, on instinct, and he swam back to life, then lethargically let himself float back to the top. I removed the carbon and added half a little capful of melafix. But what to do!?! He was fine yesterday, this appeared between 2 and 11 am! I've had this little guy forever and I'd be very sad to see him go. :confused:

Thanks!!
Ashley
 
He's still alive?

It sounds like poor water conditions to me. What are the water Parameters?

I would also do a v.l. WC (like 80-90%). He's in a 3G tank?

Sorry I cannot see your picture, it's blovked at work...
 
Yes, he's still alive. He had begun to swim around for a bit actually, but he looks horrid and has returned to swimming listlessly about the top.

I just took a minute to test the water and the pH is 7.4, no ammonia, no nitrites, very small amount of nitrate, hardness is pretty average so I did a 75% water change, just in case that's the problem (or if the melafix was a bad idea?)

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jumperchick15
 
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unfortunately, your fish is stunted. while he has been healthy until now, his immune system is very damaged and at this point any little thing is going to make him sick. i wouldn't really be surprised if this is the start of a constant battle with one disease after another until the fish finally loses. even though you keep the water free of ammonia and nitrite, it's hormonal buildup which affects the health of the fish and causes stunting. a pearlscale several years old should have a body the size of a baseball, at least - if you want this fish to live, or at least have a chance you should get a bigger home for it, at least 30g. seems like a lot, but if your fish pulls through this bad time he could have 10 years of life or more left.
 
I do wish I had the funds for a big goldie tank right now. He's about 1 and a half times the size of a ping-pong ball at a little over 2 years old. It's just so sudden since he was absolutely fine when I went to bed! I've never seen anything like it. :(
 
Are you sure it's not ick? I know nothing of goldfish but the rapid onset and the white spots sound like when my mollies got ick. Adding salt and raising the temperature to above 80F cured my tank but I lost a number of fish to the disease first.
 
the frayed white edges aren't ich, thats fin rot, usually caused by poor water conditions. the cloudy eyes i suspect are a bacterial infection again usually caused by poor water conditions and a lowered immune system. at this point a simple and cheap 10g would be sufficient and a wonderful upgrade that will allow you to keep water parameters in check even with smaller water changes and allow you to dose meds without having to worry as much about overdosing and killing your fish.
 
:iagree:

I bought a ten gallon kit from wal-mart for $30.00 ... just buy decorations and accessories as you get more money. Hope the best for your little fishy friend
 
One fancy goldfish needs atleast 20 gallons at minimum and nothing less will do. He will die early. This article explains what happens when a fish is stunted: http://freshwater.fanatics.googlepages.com/fishstunting If you can't put the goldfish into a larger tank or goldfish pond, you really should pass him on to someone who can.

While 10g is better than 3g, it's stil not adequate for a goldfish.
 
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