Sick Fantail Goldfish

[Helen H]

Hi all hope I am doing this right it's my first time.

I have 4 fantail goldfish I bought 2 months ago, one of them was hurt from when I bought it....... it can't seem to stay at the bottom of tank and floats upside down at the top of the tank, I have also noticed it has a couple of small black bits on its tail fin, (not sure if it is meant to be like that)...... when I bought it, it's tail fin was split right the way up and is still split way more then the other fish.

But the fish is eating really well with the rest of the fish and swims when there is food around, I think it is when it gets tired it really starts to float stright up and fast.

Can anyone help please it is so sad to see this fish in this way.... thanks :goldfish: .

[megastealer]

How big of a tank are they in? If you have 4 goldfish they would need a pretty big tank so they can't produce enough ammonia to make them all sick.

Ammonia is constantly produced by the fish, and its clear so you won't even see it poisoning them :sconfused:

[Brhino]

What you are describing is swim bladder disease. There are a number of things that can cause it, but the swim bladder, which helps fish maintain their balance and buoyancy, is no longer properly functioning, which is why he goes upside down whenever he's not actively working to do otherwise.

Swim bladder disease is often caused by overfeeding. You could try not feeding them for a day or two (don't worry, they won't starve) and/or feeding them some shelled peas (natural fix laxative). However, once the damage to the swim bladder is done it's often irreversible.

Tank size is definitely an issue. Unfortunately lots of people don't realize how much space goldfish need, so they put them in undersized tank which makes the goldfish prone to disease and infection. How big is your tank? Do you have a water testing kit, can you tell us what your parameters (ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates) are? What sort of filtration do you have and how often do you do water changes?

[Helen H]

Hi all,

I have a 40lt tank with the 4 fish in I was told this would be fine if I did not add any more fish to the tank...........

Is this true or not ?????.

look forward to hearing.

[Brhino]

Hi all,

I have a 40lt tank with the 4 fish in I was told this would be fine if I did not add any more fish to the tank...........

Is this true or not ?????.

look forward to hearing.

No. That is far too small of a tank. Don't feel bad - lots of people get told they can keep multiple goldfish in a tank that size, often by the people running the stores. What reason would you have to guess the person running the fish store would give you bad advice? Unfortunately, it happens all the time. More often than not, dead fish are the result.

The general recommendation for fancy goldfish is 20 gallons for the first fish and 10 gallons for each additional fish, which puts you at 50 gallons, or about 190 liters, for your four fancy goldfish.

You've got some decisions to make now. If you keep your 4 goldfish in your 40 liter tank, you're very likely to have continuing problems with disease, injury, and your goldfish simply will not live nearly as long as they could otherwise. If you're not okay with that, you've got two options. The first would be to buy a larger tank, if you have the money and the space. Like I said, 50 gallons/190 liters for those fish. The second option would be to return the goldfish to the fish store or find someone else to take them, and restock your tank with fish that can live comfortably in it. You have a number of options there, but goldfish are not one of them.

[Helen H]

Thank you for your reply............. I can see I need to find them a new home and very soon......

Thanks again.

[Brhino]

good luck, and sorry to be the bearer of bad news. You should feel proud of yourself for being concerned enough about your fish to learn why they're having problems. Many people are just content to let them die and replace them over and over.