My poor goldfish is suffering...:(

Sunny, can you return the other fish? Nip the next disaster in the bud?

We'ed be glad to help you get started again on the right foot!
 
SunnyD said:
I've read everyone's posts.

Errrr, so very annoying! And all this because I didn't want Matsy to be lonely. He would have been fine had I just left well enough alone.

Yes, you are right, the algae didn't begin until the 2 redcaps were introduced. Then the additional catfish I guess really began to disturb things.

Although I did do a PH and Ammonia test on a daily basis and they always came up okay. I even brought a sample of the results to the petshop...oh well, that's the same petshop that sold me the additional fish and said it would be okay.

Well, I did a 50% water change today and dechlorinated too. He's not better, but I can certainly attest to the fact that the other fish seem absolutely fine.

Some of you may remember, this little Matsy is the last survivor of about 50 goldfish that were to be a college prank. They were rescued by my niece but all died except Matsy. I'm heartbroken. I don't feel the way about the new fish that I do about Matsy. And I'm soo mad at myself right now!

~D :(
Don't beat yourself up. It happens. We see bad advice from pet stores everyday on these boards. They should know better but rather than be honest and say, "Gee, algae problem? Don't feed as much and try a blackout," they get little dollar signs in their eyes and say, "Gee, algae problem? Buy, buy, BUY!" I will tell you one thing; learning from a site like this will beat a fish store hands down nearly every time. I have learned so much from this site, and from its members. Educating yourself with techniques that aren't printed in books or even magazines yet from smarter people than me just can't miss. Plus, this site is donation only and no one here is selling me anything. I'd ask you to stick around, browse the forums, read the threads that interest you and I bet in no time you'll be better versed than the local fish store people that caused you so much distress. Best of luck, and I hope to see you around.
 
im very sorry for your hardship.
i know how it feels, i recently had a bala shark that had the same problem with the aimless drifting and the crooked body.

i just watched him and hoped for the best and he hung on for a good long time, but one night i saw my loaches attacking him because he had landed on the bottom and was just kinda twitching, so i really had no choice but to put him down. :( it was sad, but i was tired of watching him suffer and didnt think it was fair to him to just let my loaches eat him.

sad :(
 
hmmm, your best bet is to simply put him down. u culd put him in chlorine water, which should kill him instantly and painlessly. or, if he falls to the bottom, poke him with a net til he comes back up. this works. but you cant leave him. thats what u do to let him survive, if u love em enough and have the time. but thats so sad. :sad
 
sobb sobb. i remember the first fish i lost. i had 8 tetras, neon and black neon. ich killed em all. sobb sobb. i kinda know ur pain.
 
Thanks

Thank you so much everyone!

I took Matsy out of the tank again as he was laying at the bottom and twitching too. And I see what you mean by the gills curling out too. I only just noticed that. The other fish were just ignoring him though.

I have him in a bucket of water which I dechlorinated. I don't know if putting him in the chlorine water will be a painless death. Not sure I feel comfortable with that.

I want to attempt to make him as comfortable as possilbe, although nothing about this is comfortable for him I'm sure. I don't know of an all-night petshop where I could buy the oil.

Matsy surely is on his last breath and I've got to come to terms with it. When you loose, don't loose the lesson.

But, as for the survivors. The 2 redcaps who are constantly playing and chasing each other, and 2 tiny catfish, I dont know what kind they are but they are about an inch long and brown. They hang out together and that's kinda cute. And the algae eater, which is actually a pretty cool looking fish. I'm quite fond of him.

How do you think they'll fare in the 10 gallon tank? And how often should I feed? The instructions on the TetraColor Tropical Flakes says 2 to 3 times daily. I was feeding twice a day, around 9am and 11 pm. Should I cut that back to once a day now? And the lighting? Is that contributing to the algae growth? I turn the light off at night from about 11 pm to 9 am.

Really, you all have been great and very supportive, thanks so much for the great ideas, suggestions and advise. I really appreciate it!

Smiles ~D :)
 
The Corpse?

A close inspection of Matsy's corpse shows little little fuzzy strings of things all over him, in and around his mouth, on his tail, etc.

Is that a result of the decaying corpse or is it a bacteria or disease that could possibly have contributed to his death?

I attempted to pull some of it off, put it's so fine and sort of slimy.

Any guess's? I want to prevent the demise of the others in the tank if it's a disease and something I can address before they succumb to it too.

Thanks again ~D
 
Anchor Worms?

Well, it was thin and thread like yes. What are anchor worms...I'll do some research. Hopefully the others don't get it!

~D
 
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