Upside down Gold fish

I have agold fish that started to hide in the corners of the tank about 3
days ago, he would feed when I gige him food, then back into the corner at
the bottom of the tank. Today I find him upside down and gasping for breath
??? any advice

Mark & Claudia Carrick wrote:

I have agold fish that started to hide in the corners of the tank about 3
days ago, he would feed when I gige him food, then back into the corner at
the bottom of the tank. Today I find him upside down and gasping for breath
??? any advice

How big is the tank, how many fish in there, do you do water changes with
treated
water and how often do you feed him (and with what). Also do you know your
water parameters (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and PH)?? This will help identify
any potential problems.

I have a simialr problem.

My latest batch of fish have been in the tank and OK for 8-10 weeks.
Suddenly, one was OK and the other hid at the bottom of the tank, would
come up to eat and then go back to the bottom. Last week, it was dead.
The second fish was OK and a few days ago, the same cyccle has started
again. This will be the 5th fish that I've lost this year.

I've had this setup for 10+ years. My first pair of Comets lasted for
about 10 years and now I'm losing fish at a rate of about every 2-3
months.

10g tank with an AquaClear 300. 2 stage1 sponges and 1 stage2 carbon
filter.
1 dwarf snail
1 1 inch corey (he seems happy)
Tettra GF flakes for food.
No gravel, river rocks cover about 30% of the bottom. There is some
green alge on the rocks.
Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are low to zero.
Weekly water changes with some salt and Tetra water conditioner. I have
done more frequent water changes recently hoping to remove whatever is
causing the problem with no luck.

Thanks for any help you can give me.
Ginger

Ginger,

You need to act immediately!

When was the last time you changed your filter media? The sponge should
be changed every 3 months, the bio-Max every 6 months, the carbon every
4-6 Weeks.

Remove your fish right now and put him in a big Rubbermaid tub with
FRESH dechlored water and an airstone -- NO MEDS AT ALL. Watch the
temperature!!! If he starts to improve right away, the problem is in
your tank.

Take your filter off the tank (disconnect it first) and take a good look
at it. If you see a lot of debris, change the sponge now, and if
possible HALF of the biomax at the same time. If you have ammonia
remover, take it out immediately -- it may be leeching back into the
water. Don't use it unless you have ammonia spikes.

Remove 100% of the water with a good siphon gravel cleaner from the
bottom of the tank -- move the rocks around (I'll bet you have a lot of
gunk under those stones). Don't do this with fish in the tank!! They
will all get sick.

After cleaning out everything, (no soap, just plain water) add water
back into the tank. Don't forget to dechlor. Start up your filter with
the new sponge) Add STABILITY (Seachem) if you can find it, or CYCLE
if you can find that, and let the tank run for a couple of hours.

By now you will know if your fish is doing better or getting worse.
Either way, put him back into his tank.

Add Stress Guard as a mild antiseptic. No salt. No meds.

If the problemm was a contaminated tank, it will miraculously heal itself.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.
n

I have an aqua clear filter, which made all the difference in my
tank.....I've noticed the store I bought it from (it's an all purpose
dog/cat/fish/etc.) hasn't had all the three components. Now is bio max the
same as the bags of ammo carb? They don't seem to have the carbon bags
anymore.

Along with using the new filter, I did get CYCLE and I seem to be having
luck......could be the filter, could be the CYCLE or could be both.
"NanK" wrote in message
...
Ginger,

You need to act immediately!

When was the last time you changed your filter media? The sponge should
be changed every 3 months, the bio-Max every 6 months, the carbon every
4-6 Weeks.

Remove your fish right now and put him in a big Rubbermaid tub with FRESH
dechlored water and an airstone -- NO MEDS AT ALL. Watch the
temperature!!! If he starts to improve right away, the problem is in your
tank.

Take your filter off the tank (disconnect it first) and take a good look
at it. If you see a lot of debris, change the sponge now, and if possible
HALF of the biomax at the same time. If you have ammonia remover, take it
out immediately -- it may be leeching back into the water. Don't use it
unless you have ammonia spikes.

Remove 100% of the water with a good siphon gravel cleaner from the bottom
of the tank -- move the rocks around (I'll bet you have a lot of gunk
under those stones). Don't do this with fish in the tank!! They will all
get sick.

