Goldfish dead (not a newbie!)

I've been keeping tropical fish for years now, and my tanks have
always been stable and healthy, but recently I've had a problem.

I got a 10 gal tank as a gift a few months ago and decided to
get a pair of fancy goldfish (a red cap oranda and a black moor).
So once the tank was cycled I added the fish, and everything was
great for a few weeks. Two weeks ago, I put a some elodea
(I think it's also called anacharis, egeria or waterweed) in the
tank because I'd heard that goldfish might enjoy eating them.

Again everything seemed fine for a week or so until one morning I
found the the red-cap floating near the top of the tank, alive
but definately not looking well. I moved it out of the tank into
isolation, but within 2 days it was dead. Two days ago, the black
moor started showing the same symptoms and this morning it was
also dead.

I can't figure out what killed these goldfish - any ideas?

Tank setup:
10 gal
Hanging power filter
No heater, but temp stable at around 65F
Air stone
Fluorescent light
Two groups of elodea
Formerly 2 goldfish
ph = 7.2
nitrite = 0
ammonia = 0
gh = 4.5

Thanks!
--
Keith Barrette
AIM: Keith020
http://keithbarrette.net/

"Keith" wrote in message
...

Again everything seemed fine for a week or so until one morning I
found the the red-cap floating near the top of the tank, alive
but definately not looking well. I moved it out of the tank into
isolation, but within 2 days it was dead. Two days ago, the black
moor started showing the same symptoms and this morning it was
also dead.

I can't figure out what killed these goldfish - any ideas?



You didn't mention you water changing schedule nor give a nitrate reading.
Goldfish produce a tremendous amoung of waste and two are a lot for a 10
gallon tank to handle.


--
Toni
http://www.cearbhaill.com/goldfish.htm

Agreed. As a matter of fact it is usually recommended that goldfish
have a minimum of 10 gallons per fish, with good filtering and regular
water changes.

HTH,
Dennis

Toni wrote:
"Keith" wrote in message
...

Again everything seemed fine for a week or so until one morning I
found the the red-cap floating near the top of the tank, alive
but definately not looking well. I moved it out of the tank into
isolation, but within 2 days it was dead. Two days ago, the black
moor started showing the same symptoms and this morning it was
also dead.

I can't figure out what killed these goldfish - any ideas?


You didn't mention you water changing schedule nor give a nitrate reading.
Goldfish produce a tremendous amoung of waste and two are a lot for a 10
gallon tank to handle.

Unfortunately, I don't have a nitrate test kit. Water change
schedule was 50% every week (more than I usually do, but I
wanted to avoid a waste problem)

With the ammonia reading stable at 0, I assumed this wasn't
a waste issue.

--
Keith Barrette
AIM: Keith020
http://keithbarrette.net/

Forgive me if I'm asking the obvious, just suggesting possible causes.

Chlorine/chloramine in your tap water ?
Any other fish added that may have been infected ?
What foods, how often ? ( goldfish can develop intestinal disorders if fed
too much protien / not enough fiber).
Temperature shock during water changes a possibility ? ( even goldfish are
stressed if temp changes too suddenly).
Is tap water pH much different than tank pH ?

Again, no offense intended. I hope these ideas help.

Keith J.

"Keith" wrote in message
...
Unfortunately, I don't have a nitrate test kit. Water change
schedule was 50% every week (more than I usually do, but I
wanted to avoid a waste problem)

With the ammonia reading stable at 0, I assumed this wasn't
a waste issue.

--
Keith Barrette
AIM: Keith020
http://keithbarrette.net/

"Keith" wrote in message
...
Two weeks ago, I put a some elodea
(I think it's also called anacharis, egeria or waterweed) in the
tank because I'd heard that goldfish might enjoy eating them.


Could some form of parasites have hitchhiked with the plant?

Just a thought...

