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Hi guys,

I'm a new aquarium owner, hence the name "fan-tail"!! I have had 4 fantails for just over a month. Last week I added 2 danios and 2 white clouds, and a plant. I have an undergravel filter which runs 24/7 (is this right?) and a log and ornament in the tank.

Anyway, one of the fantails has started to float head down first, and I think it might be a swim bladder problem. I have never noticed any excrement from this particular fish, which might mean it is constipated? Some internet sites have suggested either fasting or feeding peas.

Is it okay to fast all the fish for 2-3 days?

How do I prepare the peas, and is it okay to feed them to all the fish? Without a spare tank, how would I make sure the sick fish gets the peas??

Are there any other ways to help this fish??

thanks,

Fantail

hey Fantail, welcome to the madhouse!

First thing is first, do you know about the nitrogen cycle and is this tank cycled? In other words, does it have ammonia and nitrite readings of 0 and a detectable level of nitrate?

How large is the tank in question?


I think you might have a water quality issue as 4 goldies in a tank can be an awful lot for a filter to handle, especially an air-driven one. 24/7 is correct though, you don't really want to turn UGFs off, especially the older ones. They need oxygenated water passing over them constantly to be effective If it is too noisy and you want to stay with the UGF, you can run it off powerheads, which increase the effectiveness and reduce the cauldron effect.

That aside, in answer to your questions, yes, you can safely fast all those fish for 2-3 days if required. For the pea, cook it, shell it, and slightly crush the little innards into the water. The fish should inspect it and have a nibble. Most likely the sick fish won't get the pea, but he should come right if you just withhold food from him for a day or two if constipation is the cause. If he is interested, herd him to one side of the tank and feed the rest of the fish the normal food on the other side of the tank. It isn't ideal, but it works pretty well.

There are other things that you can do, but I think first and foremost, you have to check the water because otherwise you'll be fighting an uphill battle to keep your fishies healthy.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

thanks Callatya. I actually did a water change yesterday, and he seems to have come good. But you're right, I'll do a water quality check. Btw, the tank is 60cmx30cmx30cm, would you still think there are too many fish for this size tank? I might have got a bit carried away!

thanks again,

Fantail

Just a wee bit I know the feeling, it can be very easy to get swept up in the whole fish-buying experience!

Really, that tank would be hard-pressed to house a single goldfish to a size of more than 3" (and they can get over 10", so 4 goldies and 4 small trops is probably not the best stocking arrangement. Although the UGF should be able to give you optimum use of the gravel bed for biological filtration, it doesn't do a good job at getting particulate matter out, and they are really an art to maintain. If it goes bad (gets clogged, sustains damage to the bacterial colony etc) it goes quickly and will take a while to recover.

The maintenance you'd need on a tank that size, with that filter and with that many goldfish would take a lot of the fun out of keeping fish. I'm guessing here, but I'd be thinking 30% water changes every 3 days with a 1/2 tank gravel vac just to make sure that your biofiltration didn't get overwhelmed. Even then, it would only really give you a year (at most) and then you'd be dealing with much bigger goldfish, at which point I don't think you'd be able to keep ahead of the waste output. At that point the waste products would start creeping up in strength and kill off the weakest fish first until the stocking was down to a sustainable level. Those that survive would have some pretty serious damage from the process. It really is best avoided, for the sake of the fish.
It isn't the number of fish, or the size of the goldfish so much as their waste output. The waste output for their size is high, so for example a 3" goldfish is more than what you'd get with a 3" gourami or 2 x 2" guppies. As they grow, so does the amount of waste they excrete, and they do grow fast. The problem just gets worse as time goes on.

I'd be inclined to try to rehome the 4 goldies soon, preferably to a nice big pond, and restock by filling out your danio and white cloud schools, and maybe getting a larger centerpiece fish that puts out less waste.

Have you gone with those fish choices because they cope better without a heater?

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Now I'm really confused!! I have a coldwater tank with an undergravel filter that goes all the way across and bottom of the tank. It has 2 tubes at the back, one on each side with an aerator that is attached to the pump. The person who sold me the filter etc, approximated that the tank would hold 60L of water, and would be a good size for 8-10 goldfish. Each of the fantails is about 5cm long. They also told me that it would need water changes once a month, about 1/3 tank. I have done a water change at 4 weeks and again at 5 weeks.

I'm thinking that the plant may not be helping as it is since I got the plant that the problems have started - is this likely to be an issue? I bought the plant from a pet shop, but it seems a bit big - it takes up about a third of the tank when spread out. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to get the water checked yet. Hopefully can on the weekend.

thanks again.

Fantail