Fin Rot or Nipping?

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Dub-Dub

AC Members
Sep 27, 2004
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I am looking for help... I have two small goldfish in a 29g tank. One has an issue with his fins. He barely has a dorsal fin and his fins closest to his gills are just little nubs now... last summer he lost say half of his fin length, but then it stabilized, but between my last water change two weeks ago and today, he lost the rest. The other fish is fine... not a tatter at all.

How can I disern if it is fin rot or agression? Do fins ever grow back?

Help! I don't want to blame it on nipping and get rid of the other (bigger) goldfish prematurely... but my alliegence lies with the sickly one... so I will if I have to.

Water seems to be fine... I've always just used those multi-test strips. Is that okay?
 

budrecki

Trust me, it's for your own good.
Dec 17, 2005
751
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Orlando,FL
1. What kind of gold fish are they?
2. Exact water parameters
ammonia
nitrite
nitrate
ph
3. Water change routine, how much, how often?
 

Dub-Dub

AC Members
Sep 27, 2004
55
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Not sure of exact parameters, as I said I only have been using the color coded test strips... but are, and have always been, in the low to safe range. I change ~40% twice a month. Tank has been up and running with this bioload for 1.5 years... never with any problems. No recent changes either.

They are comets... one is about 3"; the other is about 2.5" (not including tails).
 

budrecki

Trust me, it's for your own good.
Dec 17, 2005
751
0
0
Orlando,FL
Without exact numbers I cannot even guess.

However, comets get very large and SHOULD NOT be in a 29g tank. Their growth has probably been stunted at this point. They also produce a huge amount of waste.

If you are doing water changes 2 times a month, I would suspect your nitrates are VERY high, possible, OTS.
 

kyle3

AC Members
Mar 17, 2005
832
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Minneapolis, MN
OTS means "Old Tank Syndrom" and that would be my diagnosis too

the fin rot that your fish has is caused by his immune system being weakened by high nitrates


OTS is caused by a bad water maintinence regiment

nitrates are the end result of the biological nitrogen cycle that takes place in your tank- they have to be removed on a regular basis and in large quantities in order to prevent them building up to dangerous levels. which is what has happened in your tank.

doing a water change every day for a week will bring your nirates down but you have to be careful not to change too much at a time (only when dealing with OTS- otherwise the bigger the water change the better) so do 20% a day. this is the best thing you can do to help your fish recover you might turn the heat up a couple of degrees but only after you've gotten the nitrates down to 5ppm

it will serve you well to buy the test tube test kits- the master kit is $40 and they last for a long time and they give acurate readings so you can know for sure how the water iseffecting your fished health

2nd issue:
comets at a year old should be about 12" long- yours have stayed small b/c of thier small tank - this means they're growth is stunted and the theory of most repute right now is that a stunted fish stops growing outside but their internal organs do not leading to deformity and early death.

i would suggest you look into finding them a pond (DON'T DUMP THEM IN A LAKE OR STREAM, ETC.) it has to ba a pond built by a gardener or a zoo,(or the like)- specifically designed for gold fish and carp. if you have a local garden center you could put up a flyer or call the zoo and ask if they have a carp pond or know where there is one

after that research adult sizes and temperment before your stock your tank

hope all of that is helpful!

cheers-Kyle
 
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