Black moor resting by heater

On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 04:16:41 GMT, "cindys"
wrote:


"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.

Surely litmus would do the job??






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... :-(


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.


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. 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.

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.


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.
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? 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.


but even when I turn off
the filter, he stays in the corner. The other fish is swimming around
normally.

Any thoughts on what is going on here?
Best regards,

It doesn't sound too good. What was the PH in his old small tank and what
is the PH in this new tank? Could this be old tank syndrome?


--

Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
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