Can fish have brain damage???

It's been a bad week for our beloved goldfish, Goldie... Goldie is our oldest
of our 3 left (we started with 6 almost 2 years ago). All was fine with it
until last Thursday, when it started to swim in spirals. A day later, it was
just laying on the bottom and kind of flopping around... It didn't look
good... Then it had an unfortunate event which had it out of the tank for
almost an hour. We thought it was dead, but when we went to wrap it up for
burial, it moved again! OMG! So, I got it in a "sick bucket" right away with
the air stone and it started breathing again. It's nearly darkened gills went
cherry red again, and it started moving more, but still floppy. We had to
leave town for almost two days, but put some food in the bucket. When we came
back, it was swimming normally, so I put it back in the tank. BUT, it doesn't
seem right.... It's eyes don't seem to look at you like the other two fish.
It seems kinda dopey when it moves... When I put food in before, Goldie was
always knocking the others out of the way to eat. Now it just kinda swims a
bit or just bumps against the side and then settles down. Not interested in
food... Can fish suffer from brain damage? Did the time out of the water do
serious eye damage and now it's blind? WHY was it swimming in spirals in the
first place? This is too odd.... The tank levels are pretty good...
nitrates/'trites at 0, little ammonia, ph at 6.8.... Last year we had bad
levels, but due to Queen Ingrid's advise, I now have pothos and philodendrons
suction cupped near the top of the water and they do fine at cleaning the
water, and the fish don't go food binging on them....

I wish there was something we could do for our fishy. Any happy advise for us,
or are Goldie's day numbered?

Fish can suffer from brain damage yes. It's most likely something else
though. What size tank do you have and how many fish, how often
do you replace the water. Do you have a bubbler and a filter.
How often do you do filter maintenance, and how?
Nitrates at 0? Surely a crash has occured. PH 6.8 - okayish, but I'd try
and slowly raise it to 7-8. What is the temp.

HI!
The tank is a 50-55 gal, there are 3 six inch goldfish in there. I did a 40%
change last Monday (a coincidental 3 days before the trubs began). I got the
muck siphoned out, and scubbed the sides, bottom and toys of their light layer
of green and brown algae(?)
I usually do 30-40% change every two-ish weeks. (it's a hassle toting buckets
of water around). Have a penguin filter with two charcoal filters. Alternate
rinsing filters of muck weekly (one filter a week to avoid losing too many
"good bios"). Have a 10" bubble stick and an air stone in the tank. Have
pothos ivy and philodendrons suction cupped near the top. They have been there
a few months. (The fish like to swim in and around up there looking for the
hidden food) The bottom doesn't have gravel anymore. It was removed last year.
(I've read enough of Ingrid to know better!) Bottom has some marbles and
creek rocks for decoration. I gently move the rocks and siphon vacuum the muck
out from behind them without stirring it up in the tank. The fishies like to
move the marbles around for fun, and while they are rooting around for lost
food. For other fun, they also have a couple of 2"-3" PVC tubes they like to
swim through...
When I had the levels tested on Friday last, Nitrates/'trites were both at 0,
ph at 6.8, ammonia was low , or as the guy at the LFS said "a bit high for
freshwater, but for goldfish it was fine". Such scientific accuracy... I
think I got a "1" for levels out of him though... The temp is at 72. They
seems to like it. In the summer when it gets much warmer in there, they aren't
too happy... This morning while the other fish go crazy for food, Goldie is
just kinda hanging around... It reminds me of dopey Dory from Nemo... "just
keep swimming". Still seems kinda clueless to what's going on... The other
fish just kinda bump it around while they are swimming... They have no
courtesy at all... Blackfin likes to go under Goldie and bump it from
underneath. Is it trying to be helpful, or just rude? Treasure has some black
streaks on some of its fins, so I may do a mini water change today. There's
some muck behind the rocks again that needs removal... I just feel awful
about Goldie being out of water for almost an hour.... Wish there was
something I could do for it to be well again...

Black streaks on fins could be ammonia burns that are healing. Get ammonia
to 0 (also get your own test-kits if you can).

Goldie being nudged? hmm sounds like your goldie could be egg bound possibly.
Can you get hold of any medicated food - its possible that might help.
Try salting the tank (aquarium salt only). 1 table spoon per 3-5 gallons or
so, dissolve then add. See if goldie perks up after a few hours.

Anyone else got any suggestions?

I think it may just be Blackfin... It likes nudging Treasure too... Goldie is
still not eating - not even her fave shrimpies... Just kinda saunters around
in little circles... Can it be so brain damaged it doesn't know to eat
anymore?

I'll do another partial change on the tank. It's cheaper to have the LFS do
the testing. The kits are a bit pricy and they are only a mile away.... If
Goldie doesn't perk up in another dayish, I'll put it back in the bucket and
try to get it to eat... Thanks so far for your help!

