Comet with a swollen mouth

[Rooby Roo]

Hi everyone

I'm new to goldfish-keeping (experience of about 6-8 weeks, and a lot of
reading before that!) and would appreciate some advice on what may be wrong
with one of my fish.

First the background:
We have a 54 litre tank (with filter) and 1 "ordinary" (but very cute)
goldfish, 1 shubunkin and 1 comet.
They get along fine, although the comet gets a little rowdy sometimes and
chases the shubunkin around the tank! (I haven't ever seen him try to hurt
him though).
They are generally fed flakes & pellets, with daphnia or tubifex once or
twice a week and the occasional piece of lettuce/cucumber etc.
I check the water quality every week or two and it's fine.
There are live plants, 3-5cm of gravel and a piece of driftwood (bought at
the pet shop) in the tank.

A couple of weeks ago, the comet - Colin - got white spot. I treated it
straight away with an over the counter cure and it cleared up - the other 2
fish didn't catch it, and there has been no re-occurrence.

The problem I now have is that Colin has developed a swelling on/underneath
his mouth. I noticed about 4 days ago that his mouth looked a bit red on
one side, but the next day it looked a little better and I thought it must
have been a scratch of some sort which was healing up. Since then, however,
it has become swollen and looks like an ulcer or some kind of sore has
developed. He's still active and eating, but I'm very worried about him and
would really appreciate any thoughts on what the problem may be and how I
can help him.

Thanks in advance
Roo

[Geezer From The Freezer]

Roo,

Could do with knowing your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph levels
as well as tank temperature.

First off, you are overly stocked. 54 litres I believe is about 12US
gallons or so, you could do with 30US gallons for the 3 fish you have.
Secondly, the white spot sounds like it could have been ich. Remember
ich can be present in a fish without showing the usual signs, thats why
when the spots disappear you continue treating for about a week.

Now down to the mouth swelling. Did your fish have any fungus (white
cotton wool like) on the mouth swelling?

[Rooby Roo]

Hi there, and thanks for replying.

I have been using a 5 in 1 'Tetratest' kit which gives the following
results:

nitrate: 50 mg/l
nitrite: 0 mg/l
GH: >6d <10d
KH: 6d
pH: 7.6

Afraid I don't know the tank temperature - can you tell me what it should
be?

The tank is in the living room, away from windows/direct sun, and I'm
shocked to hear that it is too small! I was told by the shop I got it from
that it would be the right size for my fish - they said there should be a
maximum of 2 inches of fish to every gallon of water, so thanks for telling
me that. The fish are pretty small at the moment - the goldfish is only a
couple of inches, the comet two and a half and the shubunkin is about the
same, or maybe 3" at most - but if the tank isn't big enough for them I'll
have to look at getting a new one.

Yes, I believe the 'white spot' was ich, and I did continue treatment after
the outward signs of the disease disappeared.

As for Colin's mouth swelling, no, I haven't seen any fungus around it. He
looks the same today - no better, but thankfully no worse either.
I'd be grateful for any further advice,
Thanks,
Roo


"Geezer From The Freezer" > wrote in message
...
>
> Roo,
>
> Could do with knowing your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph levels
> as well as tank temperature.
>
> First off, you are overly stocked. 54 litres I believe is about 12US
> gallons or so, you could do with 30US gallons for the 3 fish you have.
> Secondly, the white spot sounds like it could have been ich. Remember
> ich can be present in a fish without showing the usual signs, thats why
> when the spots disappear you continue treating for about a week.
>
> Now down to the mouth swelling. Did your fish have any fungus (white
> cotton wool like) on the mouth swelling?

[Geezer From The Freezer]

Rooby Roo wrote:
>
> Hi there, and thanks for replying.
>
> I have been using a 5 in 1 'Tetratest' kit which gives the following
> results:
>
> nitrate: 50 mg/l
> nitrite: 0 mg/l
> GH: >6d <10d
> KH: 6d
> pH: 7.6


Ok, your nitrites are fine, nitrates are too high - do a 30% water change
every other day until you get them down. PH looks fine.



> Afraid I don't know the tank temperature - can you tell me what it should
> be?

Around 72-78Degrees is normal

> I'm shocked to hear that it is too small! I was told by the shop I
> got it from that it would be the right size for my fish - they said there
> should be a maximum of 2 inches of fish to every gallon of water, so > > thanks for telling me that.
> The fish are pretty small at the moment - the goldfish is only a
> couple of inches, the comet two and a half and the shubunkin is about the
> same, or maybe 3" at most - but if the tank isn't big enough for them I'll
> have to look at getting a new one.

Definitely not big enough. Goldfish produce more wastes than tropicals
for example. They also grow bigger, meaning a lot lot more waste.
Some fish shops have a tendancy to give out incorrect information. Maybe
because some have inexperienced staff (who've probably never kept
goldfish before).

> Yes, I believe the 'white spot' was ich, and I did continue treatment after
> the outward signs of the disease disappeared.

Excellent


If there was no fungus, ensure there are no sharp objects in the tank
that he could have clipped himself on. Also ensure thay any gravel
isn't sharp. If you keep the water quality good then the swelling may
go down naturally.

[Rooby Roo]

Thanks for that. I'm pretty sure the gravel is ok - nice & smooth - but
I'll check that piece of driftwood over again. I'll also do the water
changes as you suggest, and keep checking water quality until I can get them
a bigger home! I think he may be looking a little better this morning, so
keep everything crossed!

Roo

"Geezer From The Freezer" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Rooby Roo wrote:
> >
> > Hi there, and thanks for replying.
> >
> > I have been using a 5 in 1 'Tetratest' kit which gives the following
> > results:
> >
> > nitrate: 50 mg/l
> > nitrite: 0 mg/l
> > GH: >6d <10d
> > KH: 6d
> > pH: 7.6
>
>
> Ok, your nitrites are fine, nitrates are too high - do a 30% water change
> every other day until you get them down. PH looks fine.
>
>
>
> > Afraid I don't know the tank temperature - can you tell me what it
should
> > be?
>
> Around 72-78Degrees is normal
>
> > I'm shocked to hear that it is too small! I was told by the shop I
> > got it from that it would be the right size for my fish - they said
there
> > should be a maximum of 2 inches of fish to every gallon of water, so > >
thanks for telling me that.
> > The fish are pretty small at the moment - the goldfish is only a
> > couple of inches, the comet two and a half and the shubunkin is about
the
> > same, or maybe 3" at most - but if the tank isn't big enough for them
I'll
> > have to look at getting a new one.
>
> Definitely not big enough. Goldfish produce more wastes than tropicals
> for example. They also grow bigger, meaning a lot lot more waste.
> Some fish shops have a tendancy to give out incorrect information. Maybe
> because some have inexperienced staff (who've probably never kept
> goldfish before).
>
> > Yes, I believe the 'white spot' was ich, and I did continue treatment
after
> > the outward signs of the disease disappeared.
>
> Excellent
>
>
> If there was no fungus, ensure there are no sharp objects in the tank
> that he could have clipped himself on. Also ensure thay any gravel
> isn't sharp. If you keep the water quality good then the swelling may
> go down naturally.