View Full Version : goldfish lying on side on bottom?
Hi all,
I have a small oranda whose lying on his side on the bottom of the tank. His gills are moving, and he flaps his fins every now and again. I moved him to qt but haven't done anything since. All the other inhabitants are fine. I did a 20% water change the night before he got sick. I've only tested ammonia, but it's zero. Any ideas?
kelly82
02-06-2009, 6:23 AM
tank size,other inhabitants,how long has it been up and running, what filtration do you have,could a pollutant have gotten in there with the water change, lol sooo many questions, you will need a test for nitrite and nitrate too at the very minimum. go for drip tests instead of strips as apparently the strips can be unreliable. give some more info and im sure someone can help you. good luck.
snoopy65
02-06-2009, 6:51 AM
Also did you use water conditioner when you did the water change?
yes, i did use water conditioner. the tanks been up for about nine months. its a 55, 5 other goldies (small). i know its slightly overstocked. filtration needs to be upgraded eventually, its an hob rated for a 55. but like I said, ammonia's zero, so i dont think its an issue yet. i dont think nitrate is going to be high bc of the wc. and i doubt i lost the cycle, so i bet nitrite will be zero as well. like i said, every other fish is fine, theres no discoloration that would indicate nitrite poisoning
Fish-Addict
02-06-2009, 8:01 AM
yes, i did use water conditioner. the tanks been up for about nine months. its a 55, 5 other goldies (small). i know its slightly overstocked. filtration needs to be upgraded eventually, its an hob rated for a 55. but like I said, ammonia's zero, so i dont think its an issue yet. i dont think nitrate is going to be high bc of the wc. and i doubt i lost the cycle, so i bet nitrite will be zero as well. like i said, every other fish is fine, theres no discoloration that would indicate nitrite poisoning
It's all very well thinking that such and such is zero and beting that something is 0 but you don't know that for sure. Get some tests done!
ok. tested nitrite and nitrate. both are zero.
BreellaBlue87
02-06-2009, 9:09 AM
what kind of test kit are you using?
api frashwater master. not the strips. test results are fine. water parameters are fine. filter is ok.
Mr. U
02-06-2009, 10:46 AM
All parameters are at 0? Something's up...hmmm.
kelly82
02-06-2009, 11:25 AM
maybe lost cycle? unless because of the water change the nitrates were so low they were unreadable?
ebola
02-06-2009, 11:28 AM
yeah I honestly doubt it's a water chemistry issue. the other fish are fine, and there are tons of shrimp and snails in that tank that are fine as well. and i moved him to an established quarantine tank that's had a steady bioload (1 molly, 1 danio), and i havent seen any improvement in the 18 hours he's been there. could it be a swim bladder issue? he wont eat, so i get any peas into him.
so when i came home today, the poor little guy (Hal) was lying on his side in the middle of some java moss i had in the qt tank. i pulled it out, and he spends a lot of time on his belly resting on the bottom, but does swim almost normally, except that he seems really weak. swim bladder? is there a fix besides peas?
lorindaleigh
02-06-2009, 4:51 PM
The only thing that will work besides peas (and works better IMO) is fasting. This comes from my experience with betta's though.
Flaringshutter
02-06-2009, 8:42 PM
Swim bladder issues rarely cause sitting on the bottom. My first instinct is to say it's a bacterial or parasitic problem. You may try feeding a medicated food - Jungle Anti-Bacterial is a great option - and see if that helps. Without a scrape & scope it's difficult to pinpoint the problem. Have you brought any new plants, fish or decorations into the tank recently?
ok, that makes a lot of sense. we did introduce a new fish last weekend. thanks for the advice!
Flaringshutter
02-07-2009, 11:56 AM
Glad to help, ebola! If the medicated food doesn't improve things, you may need to move to a whole-tank medication. If the anti-bacterial food does help, we can be reasonably certain it's a bacterial issue and medicate for that. If not, you may be looking at something parasitic.