was up guys,

Anyway I have a question for those with goldfish or fish in general. I have a middle sized goldfish fantail that recentely been turning a pale from his original orange. He's not that old (2-3yrs) so I was wondering if you could give me some advice. Also ever since i've owned him his has periodic cases of fin rot. I've treated the rot and it goes away (treated with Mela Fix), but about every 3-4 months its always comes back, he is the only fish in my tank that has this problem. Any advice in finally solving this problem? Even though with these problems his very active and very aware of his souroundings.

P.S as far as I know my water is relativly clean and clear. And I compeltely change it about every 2 weeks + plus add 5 tsp of aquarium salt (10 gallons and three goldfish).



Any advice and help would be great!

Later,

Allen

 

well, its hard to say, but changing the water completly is a bad idea, fish need some bacteria in the tank to live properly and happily. you should only change 10% of the water every week and add the water treatment and salt every change, not much salt, just a little. only clean the gravel when ness. and dont clean it all the way either, leave a bit of dirt + benificial bacteria behind. it is also important to have fish gravel and fish structures because other types can make the fish sick. hope this helps.

 

I remember way back when I had a tank, I used to check the PH balance of the water.... and if it was off, I would add some chemicals. go find a kit like that at the store.

 

Well let's see, first of all Shady is right about changing all of the water. Ideally you only want to change 10-25% every week or two. Secondly, it'd be a good idea to do like Bleach said and get a test kit. You can pick one up that takes care of everything (PH, KH, GH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates) for around $25. Some more backround information on the tank and it's inhabitants would help as well because if you have the goldfish in a tank with barbs or other small quick moving fish, then your goldfish might not have finrot, it could actually be the smaller fish nipping at your fantails long fins.

Goldfish are originally from china and surrounding area, they are in nature coldwater. In fact they can live in water at freezing temperature so long as it's constantly moving and doesn't actually freeze over. Being a coldwater fish, warm water takes a huge toll on the fish so anything past 74ish could be putting your pet under a lot of stress.

The color change could be something as simple as a seasonal change, a dietary change, or just something from age eventhough they are known to live up to 35+ years. Try feeding it some more vegetable matter (squash, tomatoes, some of the harder melons, basically anything that can stay in the tank without falling apart in a few hours but, don't leave any leftovers in the tank for more than 24 hous or it will polute the water). I hope some of this helps goodluck!

 

Thx for the help guys,

Right now my fish is getting better and his color is back to normal. Bleach Ill get that kit to check the chemical levels.

Shady, even if I changed the entire water wouldn't that still leave bacteria behind, thus "healthy" bacteria is left for the evironment. Im assuming this because my brother has a goldfish that is getting close to 18yrs of age. For its whole life he has been changing the entire water. I have some knowledge about the background of my fish and their environment. as for the temperature I use a heater to maintain my tank at 72 F.

As for my population I have three fantails "Goldfish" all of whom are very health and active.

Anyway, thx for the advice and I'll be sure to follow it!!

Later,

Allen