Bobbling Fantail

[Annaid]

We have a fantail goldfish which has had a problem with what I believe to be
it's equilibrium. The poor fish cannot swim straight. Most times it swims
head down and tail up, but it also tends to waggle sideways and upside down.
I have tried giving it the mashed peas (which it loves) to help with
constipation problems, but only slight improvement in it's swimming
behavior. This has been going on for quite a while (many months) and I
wonder if the fish will ever be able to swim straight. Does anyone have a
suggestions? The fish seems to be doing well otherwise. Very social,
friendly to it's tank buddy. I feel terrible that I cannot help it to be
able to swim correctly.

Thanks for any help
D~

[Geezer From The Freezer]

Annaid wrote:
> We have a fantail goldfish which has had a problem with what I believe to be
> it's equilibrium. The poor fish cannot swim straight. Most times it swims
> head down and tail up, but it also tends to waggle sideways and upside down.
> I have tried giving it the mashed peas (which it loves) to help with
> constipation problems, but only slight improvement in it's swimming
> behavior. This has been going on for quite a while (many months) and I
> wonder if the fish will ever be able to swim straight. Does anyone have a
> suggestions? The fish seems to be doing well otherwise. Very social,
> friendly to it's tank buddy. I feel terrible that I cannot help it to be
> able to swim correctly.
>
> Thanks for any help
> D~

Few questions. How big is the tank, how many fish, how often is water
changed? What are the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH levels?
What is the temp of the water?

[Annaid]

"Geezer From The Freezer" > wrote in message
...
>
Few questions. How big is the tank - 10 gal

how many fish - 2 goldfish

how often is water changed? At least once every two weeks

What are the ammonia? Don't know, do not have a tester for this. I do put
in the rocks to help keep amonia levels down. I thought if the nitrate (or
is it nitrite?) level is good, then amonia not at an unsafe level. Am I
wrong with this?

nitrite, nitrate and PH levels - all tested with test strip and show in the
safe limit on the strip

What is the temp of the water? No heater room temperature our house is kept
between no lower than 65 degrees. The tank is not located near a window or
a home heat source.

Am I doing okay with the fish? Please be gentle....

D~

[NanK]

D-

Do you use salt in your aquarium and how long has the tank been set up?
If you DO use salt, those rocks you mention may be leeching ammonia back
into the tank in toxic levels because salt is used to regenerate them.

When was the last time you changed your filter media (sponge, carbon,
bio material? -- Biomax is only good for around 3 months, then it gets
clogged and stops supporting the good bacteria.) If it's been more than
3 months, change the sponge and carbon first and just rinse out the bio
filter. Replace it as well a week or so later.

Are there other issues, like too much algae and mucky stuff on the
bottom of the tank? If so, try this

1. Get a siphon cleaner and siphon the gunk off the bottom of the
aquarium while removing at least 50% of the water.

2. Get the rocks out of the aquarium if they are the ones that absorb
ammonia - they are probably saturated and not working any more anyway.

3. Replace the water with either aged water or use a good dechlor and
refill tank.

4. Add aquarium salt per box instructions.

5. Look for improvement in your fish. If nothing is better, it may be a
disease issue. Try this website:

http://www.mu.edu/~buxtoni/puregold/home.html

Good luck!

n

[Annaid]

No, I don't use salt, I changed the filter three weeks ago. I will try
changing the rocks, see if that helps. The tank is very clean.



"NanK" > wrote in message
...
> D-
>
> Do you use salt in your aquarium and how long has the tank been set up?
> If you DO use salt, those rocks you mention may be leeching ammonia back
> into the tank in toxic levels because salt is used to regenerate them.
>
> When was the last time you changed your filter media (sponge, carbon, bio
> material? -- Biomax is only good for around 3 months, then it gets clogged
> and stops supporting the good bacteria.) If it's been more than 3 months,
> change the sponge and carbon first and just rinse out the bio filter.
> Replace it as well a week or so later.
>
> Are there other issues, like too much algae and mucky stuff on the bottom
> of the tank? If so, try this
>
> 1. Get a siphon cleaner and siphon the gunk off the bottom of the
> aquarium while removing at least 50% of the water.
>
> 2. Get the rocks out of the aquarium if they are the ones that absorb
> ammonia - they are probably saturated and not working any more anyway.
>
> 3. Replace the water with either aged water or use a good dechlor and
> refill tank.
>
> 4. Add aquarium salt per box instructions.
>
> 5. Look for improvement in your fish. If nothing is better, it may be a
> disease issue. Try this website:
>
> http://www.mu.edu/~buxtoni/puregold/home.html
>
> Good luck!
>
> n

[Geezer From The Freezer]

Annaid wrote:
> No, I don't use salt, I changed the filter three weeks ago. I will try
> changing the rocks, see if that helps. The tank is very clean.

When you say, change the filter, do you remove all of it?
IF so you are removing all the bio bugs that help convert ammonia
to nitrite->nitrate. Never change all of it.

When water changing, its best to do partial changes too.
On another note, your tank is a bit small for 2 goldfish, but
with good maintenance you can probably get away with this whilst
they are small.

Personally I'd advise getting a heater and setting the tank to
74oF - warmer water tends to help bouyancy problems. Fancy goldies
do better with warmer water too.

[Reel Mckoi]

"Geezer From The Freezer" > wrote in message
...
> Annaid wrote:
>> We have a fantail goldfish which has had a problem with what I believe to
>> be it's equilibrium. The poor fish cannot swim straight. Most times it
>> swims head down and tail up, but it also tends to waggle sideways and
>> upside down. I have tried giving it the mashed peas (which it loves) to
>> help with constipation problems, but only slight improvement in it's
>> swimming behavior.
========================
You can check out the many goldfish sites and search for information on
"swim bladder" disease. That's what it sounds like to me.
--
McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995...
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>