Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A little over a year ago, we moved into a house in which the previous tenant’s son had apparently been an avid aquatic pet fan. However, for undisclosed reasons, the son was no longer around, and the mother asked if I would like to have the several large aquariums (with their contents) and terrariums that were there so she didn’t have to move them. I readily accepted her offer, of course, although I knew next to nothing about keeping fish.

To make a long story short, in the process of cramming as much information as my already overloaded brain could handle, I lost several of the fish along the way, but have managed to keep more alive than I lost (I think). There was one 120 gallon tank in the garage with a good assortment of fish, but mostly cichlids and gold fish (or koi, I’m still a little shaky on how to distinguish between the two). As winter drew near and I lacked resources to properly heat the garage or the tank sufficiently for my charges, I began moving them into separate smaller 30 gallon tanks in the house.

I think my first mistake was in using the substrate that was already in place in the 120 gallon tank I was moving them out of, for it seems to be some sort of perhaps limestone maybe, although I am not sure what it is. I do know it is so fine as to be larger than sand but smaller than gravel. Whatever it is, I think it keeps my ph on the high end of the scale, because it is the only thing different from the tank I had since before I moved here, and the ph is consistently higher, even after all this time. The fish are always picking it up and spitting out mouthfuls of it.

Of the fish I inherited, there were five goldfish, which I put in one of the 30 gallon tanks, along with a good sized pleco. Since then, I had to add a Bumble Bee that was bullying the others in his tank, and another bully that I have no idea what he is, only that he grew from about 3 inches when I inherited him into a monster of about 6 inches long and 4 inches high. I know this is really not a large enough tank but it was the best I could do for them. I added a bubble stone, hoping to increase oxygen, but after so much reading I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I have an Aqua-tech power filter for 30 to 60 gallon aquariums and have been using carbon filters, which unfortunately have not been getting changed frequently enough, due to lack of resources. I am wondering if I can use some other filter padding in place of the carbon filters? You see, I’ve been changing them as often as possible, and rinsing them out in between, not realizing the damage I was doing to the good bacteria, or the problem with the old carbon. We are on well water that is pretty hard, although I have yet to have it tested.

One of the goldfish kept getting ill, breaking out with these reddish swollen spots on his sides. I used Melafix, which seemed to make the problem go away, but a couple months later, it happened again, Again I treated it (I did remove the carbon from the filter during treatment), and again it went away. However, a few months later, the same fish fell ill a third time, and this time, I was unable to save him (or her).

A couple of days ago, I noticed one of the goldfish was missing. I have no idea how this happened or where it went, but it is definitely gone. I don’t have a cover over most of the tank but the water level is low enough it would be difficult for one to jump out, and I do have cats, but have never lost one to them before. I hope the monster didn’t eat him.I don’t know. I just can’t figure it out.

Then, yesterday, I noticed my goldfish were hanging out near the surface, mostly in one corner of the tank. Two of them are hanging especially close together, side by side, often with their backs nearly a half inch out of the water. One of them is listing rather badly to one side, at about a 45 degree angle, and one of them looks extremely constipated, perhaps, his sides swollen out a great deal. I am very concerned and I don’t know what to do. I started with the Melafix again, but after some reading decided against that. I vacuumed and did about a 50 percent water change, and added some Nitroban. I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, but I am sure I need to do something! I am going to go get some peas when I finish this, as I read in numerous places that it might help to feed a couple of those. I gave them a very light feeding of flakes tonight, not sure if a complete fast would be a good idea or not.

If you could please give me some advice, I would be very grateful. I must apologize for my ignorance, and realize I should know more than I do by now, but circumstances have prevented it that truly are beyond my control. I guess I need to give them away to someone who knows more about them, but I have become pretty attached so have been putting it off. I just have too many animals and people that I am trying to take care of, and I am spread extremely thin at present or I would know better how to care for them. Please let me know if you have any ideas. Thank you and God bless you.

Sincerely,

Jetta Clinton

Hi Jetta. Welcome to the boards.

I will start by saying the son who had these fish previously had two different types of fish in a tank together, which they should have been separated. Cichlids are more aggressive than goldfish, not to mention they require different temperature requirements.

Using the substrate that was in the 120 gallon was a good choice because of all the established good bacteria... that is if the 30 gallon tank wasn't already set up. Generally speaking, cichlids prefer acidic water, which is probably why the son kept that substrate in the bigger tank. Increasing the oxygen with a air stone is ok to do for a temporary fix. I would recommend moving the bigger tank into the house once you can do so... since the fish were happy and healthy (I am assuming) in the bigger tank. You will have to do more frequent water changes (perhaps 10% every week) because goldfish produce a lot of wastes which add to the ammonia in the tank which kills fish quickly.

Rinsing a carbon filter in your well water should cause no problems overall. I would recommend changing the filters every 6 months at least. The good bacteria are all over the tank (on the decor, in the filter, in the rocks, in the water, etc.).

The red spots could be a few different things, all of which could be helped with Melafix. The stress probably didn't help the fish that died.

You should have a lid or cover on the whole tank. You'd be surprised how high a fish can jump. It probably jumped out of the tank, and it is possible that your cat ate it, although I can't say with any certainty. You should keep the water level as close as you can to the top of the tank so your filter doesn't have to work as hard to suck the water up.

Gasping at the surface implies there's not enough oxygen in the tank. And the one leaning to the side probably has a swim bladder disorder caused by too much food or just constipation. This can be helped with frozen peas. Melafix won't help with the constipation, but it is completely natural and won't hurt your fish. Although I don't think you should use it unless you have to. A complete fast would be ok for a few days (maybe 3-5). Goldfish have a compact body, which allows them to get constipated, and thus swim bladder problems.

Don't do such large water changes, that is not good for the good bacteria in the tank. You normally do 20% water changes every 2 weeks. Such large water changes also can add unneeded stress in the tank. Do you use your tap water? If so, you may want to set out some water before you do a change to allow it to come to room temperature and let the impurities evaporate (so do not put a lid on top of the container you use).

You have asked for help, and that's the first step to learning the vast amount of information needed to take care of fish. You'll get the hang of it as most do. It just takes trial and error, unfortunately sometimes fish die, but I like to try to keep the death count down. Perhaps other people can get involved, it is a great thing to teach children (they learn the responsibility of taking care of animals).

Keep us posted on how everything's going.
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Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."