Magic menagerie wrote:

I think it may just be Blackfin... It likes nudging Treasure too... Goldie is
still not eating - not even her fave shrimpies... Just kinda saunters around
in little circles... Can it be so brain damaged it doesn't know to eat
anymore?

I'll do another partial change on the tank. It's cheaper to have the LFS do
the testing. The kits are a bit pricy and they are only a mile away.... If
Goldie doesn't perk up in another dayish, I'll put it back in the bucket and
try to get it to eat... Thanks so far for your help!

What colour is fishies pooh? Also do you have gravel? When fish are ill they
sometimes don't eat. If swallowed a piece of gravel, won't eat also.

On 04 May 2004 00:45:16 GMT, (Magic menagerie)
wrote:

It's been a bad week for our beloved goldfish, Goldie... Goldie is our oldest
of our 3 left (we started with 6 almost 2 years ago). All was fine with it
until last Thursday, when it started to swim in spirals. A day later, it was
just laying on the bottom and kind of flopping around... It didn't look
good... Then it had an unfortunate event which had it out of the tank for
almost an hour. We thought it was dead, but when we went to wrap it up for
burial, it moved again! OMG! So, I got it in a "sick bucket" right away with
the air stone and it started breathing again. It's nearly darkened gills went
cherry red again, and it started moving more, but still floppy. We had to
leave town for almost two days, but put some food in the bucket. When we came
back, it was swimming normally, so I put it back in the tank. BUT, it doesn't
seem right.... It's eyes don't seem to look at you like the other two fish.
It seems kinda dopey when it moves... When I put food in before, Goldie was
always knocking the others out of the way to eat. Now it just kinda swims a
bit or just bumps against the side and then settles down. Not interested in
food... Can fish suffer from brain damage? Did the time out of the water do
serious eye damage and now it's blind? WHY was it swimming in spirals in the
first place? This is too odd.... The tank levels are pretty good...
nitrates/'trites at 0, little ammonia, ph at 6.8.... Last year we had bad
levels, but due to Queen Ingrid's advise, I now have pothos and philodendrons
suction cupped near the top of the water and they do fine at cleaning the
water, and the fish don't go food binging on them....

I wish there was something we could do for our fishy. Any happy advise for us,
or are Goldie's day numbered?


Having read the follow ups to the original post WTF hasn't anybody
suggested putting this poor fish out of it's misery instead of
subjecting it to the experimental suggestions that have ensued.
Please, please, please end this fishes misery now. It's obviously not
feeding correctly and has other difficulties. I don't think it's a
case of "Can fish have brain damage?", more like a case of "Can the
posters have brain damage?"

YP

Yorkshire Pudding wrote:

I don't think it's a
case of "Can fish have brain damage?", more like a case of "Can the
posters have brain damage?"

Frequently, although I still follow our old dorm rule...

"No Pink Floyd before midnight."

-D
--
"Ahhhhh, ahh-ahh, ahhhhhhh-a-haaaaa"

Thanks to Ingrid and Jo Ann, miracles CAN happen! Goldie is about well enough
to join the others. It's eating well, and swimming well too. Seems it's more
sensitive to the tank's ammonia than the others and it got toxic shock. I've
been working my backend off every day for about a month getting the tank
pristine again and nursing Goldie back to health.

"Yorkshire Pudding":
Try explaining to your little boy that you have to kill his beloved fish just
because it is sick... Then they wonder that if they get sick, you may kill them
off too... Thank goodness yours wasn't the only advise on these boards...
Your comments truly have proven your point of "Can the posters have brain
damage"...

On 21 May 2004 12:03:54 GMT, (Magic menagerie)
wrote:

Thanks to Ingrid and Jo Ann, miracles CAN happen! Goldie is about well enough
to join the others. It's eating well, and swimming well too. Seems it's more
sensitive to the tank's ammonia than the others and it got toxic shock. I've
been working my backend off every day for about a month getting the tank
pristine again and nursing Goldie back to health.

"Yorkshire Pudding":
Try explaining to your little boy that you have to kill his beloved fish just
because it is sick... Then they wonder that if they get sick, you may kill them
off too... Thank goodness yours wasn't the only advise on these boards...
Your comments truly have proven your point of "Can the posters have brain
damage"...

Ever heard of "White lies"? or "Fish Heaven" ? I for one, when I was a
child, never thought my parents would kill me if I was ill after
they'd had to have one of our dogs put to sleep, I was told the reason
for their decision and saw sense. I hate to see any creature suffer
and sincerley hope that that Goldie makes a full recovery, I also
apologise for any offence my post may have caused to you.

Regards

YP