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This is what my fish looked like, I don't know what was wrong with him. He died yesterday. Also, the tank isn't as dirty as it looks, the pictures picks up the details really good. I just cleaned the tank that day. Does anyone know what was wrong with my fish? fishgirl

Fishgirl's in the tank!

sorry your little fella died, been having a bit of trouble with that myself. Longhairedgit can probably help you with this.

when did you get him that kind of information helps and ya longhairedgit can help here(when cant he help lol)

33 gallon 7 neon tetras-5 platys-3 bleeding heart tetras-2 corys-1 rainbow shark-2 L83 gibby plecos

Looks like whatever it was was starvation related, not from not feeding him or anything, but probably from internal parasites such as intestinal worms, and protozoa. It might even have been hexamita, goldies pretty much look like that when they get it, and unlike cichlids they dont tend to get the pits in their heads, they just suffer from the intestinal damage. If you look closely there are a couple of tiny lumps near the head,they could be cystic reproductive growths of microscopic parasites, the stomach is sunken and theres almost no fat on the caudal peduncle. My guess is whatever claimed him did it by draining his metabolism dry. Protozoans do a good line in denying the fish bodily sugars.

No need to feel guilty about dirt in the tank, thats nothing, most peoples gravel holds several grams of detritus, My bigger tanks probably have about a quarter of a pound of old detritus and mulm in at any given time, but as long as the nutriment has gone from it and it only accrued little by little over time theres nothing wrong with that, most of it is just cellulose and bits of fibre. Theres not usually that much left for the bacteria to grow on and bloom, just enough for a little buffer growth for the filter. Its actually possible if the tank was bare like that all the time , that it may never have cycled, which of course may stress a fish into not eating. Do you know what your water perameters were?

Sorry for the loss.

Thank you for the info, it was very helpful, longharegit. At least I know what's going on interally. The only thing is, how can I parisite get in an inside tank? Can they be airborn? That sounds silly to ask but maybe they can be and I never knew it. Also, I feed them TetraFin Goldfish Flakes, is that good food? I read somewhere that its cheap. That surprised me because I've always known that brand for years before I had fish. I always heard that it was good. Every now and then I'll feed them a moth too. Could that have parasites in them? It's the kind that are mostly indoors, that get into flour, clothes, stuff like that. They probably have them in the U.K. too. I really hope a can figure this out completely because one of the fish that I've had for the longest, about 1 month and a half, is sick the same way. The other 3 are fine. It seems like they are dying for nothing, it would be nice if I could save them. If they were dying because of the tank size, them I wouldn't care, because of what you told me. But this seems to be something totally different, so if I can save them, and keep them instead of getting minnows then I'm gonna do it. I love goldfish. Angie

Fishgirl's in the tank!

Tetrafin is a fine fishfood, theres nothing wrong with it, I used that product in various versions for over 20 years, and its helped me grow some fine chunky fish with no noticeable deformities or nutritional deficiency.I would always recommend a little variety though, a few frozen bloodworm,the odd algae wafer, some elodea to nibble on, maybe a few hikari goldfish pellets once in a while etc , etc. Monotypic diets are always a bit of a risk, its better to offer a little variety, but as a staple, tetra foods are fine. In fact some of my specimens are in prize-winning condition,(not that I'd show them- I dont like the stress it puts the fish through) and they have always had tetra products, the crisps, doromin, prima, as a component of the diet.

Yes any live food can carry parasites, I think from time to time most fishkeepers get the odd moth go into a tank, its almost unavoidable, and yes they can, like most insects, carry internal parasites. In this case though, the fish has had them nearly all its life, probably originated from the distributors breeding and holding pens, and shop aquaria.

Most fish sold come complete with intestinal parasites, unless known to have been treated for them. A quick feed of jungle labs antiparasite food once in a while is probably the easiest way to get rid of most of them, although you dont need to treat fish for internal parasites unless theres a problem, but when theyre eating, and still getting skinny, its time to use them.