# fantail sitting at the bottom



## kudoxy (Mar 12, 2012)

Desperately looking for help to save my fantail goldfish, he has been sick for a while and in the hospital tank with a small filter, heater and air stone. He is sitting at the bottom of the tank most of the time, occasionally comes up to the surface to drink or get air (I don't know) and then back down blowing bubbles, his belly is big and hard as rock. He has little trouble sometimes to keep balance. He's eating fine but he is not swimming around. Is it dropsy? swim bladder? fungus? or combination? I fed him peas initially when he got red spots under his belly and treated him with quick cure and the redness went away. I mistakenly gave him aquarium salt, and now give him Epsom salt. I gave him some fungus medicine before but nothing works. I don't want to see him die, please tell me what the problem is and what to do. Thanks.


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## goldie (Aug 4, 2012)

Hi Kudoxy
Not sure if you mean you.ve got Epsom Salts in the tank but if you have i personally would do water changes to remove it because it's like a laxative to them but i don't feel it's a goodidea to continually give him a laxative
The off key swimming could be swim bladder as yousaid.
If it was my fish i would do a lot of water changes and clear the water up
You haven't said what size tank he's in but the water needs to be tested with results showing with no Ammonia,no Nitrite ,a pH around the 7.6 range and ideally below 20ppm Nitrate
If you haven't got a test kit the API liquid test kits are very accurate & you can purchase them on Amazon
As i said i would really concentrate on getting the water A1 and deffo not overdo laxatives, a frozen pea with the shell off (as you.ve done) sometimes is helpful but IMP i wouldn't give those on a regular basis either. Sometimes with swim bladder problems theirs nothing you can do to correct it.
I honesty would clean the water well up and aim for A1 water
Hope that helps a bit & hope he improves


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## kudoxy (Mar 12, 2012)

I thought aquarium salt is laxative but Epsom salt will help to remove water from the fish stomach. Is it not true? I do water change quite often, like once every 2-3 days but you are right about the water changes, due to medicine and salt which leaves a film on glass which can't be removed without vinegar. The water looks somewhat murky, I will probably should change at least 30% of water daily, what do you think? It's in a small 10 gal hospital tank. What else can I do????


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## goldie (Aug 4, 2012)

Hi Kudosky, lol i just made a really long post to you but it flew into cyberspace for whatever reason so i'll just list questions if you don't mind

The epsom salts i thought you were maybe using it as a permanent thing
one teaspoon per gallon ,yes is recomended to try clear constipation
Have you seen him poo

The ground in salt on the glass? How much are you using
Why did you feel you needed to put in Fungus Treatment?
You got rid of red spots (were they ulcers) but main thing, they.ve gone

Im really wondering about the water quality as the fish is shooting to the top to gulp air so you really need to test the water. Most here use the API liquid test kit, if you cant get that locally they sell on Amazon
Are the Fantails scales raised or normal looking
What's his diet because you probably know they need loads of rougage
Lightly steemed carrot,cabbage,brocilii,spinach (lots of veggies)
Also for protein, i feed frozen bloodworm,brineshrimp,dapnia but 'not' the freeze'dried' also Oranda Pellett, sinking type so to avoid gulping air in at the surface while eating
Its best to feed then small amount twice a day to try and help them not getting gassed up

If theres no signs of any infection now personaly I would put him back in the main tank but only if he is not harassed at all by tankmates
The positive thing is hes still eating and it dosent sound like a very bad swimbladder problem as in floting upside down
Sorry this is such a hurried post but my last more detailed one went woosh somewhere so maybe someone will add to this if needed (I'm hurrying too much)
Ten Gallons is not much but understand because you felt you had to quaranteen but i really am wondering about the water , even more now as you've added its looking kind of cloudy.
Are you testing water Kodosky and what are the readings


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## goldie (Aug 4, 2012)

goldie said:


> Hi Kudosky, lol i just made a really long post to you but it flew into cyberspace for whatever reason so i'll just list questions if you don't mind
> 
> The epsom salts i thought you were maybe using it as a permanent thing
> one teaspoon per gallon ,yes is recomended to try clear constipation
> ...


Sorry Kudosky

That's me being in a hurry lol
The Epsom SALTS

One teaspoon for......5 Gallons but if it's constipation that should ideally work after a few days if not earlier


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## kudoxy (Mar 12, 2012)

goldie said:


> Hi Kudosky, lol i just made a really long post to you but it flew into cyberspace for whatever reason so i'll just list questions if you don't mind
> 
> The epsom salts i thought you were maybe using it as a permanent thing
> one teaspoon per gallon ,yes is recomended to try clear constipation
> ...


Thanks for the response. The tank is quite clean now, the built-up film from medicine is gone. As for food, mostly pea for the sick baby. Normally we feed our goldfish with flakes (several types), Hikari sinking pallet and peas, yes we soaked the pellets and flakes before feeding them now. We're in transition to feed them home-made gel food. No, I don't see them poo, may be that is the reason, how can I make him poo? As I said previously, his stomach is hard as rock and big and he can't swim. He is a little active for the day or so, but still not good. 

As for Epsom salt, so 1 tsp per 5 gal until next water change? (I use just 1 tsp or less for the 10gal tank) and say if I do a 50% water change, do I need to add another 1 tsp for a 10 gal tank? No poo yet.


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## kudoxy (Mar 12, 2012)

I cooked the frozen peas before feeding the sick fish, is this a correct way? or just run it under the tap water to defrost it a bit and feed the fish? As for veggie like lecture and spinach, do we need to cook it first?


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## goldie (Aug 4, 2012)

Kudosky, i just let the frozen peas defrost,remove the shell and feed. The other veggies i just lightly steam only to soften and feed.Mainly vegs with only a small amount of protein. The gel food is a very good idea.Personally i would cut well back on the flake food

How long has he been like this,it's sounding 'to me' as if it's been a while but, he's still eating. I just feel if it was bad constipation over this period of time he would have stopped eating or at least be very picky with taking food,also what size is he ? If he's not a small Fantail a ten gallon tank might not be helping the situation.


I can't tell you what's wrong with him, it could be a swim bladder problem even. 
How old is he do you think.also would the fish in the main tank harass him if you put him back into a larger volume of water
Lots of questions again but are you able to post a pic of him for everyone to see,also very important have you tested the water
What are the readings for
Ammonia
Nitrite
Ph.

goldie.


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