dying/dead comet

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stressgoddess1

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Mar 11, 2009
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not really sure what happened. I have had my comet goldfish in a 10 gallon tank for about 2-3 years. His water temp is about 71-73 degrees, ammonia at or near 0, with weekly (sometimes 10 days =\ ) water changes of 25-50%, depending on the ammo level. nitrites also near 0, and nitrates under 15. He had a pleco roommate for about a year, who just passed away a few days ago, which was my first clue that something was wrong. He has been very lethargic for the past 24-36 hours, and has slowly stopped eating. Tonight when i tried to do a 40-50% water change, he was so weak, he was bouncing around in the current like a toy ship in the tub. I turned his 2 aerated decorations off (a treasure chest and a motorcycle) to make the water calmer for him. tonight when I fed him, he would not even touch his food, which is unlike him seeing as he is usually quite the piggy. the water change was about an hour ago, and he is now swiming almost like he is drunk, often floating on his side with very shallow breathing. I think he is beyond repair, but if anyone has any idea why this would have happened in the first place, i would be very interested in any and all suggestions. Nothing has changed, his food, light, and tankmate have been the same for at least a year, and i have not added any decorations or new things to my tank. I was thinking it could be a parasite but how would it get in there if nothing has changed? No signs of white spot or any other disease.
Thanks in advance for your comments!
~StressGoddess
 

Lupin

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Hi SG,

Could you please tell us how big the comet was? Chances are the comet never exceeded its potential having been confined in a 10g for 2-3 years. In 2-3 years, the poor fish should have already reach 12-18 inches which exceeds far beyond the 10g can accommodate. I am really sorry about this bad news but stunting is in my opinion, the main cause for its death. Stunting cuts down the lifespan of the fish and causes internal organ damage since the fish's organs keep growing while it remains stunted. It eventually succumbs as its life has been shortened severely.

Have you done water changes in the first couple of years consistently? Irregular water changes can attribute to its toll due to inconsistencies in its body system handling the changes of its environment.
 

Kashta

Always Niko's fault.....
Jun 24, 2008
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A quick note to other readers of this thread. Stressgoddess and I have discussed this matter briefly in chat. Thought it best to explore this in a thread of it's own.

Please keep in mind this thread will be heavily moderated as becomes necessary. All replies need to be helpful and constructive in both tone and content. Offtopic issues, inflammatory remarks, and harsh criticisms directed at the OP are inappropriate and will be removed.
 

stressgoddess1

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Mar 11, 2009
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he was maybe 3 inches... he grew very slowly and is sadly the victim of me not knowing any better.... he was happy and healthy or so it seemed until yesterday. i had been planning to get him a bigger tank but budget constraints have prohibited that as of late. i was going to put him in my 29 gallon but it is full of platies and thought they were not compatible as their water is about 7-10 degrees warmer than his. i will not be getting another goldfish at least not for the 10 gallon. i have a kind of unrelated question. i am cycling another 10 gallon but the process has just started. i was going to use it for my rapidly increasing number of platy fry... is this already cycled tank dangerous for the fry since i dont know what happened? the water params are within normal ranges...
 

BettaFishMommy

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Mar 17, 2008
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why not take the platy fry to the lfs instead? your adults will make more soon, if they haven't already.
 

stressgoddess1

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lfs wont take 'em i've tried
 

Lupin

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he was maybe 3 inches... he grew very slowly and is sadly the victim of me not knowing any better.... he was happy and healthy or so it seemed until yesterday. i had been planning to get him a bigger tank but budget constraints have prohibited that as of late. i was going to put him in my 29 gallon but it is full of platies and thought they were not compatible as their water is about 7-10 degrees warmer than his. i will not be getting another goldfish at least not for the 10 gallon. i have a kind of unrelated question. i am cycling another 10 gallon but the process has just started. i was going to use it for my rapidly increasing number of platy fry... is this already cycled tank dangerous for the fry since i dont know what happened? the water params are within normal ranges...
I understand your predicament and I am sorry to hear about your comet, hun. At least, you know better now than before and will be more prepared I am sure.

BettaFishMommy is right. The platies would be better off in a smaller tank than the comet. A transpose is really a correct move but it is too late to do that now unfortunately. As far as the platy fry are concerned, please make sure you can accommodate everyone otherwise you have to feed the extra fry to the adults, raise them and sell or give them away. Unfortunately, sometimes what we do not want to do, has to happen to keep things in control. Platies proliferate quickly and there is no doubt about it.

As far as the cycled tank, if you are sure the water conditions are okay, then move the platies there. You can simply use the established filter media to immediately cycle the 10g.
 

Kashta

Always Niko's fault.....
Jun 24, 2008
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Let me start by saying this.... stressgoddess already realizes it may be too late now to save her remaining fish (comet) and she doesn't expect him to survive through the night. She already understands that the small 10 gallon tank size lead to stunting and other factors. She agreed to create this thread anyway to learn more, to seek the advice she was afraid to ask us for previously, and for the benefit of our other members to help prevent this from happening with the fish they are keeping. Thank you for that, SG.

not really sure what happened. I have had my comet goldfish in a 10 gallon tank for about 2-3 years. His water temp is about 71-73 degrees, ammonia at or near 0, with weekly (sometimes 10 days =\ ) water changes of 25-50%, depending on the ammo level. nitrites also near 0, and nitrates under 15. He had a pleco roommate for about a year, who just passed away a few days ago, which was my first clue that something was wrong.
he was maybe 3 inches... he grew very slowly and is sadly the victim of me not knowing any better.... he was happy and healthy or so it seemed until yesterday.
As has already been mentioned... given the size of this tank and the two fish kept there, there was nothing you could do to make up for the lack of space and water volume. What Lupin stated about severe stunting already is the apparent cause. Kept under proper conditions and given a high quality diet, your comet would have measured 10-12 inches in length by 2-3 years of age. This temperature range was fine for the comet, but too cold for the pleco. And yes, those two species of fish should never be housed together.

He has been very lethargic for the past 24-36 hours, and has slowly stopped eating. Tonight when i tried to do a 40-50% water change, he was so weak, he was bouncing around in the current like a toy ship in the tub. I turned his 2 aerated decorations off (a treasure chest and a motorcycle) to make the water calmer for him. tonight when I fed him, he would not even touch his food, which is unlike him seeing as he is usually quite the piggy. the water change was about an hour ago, and he is now swiming almost like he is drunk, often floating on his side with very shallow breathing. I think he is beyond repair, but if anyone has any idea why this would have happened in the first place, i would be very interested in any and all suggestions.
At first when you brought this up in chat, the bouyancy condition sounded like a swim bladder disorder. Having read more about these conditions and a little about the history, I now suspect that you're seeing some kind of internal organ failure and overall system shutdown as the fish inside has outgrown the stunted body size. It's likely that you've been able to ward off some of the more common goldfish diseases through your consistent and attentive tank maintenance habits for quite some time. But even this isn't enough to keep a fish like this alive in the setup you have.

Even under the most awful circumstances, goldfish will still usually give the appearance that nothing is wrong... sometimes right up to the point that death is imminent. This factor makes early diagnosis and treatment of health problems impossible at such times because the fish is already too weak or too sick to survive treatment by the time obvious symptoms are detectable. Prevention and a full understanding of goldfish care needs is truly the key to keeping them healthy and alive.

I'm so sorry you've been through this, SG. I just wish we'd known sooner and you could have made other arrangements to rehome these fish if you couldn't provide the tank they both needed.
 
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