# Very sick fantail goldfish :(



## jamtart (Aug 8, 2012)

Hey guys, I have 20 gallon tank that is home to a white, 5 inch long fantail goldfish. I've had her for a few months now (Inherited the whole setup from a friend) and have grown quite fond of her. For the past three days she has become severely lethargic and has lost substancial weight. She spends every minute of the day laying on the rocks; I check every few hours to make sure she's still alive. She will move around for a few minutes when I feed her in the mornings and before bed, but settles into the same spot shortly after. No matter what I feed her or how often, she seems to continue dropping weight. 
The only test kit I have is for ph, which sits at 7.5. I do however realize that I need the other appropriate test kits and will be purchasing as soon as my financial situation allows it. 
Thank you for any help in advance

Edit:
Sorry, read the sticky after posting, oops :/
Tank size: 20 gallons
Ammonia: Don't have a test kit, but will buy as soon as possible
NitrIte: Don't have a test kit, but will buy as soon as possible
NitrAte: Don't have a test kit, but will buy as soon as possible
PH/GH/KH: PH= 7.5
Cycled,yes or no: Yes
Number of fish: 1
Acclimation process: Moved from previous home while in the tank with 50% of the water. 
Physical signs of illness(IE spots,shimmer,ECT): Extremely lethargic, rapid weight loss
How often between fish additions: Have never added any other fish, HOWEVER I did add those decorative white rocks you see in planters, flowerbeds (I think this may be the cause)
Waterchange schedule: Approx. 30% every 2 weeks
Tank temp: Around 26-27 this time of year, it gets very hot in our house. However, she seems to do very well with the heat and it has never bothered her before

Oh, and I have an aquatech filter rated for 240 gph


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## JGlenn213 (Jun 4, 2012)

Since you only know and can test for Ph, It could be anything man. I'm very sorry to hear that. I'm the proud owner of 3 fancies myself. I love them. It would be pretty hard to narrow it down without more information. I hope the best for the fish.


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## jamtart (Aug 8, 2012)

I realize this, I did not know how important they were until I started looking on forums and joined this one. However, my "fish allowance" only comes in once a month when our roomate pays her 200 dollars rent.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

When you don't test water but things appear off to you, do a water change. Do as large a one as you can - in a 20, 50% would be good. You will need to that much every week with a goldfish that size.
It may not be the source of the problem, but it won't make it worse. Think of it this way - you can blow $30 on a test kit which will tell you you need to do a 50% water change, or you can look at the fish, see it is in distress, and do a water change.
Option 2 won't cost a cent and will accomplish more. 
You could have a lack of oxygen from waste in the tank, or an ammonia spike. 
The fish could also have an internal infection, a growth, an organ problem - the weight loss unfortunately suggests it could something in that line. 
Clean water may help, and two fifty percenters per week (dechlorinated) for a couple of weeks may turn things around. You can then drop into regular 50% weekly changes, and if water is the problem, the fish will be fine.


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## jamtart (Aug 8, 2012)

Ok, I did a 25% water change the day noticed, and again today. But I will start doing them weekly. I've had great luck treating ick with salt.. Should I attempt to treat her with salt just in case? I have extra air pumps but not sure if they will work for the 20 gal, but I will def. try them out in order to put more oxygen into the tank. 

Also, when I got her, her tail was curved around the bottoms. Not straight out or flowing like they should be. Do you know what causes this or how to treat it?


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

If you use salt for Ich, fine. But if there is no Ich, why use it? It is a skin irritant that causes the fish to produce skin mucous, making it hard for the parasite to grab on. If you see something in this situation that suggests external parasites, go for it, but that isn't what you described.
I'd suggest a 25% change is the bare minimum when things look perfect in the tank and you are in a hurry that week. With a goldfish showing any symptoms, 50% is the minimum.

You won't solve the problem with medications or test kits. Goldfish unfortunately take a lot of work and water changes, or they die.

Goldfish, koi and common plecos are in a class of their own. Goldfish are herbivorous fish that survive by eating high fibre foods. They have a relatively inefficient digestive system (many plant eaters do) that processes what they need for quick growth, but that depends on a lot going in because a lot comes out. They are pollution tolerant, so they won't die of their own wastes as quickly other fish would. Those wastes tend to build up under decorations, etc, and to turn a tank toxic very quickly. Indoor goldfish keeping is a battle to keep the animal from stewing in its own wastes, and that means huge water changes, all the time. I've never kept a dirtier fish than a goldfish (well, maybe koi) and one that demanded so much work.

Tropicals are easy compared to goldfish. You can get away with weekly 25% changes, though I do more. Cleaning-wise, tropicals are housecats, and goldfish are housecows.


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## jamtart (Aug 8, 2012)

Isn't salt also used as a precaution/anti stress type of agent when adding new fish to a tank? I thought I had read this in numerous places, maybe it was a misunderstanding. I also noticed one site that said they shipped their fish in water salted to .03 percent. So I figured a little salt wouldn't cause any harm, but I will definitely leave it out.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Salt is a chemical, natural or not. It is magnificent for fish that evolved in contact with it - they have internal water filtering systems that use salt (the battle for a fish is to keep water out, where we try to keep it in). So salt is helpful for coastal species or fish whose ancestors made a 'recent' move to freshwater.
For a lot of aquarium fish from rainforests, salt is close to a poison. They have evolved water control systems in the absence of dissolved minerals (many Amazon region rivers are extremely mineral poor) and react very badly to salt in the water. it is completely unnatural to them.

In the hobby, we like to think 'a fish is a fish', but that can be a disastrous generalization.


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## jamtart (Aug 8, 2012)

Alright then. Obviously I misunderstood the information. I will definitely not be buying any stock from the site that ships their fish in salt.. I really f***ing wish that people would not "share" their incorrect, useless information. I'm starting to get really f***ing skeptical about all of this. So far, way more work, heartache, time, and money than I can handle with a 2 month old baby. 
From what I have been reading, I think this fish has tuberculosis. Is this totally ridiculous as well? Did I receive untrue information on this as well?


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