help!!

[mryan728]

I have a Telescope eye Ryukin Goldfish my girlfriend gave me for my birthday. I love fish, but this is the first one I've ever kept by myself! It's in a 10 gallon tank right now (I know, that's probably not big enough) all by himself. A little more than two weeks ago I got new carpet and moved his tank into the bathroom for about 8 hours. During that time he just laid completely still on the bottom. This got me worried! For a while after that, he kept doing the same thing. He would swim fine when I got close to the glass, but other than that stayed still. Late last week, he started to get better, swimming around more. Suddenly, I came into my room to find him stuck to the filter intake! I immedeately unplugged the filter to let him off. He swam off unharmed, acting normal. I woke up this morning, and he was stuck again! I did the same thing, unplugged the filter to get him free. This time, though, he swam right back up to the filter once it was unplugged and got stuck again. This process of getting stuck and unplugging lasted for about 15 minutes! He finally seemed to swim in the rest of the tank. I came home just now, and he was stuck again, and now he seems like he's about to die! He's barely moving and only swims when I move near him. He's still breathing okay, and isn't floating on the top. I'm wondering if there is something I can do for him! Please help!

[TetraFreak]

Perhaps put a foam pre-filter in the intake to lessen the power of the flow...

[mishi8]

I'm suspecting your fish is ill...possibly from the effects of ammonia and/or nitrite. How long have you had the fish? How old is your tank? Is it done cycling? What do your tests say?

[Roan Art]

What mishi8 said . . .

No fish, especially a goldfish, should get stuck to an intake. If they do, they are sick and too weak to get away.

We need to know how long you've had the tank running and what the ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH are.

If you do not have a test kit, please buy one that uses test tubes, not strips. The best one for the money is the Master Freshwater kit by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. It'll last a long time and it's far cheaper than strips anyhow.

Also, how often have you been changing the water out and how much?

Roan

[mryan728]

Okay thanks, I need to get that test kit. I don't have one right now. I've had the tank running for over a month. The filter has been running the whole time. There is an air pump running in the tank also.

[iamgroovy]

How many water changes have you done and how much did you change out each time? Were there any kind of fumes in the bathroom or could anything have fallen, dripped into the tank? Was anything sprayed near it?

[mryan728]

I've been changing maybe 10% of the water every couple of days since he's been acting weird. And no, I don't any thing could have fallen in it, the lid was on the tank.

[mryan728]

Just to make sure...Goldfish don't hibernate do they? I went to a fish store to ask about my fish, and the lady there told me the water might be cold, tricking the fish into thinking it was time to hibernate. I didn't recall anything from biology about hibernation, so I thought that was all BS. Would I be correct in assuming this?

[mryan728]

I thought goldfish were coldwater fish anyways... Does any fish hibernate?
:huh:

[Roan Art]

Unless you put the fish in your refridgerator, I doubt you could get it cold enough to support that theory anyhow.

10% water change every few days is not enough, especially in a 10 gallon tank. Ryukins need at least 20g min, 30 is better. They grow very large.

Start changing his water out 50% and make sure you dechlorinate the new water and that it's the same temperature of the old water.

Other than that, we can't help you until you get a test kit and post water parameters.

Roan