After cleaning out everything, (no soap, just plain water) add water back
into the tank. Don't forget to dechlor. Start up your filter with the
new sponge) Add STABILITY (Seachem) if you can find it, or CYCLE if you
can find that, and let the tank run for a couple of hours.

By now you will know if your fish is doing better or getting worse.
Either way, put him back into his tank.

Add Stress Guard as a mild antiseptic. No salt. No meds.

If the problemm was a contaminated tank, it will miraculously heal itself.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.
n

Ginger,

First of all, how is your fish doing??

NO! Ammo Carb and BioMax are totally different!! - BioMax is a newly
designed ring (I think it's made out of glass) which houses Good
Bacteria. Ammo carb just reduces ammonia in the water, but it stops
working after a few weeks and if you add too much salt, it leeches
(sp.?) the ammonia back into your aquarium if you don't replace it.

The BioMax lasts about 6 months, but it is much more important than
either the carbon insert or the ammo insert. Some aquarists use only
the sponge and the BioMax in double quantity. I do use carbon myself as
well.

You can purchase Activated Carbon separately in loose form and put it
into a separately purchased mesh bag. Rinse well and place it on TOP of
the sponge and UNDER the BioMax.

Order of media in AquaClear Filter:
FROM BOTTOM To TOP:
Foam Sponge - Removes larger particles of waste for 3-4 months (must be
rinsed every week!!).
Activated Carbon- Removes impurities for 4-6 weeks
Ammo Carb - (OPTIONAL) Removes ammonia for up to 4 weeks, then change it!
BIOMAX - Houses GOOD Bacteria for up to 6 months; rinse every 2 weeks

Add Cycle or STABILITY (Better) to the tank to hasten the good bacteria
growth. Otherwise it takes a tank 4-6 weeks to cycle before you have
enough good bacteria to keep the ammonia and nitrites under control. If
you can find neither of these right away, you MUST keep do water changes
every day to keep the ammonia levels down.

Try this web site for info and to get what you need:
Cut and paste into your browser...
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...?N=2004+113803

nan

Tispe wrote:
I have an aqua clear filter, which made all the difference in my
tank.....I've noticed the store I bought it from (it's an all purpose
dog/cat/fish/etc.) hasn't had all the three components. Now is bio max the
same as the bags of ammo carb? They don't seem to have the carbon bags
anymore.

Along with using the new filter, I did get CYCLE and I seem to be having
luck......could be the filter, could be the CYCLE or could be both.
"NanK" wrote in message
...

Sorry for the delay in responding, I was unable to get to a computer
for the past week.

It was probably too late for these fish. I had already isolated the
fish from the tank, fresh water (declorinated) and a new airstone. They
didn't make it. When I cleaned it there was some gunk, mostly uneaten
food, but not a lot.

BTW: the Corey and the snail seem to be having a great time in the
tank. Is this another indication of a problem?

I normaly do a breakdown of the filter and a 50% water change weekly.
The carbon filter gets changed every 60-90 days (I will move it to
every 4 weeks). The sponges have not been changed in 10 years. They
get rinsed clean each change. I have had the same fish survive in the
tank for 8+ years without any problem.

I will take your suggestion about the full cleaning and change of media
and I will let you know if I have better luck with the next batch of
fish. I hate losing fish.

Thanks for your help. Hopefully there won't be another tragedy and we
can swap stories and techniques about beter times.

Ginger

Sorry for the delay in responding, I was unable to get to a computer
for the past week.

It was probably too late for these fish. I had already isolated the
fish from the tank, fresh water (declorinated) and a new airstone. They
didn't make it. When I cleaned it there was some gunk, mostly uneaten
food, but not a lot.

BTW: the Corey and the snail seem to be having a great time in the
tank. Is this another indication of a problem?

I normaly do a breakdown of the filter and a 50% water change weekly.
The carbon filter gets changed every 60-90 days (I will move it to
every 4 weeks). The sponges have not been changed in 10 years. They
get rinsed clean each change. I have had the same fish survive in the
tank for 8+ years without any problem.

I will take your suggestion about the full cleaning and change of media
and I will let you know if I have better luck with the next batch of
fish. I hate losing fish.

Thanks for your help. Hopefully there won't be another tragedy and we
can swap stories and techniques about beter times.

Ginger