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My grandmother has a goldfish that has been swimming funky for about a month. It appears to be getting worse. It is now mostly staying at the top of the tank sideways. It is still eating and appears to have no other symptoms. I have no idea what her water levels are. SO SORRY!! I think it is going to die...but she has kept it in there. She has another goldfish and some others and I am wondering if they will get it. Could it be a tumor? One side seems a little bigger in the stomach. Thanks in advance for any help!!

please answer whatever you can so we can be of more help to you:

ENVIRONMENTAL DATA

Water Parameters
There are many things in a fish tank that can cause a fish to appear sick, when natural toxins or water chemistry are not just right.

Ammonia:
Nitrite (note the “I&#8221:
Nitrate (note the “A):
pH:
Temp:

If you do not have one or more of these, please take a bag of water to the fish store and ask them to test it for you. Most will do this for free. If not, try another store. Make sure you write them down so we can review the numbers with you.

Tank Information

Tank Size (gallons and dimensions if known (20 gal long versus regular 20 or 20 gal high):
Stock List (Quantity/Species):
Fish size for larger fish (a 5 inch angel or a 9 inch oscar has a different effect on water parameters than a half-dollar size angle or a 3 inch oscar).
Filtration (ex: Penguin 330, Whisper 40, Fluval 204, etc).

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Additives
Tell us what you add to your tank or replacement water like conditioners to remove chlorine/chloramine, fertilizers for plants, aquarium salt, pH adjusters, etc. Describe for us how often you use and how much.

INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR SICK FISH

Be as descriptive as you can and provide pics, if possible (see the post about how to add pictures at the top of the hospital forum).

We not only need detailed information about what you see ON the fish, we need to know about it’s behavior. This does not attempt to capture everything, but gives you some ideas on how to present what you are seeing. Don’t limit yourself to what is here.

Examples of some physical attributes
Pale, darker, grey fuzz/white fuzz/off-white fuzz, grey slimey film, blue haze, gold dusting, salt grains/spots, blood bordered white area, ulcer, pustule/boil, cloudy eyes, protruding eye, eroding fin, etc.

Examples of some behaviors
Lethargic, rapid breathing, sits on the bottom, hangs out at the top with head down (or head up), darting in a spiral fashion, swimming slowly without orientation, choking, flicking against objects in the tank or gravel

It is important to provide us with as much environmental data above as possible.

I believe, your grandmother's goldfish is dealing with a condition called Swim Bladder Disorder (SBD). In itself it is not necessarily fatal and fish can live a long time with it. It could look worse to one side if the air is sweeping to that side. It could be a tumor, but lets treat it as SBD first.

If this is a fancy variety of goldfish, then it is more e to it because of the scrunched spine, which drives organs to compress against the swim bladder.

Goldfish need decent sized tanks - at least 20 gallons per goldfish or more, for long term health. The reason for this is water chemistry. All tanks have ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, but in healthy tanks, the first two measure zero. The last one, nitrate should measure less than 40ppm for a goldfish tank. High nitrates contribute to declining health and are believed to be contributors to SBD. Sometimes, just getting nitrates below 40ppm with frequent water changes that are the same temp are enough to correct the condition. The smaller the tank, the more frequent those changes need to be. For example, one goldfish in a 40 gallon may only need water changes every two weeks or once a week, of 30%. I have two goldfish in a tank nearly that size, and I must do two water changes per week to stay under 40ppm. Imagine how high those nitrates can climb in a 10 gallon.

Now, right up there with nitrates and water quality is diet. Even a little constipation will cause a fish to float. I have a chronic floater - just the bad luck of teh gene pool. He even floats upside down a few hours out of the day if I'm not careful.

Dried foods are rough on them because they go in dry and with no moisture, get stuck easy. Pellets should be soaked a few minutes to absorb water. I have however, discovered one way to deliver a high amount of moisture to the gut. That is, algae sheets. I'll provide some links below so you can see what they look like for purchase. Buy a veggie clip and immediately following a light pellet or flake meal, clip on a 1 x 1 inch sheet, followed by another after that is gone (for one fish). Do a 1 x 2 inch sheet if there are two fish. The algae sheet very quickly absorbs water and becomes gelatinous. This water, and fiber, help push the food through the gut.

Some people will also feed deshelled, frozen pea that has thawed. YOu simply put some peas on the counter to thaw, then pop the halves out of the round shell. The fish love them. However, the pea route did little for my floater, Yoshi.

I recommend getting some algae sheets and fasting the fish for one day. Then feed him strictly algae sheets for two days. If it is easier for the fish to feed from teh surface, then cut that 1x1 square into bite sized pieces he can grab from the surface.

I'd appreciate hearing how he has done with this, along with a list of those parameters we are looking for above. Fish stores do the testing for free, most often, but don't accept descriptions. We absolutely need numbers to make a firm assessment of the water quality.

I believe the algae sheets will get Gram's goldie back on track anyway.

How long has she had him?

You'll need a clip unless she wants to just cut it up.

Under "Optional Products" in the link below, look at the two options for 'Green' algae. You'll see the two brands for which I speak. I know that Petco carries the latter.

http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/F16/Class/Fish+Supplies+Feeders/T1/F16+0012+0145/EDP/2768/Itemdy00.aspx

In the stores, you will find either SeaWeed Selects brand or Julian Sprung (Two Little Fishies). Here's what they look like and you may find them in the Marine or saltwater section. As long as it is green seaweed, it is good. It may say Marine Macroalgae and that is fine. I feed mine the Marine type every day to control SBD and he is 99% normal while eating it, but floats if I don't feed it at the same time.

One more note about diet is variety. I feed my fish some type of flake or pellet only once a day, along with the algae sheet at the same time. I alternate and every few days I feed something like Ocean Plankton or Freeze Dried Bloodworms. Here's the brand I use and there are many other containers like this with bloodworms, tubifex, brine shrimp - any are fine. Variety is important as is freshness (discard any opened food after 90 days as it has little nutritional value left).

http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/F41%2cMAN0551/Class/Fish+Supplies+Hikari+Fish+Food/T1/F41+0551+0123/EDP/31630/Itemdy00.aspx


Last edited by Cory_Di at 27-Feb-2005 10:36