I bought some sword plants not so long ago that were potted. For the
first couple of weeks everything was fine, then all of a sudden one of
my 6 gf started to act a little wierd... floating near the surface,
looking lethargic, etc. I pulled out the potted plants and noticed
there was some fuzzy greenish yellow stuff growing inside the pot where
I couldn't have seen it. I threw the plant out, gave my tank a good
cleaning/water change and a week later all 6 gf are looking happy and
healthy as usual. I'm not sure what the issue is that you've described,
but this is what worked for mine.

Hope that helps,
Wendy

McEve wrote:
"Keith" wrote in message
...

Two weeks ago, I put a some elodea
(I think it's also called anacharis, egeria or waterweed) in the
tank because I'd heard that goldfish might enjoy eating them.



Could some form of parasites have hitchhiked with the plant?

Just a thought...

Could some form of parasites have hitchhiked with the plant?

Just a thought...

Very possible. This was my first guess. I treated the plants with
alum to kill snails, but there's no telling what else came in with
them. I guess I'll have to break down and sterilize the tank.

Any suggestions for interesting cold water fish? I know the goldfish
would eventually outgrow this tank, but they're fun to watch.

--
Keith Barrette
AIM: Keith020
http://keithbarrette.net/

"Keith" wrote in message
...
I've been keeping tropical fish for years now, and my tanks have
always been stable and healthy, but recently I've had a problem.

I got a 10 gal tank as a gift a few months ago and decided to
get a pair of fancy goldfish (a red cap oranda and a black moor).
So once the tank was cycled I added the fish, and everything was
great for a few weeks. Two weeks ago, I put a some elodea
(I think it's also called anacharis, egeria or waterweed) in the
tank because I'd heard that goldfish might enjoy eating them.

Again everything seemed fine for a week or so until one morning I
found the the red-cap floating near the top of the tank, alive
but definately not looking well. I moved it out of the tank into
isolation, but within 2 days it was dead. Two days ago, the black
moor started showing the same symptoms and this morning it was
also dead.

I can't figure out what killed these goldfish - any ideas?

Tank setup:
10 gal
Hanging power filter
No heater, but temp stable at around 65F
Air stone
Fluorescent light
Two groups of elodea
Formerly 2 goldfish
ph = 7.2
nitrite = 0
ammonia = 0
gh = 4.5

Thanks!
--
Keith Barrette

When a stable set-up goes bad, look at all your variables. If the only
thing which you recently introduced was the plants, then that's a likely
disease vector. Other possibilities might be some bad frozen food,
sharing a net between another tank, or a transitional stress (which
cleared before you took measurements). Did the plants come from a
plant-only tank or were there fish in there? Any wet material (plants,
fish, nets, snails etc) can all carry contagions and should go through a
quarantine or sterilization procedure. It's very easy for bacteria or
parasites to piggy back on plants. The most common, Ich lives
free-swimming for up to 48 hours. Your fish died from something else
though, based on your description. Probably something parasitic which
attacked their gills, or bacterial which incapacitated them, (death
within 2 days of symptoms, after a week of incubation suggests to me,
bacterial, but I'm no expert). If you are curious, go back to where you
bought the plants and if they came from a plant-fish tank, ask if they
have had any mortalities in that tank. You might also share your own
observations (perhaps non-confrontationally as it might have been
something entirely out of their control or knowledge).

NetMax

"Keith" wrote in message
...

Could some form of parasites have hitchhiked with the plant?

Just a thought...

Very possible. This was my first guess. I treated the plants with
alum to kill snails, but there's no telling what else came in with
them. I guess I'll have to break down and sterilize the tank.

Any suggestions for interesting cold water fish? I know the goldfish
would eventually outgrow this tank, but they're fun to watch.


This page shows a variety of cold water fish, a loach, paradise fish, and of
course the gold fish. I hope it can help you decide on what you want It
does take a while for a gold fish to outgrow a tank though, doesn't it? so
you might be able to enjoy them for a while in your 10 gallon tank. I don't
have much experience with gold fish myself, as although they are very cute,
I tend to feel really bad for them - they seem to struggle quite a lot just
to swim.....

Hope I didn't step on any toes saying this .....

Nina