"cindys" wrote in message
...

"Koi-lo" wrote in message
...

"cindys" wrote in message
...
Hi! I'm relatively new to keeping an aquarium with fish, and here's my
question:

We have 2 black moor goldfish. One of them we had about a year in a
1-gallon
aquarium, and he did fine. A few weeks ago, we moved him to a 10-gallon
aquarium and added a second black moor. About a week ago, I noticed
that
the
original black moor seemed to be having trouble swimming against the
current
of the filter. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that his tail seemed
frayed.

Is there an ammonia problem in this new setup? Have you checked for
ammonia
and nitrites?

After doing some research after I posted, I'm wondering. We'll be checking
that as soon as we can get to the pet store tomorrow and whatever we need
to
test the water.

At the least get a combo test usually using strips or individual tests for
ammonia, nitrite, PH and hardness.


I phoned the pet shop, and he was diagnosed with fin and tail rot
and I am now on day 3 of 5 of treating the aquarium with tetracycline
tablets.

These will probably kill off your nitrifying bacteria. :-(

Yup. Do you think the tablets were a mistake? We're total novices at this
(obviously). The one fish was fine in the 1 gallon tank for a year. We got
a
tank that was presumably bigger, nicer, more sophisticated, and now this
happens... :-(

Don't give up! Had you switched from the small tank to the larger one
correctly (but you didn't know) it probably would not have happened. You
can Google more information on how to set up new tanks, the nitrogen cycle
etc. than you can possibly read. :-) The water conditions were probably
very different in the old tank than in the new one. This is shocking to a
fish's system, then add some ammonia,..... and they become easy prey to
disease such as fin rots and funguses. Also, GF don't need heat. I can't
say of the tabs were a mistake since the fish is believed to suffer a
bacterial infection.

The sick fish seemed to be doing better as soon as I started
treatment but then I noticed he was in the corner by the heater, by the
surface of the water, not moving. I thought he was dead. But then, he
began
to swim around, frisky as ever.

Why are you heating the water for cold water fish? Goldfish don't need a
heater.

I asked my husband if the temperature was set for goldfish (as opposed to
tropical fish). He insisted that it was. But thank you. I will turn off
the
heater right away.

You can remove it from the tank. I have goldfish outside here in zone 6 and
they live right through the winter in water that drops to 39F (sometimes
lower) at the bottom on the ponds and pools.

In the last 2 days, he seems to be spending an awful lot of time
"resting"
in the corner by the heater, but then he periodically swims around and
looks
as healthy and happy as ever. His tail seems to be regenerating (or am
I
imagining that ?) and his eyes seem clearer (or am I imagining that
too?).
I
am inclined to believe if he were going to die, it would have happened
by
now. He seems to be recuperating, so what is going on here?

Again, have you checked the ammonia and nitrite levels in this new
set-up?

We'll do this as soon as we can get whatever we need to do this tomorrow
at
the pet store.

Are you doing weekly partial water changes?

With the old tank, my husband changed the water frequently. We haven't had
this tank very long (only a few weeks or a month), so my husband may not
have.

PARTIAL water changes are needed weekly, or daily if you have ammonia or
nitrites in the water. DO NOT DISTURB the gravel or filter when you do
these PARTIAL changes. The good bacteria are trying to establish themselves
and that would stop them or slow them down. Gravel is cleaned later with a
gravel vac.

Right now, the water is getting really disgusting from the
tetracycline tablets and leaving the filter off part of the time. I would
like to change the water (at least partially), but I'm afraid that the
removing some of the medicine along with the water (which is obviously
unavoidable) will make the situation worse.

I think the meds really screwed up your tank. They killed off the needed
good bacteria before your tank was even cycled. What a mess! :-( You can
start doing partial water changes twice a day to remove this mess.......

Did you quarantine the NEW fish
for at least 14 days before exposing him to your old fish?

No. But I don't know if that would have made any difference in this case.
The new fish is doing fine.

The new fish could be carrying any number of parasites or diseases. I
recently (to protect myself I wont mention the name of the chain store)
bought some fancy goldfish from a reputable place and they had COSTIA! They
sickened and had to be treated. A few didn't survive. The store replaced
them. Had they not been quarantined it could have spread to all my fish. A
real nightmare to contemplate. Just something to keep in mind as your fish
hobby grows.

Is he staying by
the heater for warmth? Is he tired? I thought maybe he was having
trouble
fighting the current being generated by the filter,

How much current is this filter putting out? If it's annoying the fish
you
need to slow it down or get another type or a smaller filter.


Even when we turn off the filter, he hides by the heater.

As I said it doesn't sound good. Between the medication and (I'm sure)
drastic water change he's not in good shape. I would start TONIGHT to do
some partial water changes to remove the meds and I'm sure ammonia and/or
nitrites building up in this tank.

Thank you so much for your advice. I will turn off the heater right away
and
check for ammonia and nitrites first thing tomorrow. Another thing is that
we have several cats, and the aquarium is in the bathroom and one of the
litter boxes is also in the bathroom. Is it possible that some of the
ammonia from the litter box could be getting into the air and diffusing
into
the aquarium water?

No. Don't worry about that happening.

This was never a problem with the old tank, but there
was less surface area. (Both tanks have been covered).
Again, thank you. I hope we can save the fish.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.

Let me know what happens after you test the water tomorrow.
--

Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
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