Fish lying on the bottom of the tank

[Piscean]

My Goldfish and Shubunkin are about three years old, they live in a 15" height x 12"depth x 24"length tank.

I bought a Hillstream loach and after approx. 3 days the two goldfish started behaving oddly. They seemed to 'sit' at the bottom of the tank. They would eat and appeared normal apart from this. I then noticed spots on them more so on the shubunkin. The goldfishes tail looks like, well the best way to describe it would be thick! Their poo is white. They have now stopped eating.

I Have treated for ich

Has the Hillstream loach brought a disease in? (The shop assistant assured me that he was fine to put straight in, and had been quarentened.

I am SO worried, I don't want to lose them

please help

 

[Blinky]

Sorry to hear about your fish
Once a fish has stopped eating, it's usually in trouble. Can you post a picture of your fish? It would help, someone might recognise the condition.
It can't hurt to do daily water changes, vacuuming the gravel at the same time. You could also add a little aquarium salt to the water (though I'm not experienced with goldfish and not sure how much salt they tolerate) to help them secrete more slime coat; this protects them from fungus, bacteria, ich etc.
Try to make sure the temperature and pH are stable and nothing startles the fish. If they're not eating, don't feed them (it will only pollute the water). Many people leave the lights off during times when their fish are ill - all of this is to reduce any stress on the fish so they can heal.
If you can't post a picture, can you try to describe exactly what your fish's fins look like and give some more details about your tank's water parameters (If you know them: NH3, NO2, NO3, PO4, pH, temperature - the more people know about your tank the more they can help) and what your maintenance schedule is like?
Best of luck.

 

[flameangel]

It's a possiblity that fish are just stressed as a reaction to the Hillstream Loach coming into the tank. The white spot is very likely a symptom of this stress, rather than something the loach brought in with it.

The white poo and refusing to eat could be a reaction to the treatment, which once it has been removed from the water, may right itself fairly quickly. To remove this quickly, do a big water change (50%), plus, if possible, add carbon to your filter to absorb the chemical more efficiently.

If after doing the above the white poo remains, it could also be a sign of an internal bacterial infection, which can be treated with the Interpet Internal Bacterial Treatment. Don't put this in until you have cleared the previous treatment from the water. The Interpet Aquilibrium Salt could be put in at any time as long as you get the dosage right. It should pick them up and can be added at the same time as any treatment.

If symptoms persist, return the loach to the retailer. I hope this helps!

 

[Piscean]

Thank you for all your help

The fish are still lying on the bottom of the tank, Do you really think that the Loach has something to do with this?

Is it possible to get stress confused with ich?

I'm scared of stopping the treatment of the ich incase it is ich. The instructions say that I need to treat again after four days, which will be tomorrow. I am now confused as to what to do for the best for my fish!

would the ich treatment harm them if they don't have ich?

I have offered them food when they are a little active, but they don't go near it, I leave the room and go back after a minute or two but it's still there, so I scoop it straight off the top with a net. They have not eaten for three days now. The Shubunkin, who shows the most signs of having ich is sometimes looking brighter and swims around occasionally, but when he is lying on the bottom of the tank, he looks AWFUL! The other fish looks awful all the time!

As there isn't any algae in my tank, I have been feeding the loach with algae wafers. He has also stopped eating, so they too have to be scooped out ( I was advised to drop them in in the evening, and scoop them out in the morning if they are still there) As my loach is now spending most of his time behind a plant at the back of the tank and could be too shy to get the wafer if anyone is around. Could he be ill too?

Do loaches turn from shy, quiet fish in the day to evil aggressive fish at night?

I have read on another forum that loaches will chew on goldfish. Is this right? Everyone I have spoken to about this says it's not true and that they are COMPLETELY safe to share a home with goldies!!

I was also told that my tank was already fully stocked, and that I should not have added anything else. The pet shop told me I could keep 10 goldies in my tank, but I only have two goldies in there to give them plenty of room. the tank is 12" x 15" x 24" can you please let me know if the three I have are too many?

Sorry for rambling on, I hope someone has the answer to my many questions!!

thank you all for your good advise

Piscean
xxxxxxx

 

[Blinky]

I really suggest you stop feeding them for now. Every time you go into the tank to scoop out uneaten food, it stresses the fish out. While the food is in there, it just fouls the water.
If your fish have little spots that look like grains of salt stuck to them, they have ich. Ich is often caused by stress, which comes in a thousand forms.
Daily water changes, vacuuming the substrate, will help eradicate the ich, and even if it's not ich they'll help with any illness. Yes going into the tank is stressful for the fish, but do your best to be 'quiet' and not frighten them, make sure the replacement water is similar in pH and temperature to that in the tank, and use dechlorinator. The benefits of a clean tank, IMO, outweigh any stress it causes.
Continue your ich treatment, there's nothing wrong with doing that if you're sure they have ich. Make sure the temperature is stable, the water parameters are as close to perfect as you can get them, leave the lights off for a few days and just leave them alone as much as possible to recover.
Other people have mentioned a website called fishyfarmacy.com, you might want to check it out to try and identify what's going on with your fish.
As for loach behaviour, I'm no expert, but you could post a question in the 'catfish and bottom feeders' section. I know some loaches are nocturnal, and can disturb their tankmates, but I doubt they'd chew on tankmates!
Good luck, please post an update if you discover that what they've got is not ich but something else, and we'll all try to help

 

[Piscean]

Thank you so much for your advise,

I have left their lights out for three days now and I didn't try to feed them at all until today, as the Shubunkin appeared brighter and I was scared they would die of starvation!

I will have a look on that website now

I will post an update tomorrow

Thanks again

Piscean
xxxxxx

 

[Piscean]

hello again

This is day four of the treatment, and both fish are still sitting on the bottom of the tank!

The shubunkin does swim around a lot more often than the other goldfish who rarely moves!

The Shubunkins spots are only on his fins and tail now, is this normal while treating ich for it to stay in these places longer, or do you think it may be something else?


Thanks again for your replies, it really helps to know that you care too!

piscean
xxxxxxx

 

[dwayne]

Do the spots look like grains of salt, or are they discolorations of his fins? IF they look like grains of salt, then it is ich, and you should continue w/ the treatment. IF they are discolorations of the fins, I'd stop the ich treatment but continue with the water changes.

I don't know much about goldfish, but is 3 years old for them? Maybe it's just old age?

Like I said, identify exactly what the spots look like, that will help...

~Tara

 

[Blinky]

Goldfish have been known to live over ten years, so I doubt it's age related...
As Dwayne says, check the spots to make sure it's ich. If it does look like salt sprinkled on the fish, you have to keep treating them. Ich treatment should usually go on for two weeks or so, dispite what the package may tell you! You need to treat for at least 3-4 days AFTER the spots fall off the fish; that way you catch the ich in it's free swimming stage, which is when it's vulnerable to treatment.
Keep up the water changes, keep up the treatment, and post with updates. You're doing well, I'm sure they'll pull through.

 

[Piscean]

My 2 goldfish in the other tank (18g) are 6 years old now and extremely healthy and large! (the shop assistant told me to keep 12 in there to stunt their growth!! )

The goldfish I had when I was three lived for 18 years!!

(My mum obviously did most of the taking care of him)

So, anyway, back to my point I doubt it's age. I'm pretty sure it is white spot.

If the white spots are coming off, then really I need to be doing a water change very soon to catch them. My question is, how much of a water change do I do, and when is best, taking into consideration that the treatment went in today!

Now, the water I put back in, will have stood overnight, and be treated with tap safe. Do I need to treat the water that is going back in with the ich treatment aswell?

Thank you for your support