wordhappy

Will do! )

Hi everyone, the discussion is very interesting and educational (and amusing) Just thought I'd update to let you all know the fishies are eating again without much spitting. The peas seemed to do the trick (no stringy poo any more). Dorsal fins are erect, fish are active and eating well. :happy2: Thank you!

Ah, well it is trailing. If I feed them more of them should it help to fix this? Then maybe give them a couple of feeds a week of peas to help maintain things? Your advice is appreciated as I'm completely new to this idea of feeding fish things other than goldfish flakes.

Green stringy poos... :gigl:

Hi folks, After initially rejecting the peas, they decided they were pretty great actually... after which I gave them some of their flake food, which they got into with great enthusiasm. Weird. I tried to get a photo of the white spot, but it didn't come out very well... I had to laugh (while saying "grrr") because as soon as the camera came out the crazy swimming and no staying still started. :facepalm: Not sure I'll be able to get a good pic after all.

Thanks everyone, I'm taking it all in... room temp varies a bit from 13-25 degrees as the weather has been variable lately. I try to do the water changes on warmer days to keep the temperature a bit more even. Fish are swimming well; all three are upright and swimming well at all levels within the tank so I'm not thinking swim bladder issues... I'll try to get a pic of the white spot tomorrow. And maybe the scale too. <

@livingart - why the lol? I have heard the presoaking thing a lot... just never had to actually do it. May have tried once early on then found out they just wait for it to sink. <

Thanks guys... could be the age of the food as it will be over three months. When they are this small it is hard to buy food in containers small enough to use within three months! A free tank, eh? That would be sweet and a great boon from the Universe. In the meantime I am looking after the little dudes as best I can and plan to buy a 250L tank next year (if the Universe doesn't bless me with one this year, hehe). I don't presoak my flake food but that is because my fish have learned to wait for it to hit the filter downstream and then they have a great old time following it all over the tank and vacuuming it up off the bottom! So I guess my first step is to buy some new food. I'm also going to give them a few peas tonight and see how they like that. <

Hi everyone, I'm relatively new to fishkeeping (had my tank about eight months or so) and have had a few setup issues in that time. Currently my goldfish are looking healthy, nice happy dorsal fins, active, all looking good except for what appears to be a single missing scale low on the left flank of one goldfish, and what appears to be a tiny glob of white cream on the anal fins of another. They have been getting on just fine with no major problems for some time now... but for the last week they have been spitting out any food they are offered. The same brand of flake food they have been eating for ages is not good enough anymore. They eventually eat it (they must do because it goes and I do eventually see them eating without spitting) - they're enthusiastic about meal times as usual but a couple of seconds after taking in a flake they will spit it back out... Of course I am aware that my main problem is the tank size (three very small - 2-3 inch - goldfish in a 38L tank) - when I started out, I was under the impression it was a very good tank size for up to about five goldfish... since learned that was wrong, but can't afford a new tank so I am doing the best I can with filtration, water changes, and generally keeping a good eye on things. Anyone got any ideas as to what might be the problem here? Thanks in advance! :spop:

Hi Luke*, sorry for the late reply but things have been going great since the Prazi. I've got a new problem now and will be posting a new post about that!

Thanks, @the-obstacle. I have reduced the amount I put in. 8) And by way of a general update, my two are looking much more alert and active, and very very enthusiastic at meal time! Dorsal fins are up and scales are looking better and better. I finished the course of Praziquantel (Droncit tabs; dosage in previous post) and then did a course of Pimafix. Fish have never looked better. I am even considering reintroducing gravel into the tank... maybe even at a later date a plant or two! :happy2: @aquariumbeginner32 - how are you going with yours? Feeling any better?

Does that rule apply when the carbon filter is back in? I thought the carbon filter would filter the stuff out so that when I do a water change I would StressCoat+ the whole tank again... Is it likely to be harmful if I keep doing this, i.e. will it build up? I am also now monitoring the carbon (i.e. date put in, date rinsed, date replaced) in the little log book diary of (mostly) woes that I now keep beside the tank. :roey:

I'll post here a few days after the course to let you know how they're going too.

I got it from my vets in Dunedin who had to order it in (domestically, not from overseas) - it is not in a fish-specific treatment, but in a tablet for mammals called Droncit. I had to be fairly insistent to get it as well, that's worth noting. They told me to use it in a course - 250mg/100L each day for three days, with a 50% water change each day, then put the carbon back in after the third day. As they are tablets I dissolve them in warm water, wait a while for it to cool, and add it in slowly right after the water change. It makes the water go very cloudy - this settles down after an hour or so - and there's lovely white residue on the bottom my gravel-less hospital tank at the moment (guess the fish have had snow, too!) but they perked up from Day 1. I have two goldfish and they both did a MASSIVE poo on Day 1, and a very respectable sized one on Day 2. Their dorsal fins haven't been so erect since they first got sick... happy, happy fishies. :love: :thup: I think the liquid form they use overseas would be preferable just from the residue/particle size perspective but it does not seem to have caused my dudes any harm - far from it. Hope this helps. p.s. @ Northland chic - that's ironic, isn't it? I think we all know a disgusting pond somewhere hosting any number of larger, healthier, better looking goldfish than the ones in many very well-maintained tanks!

Hang in there! I think I've found the wonder drug with Praziquantel (fingers crossed) - will get some more today and hope for the best and will update here later. I'm exactly the same as you - spent hundreds when I thought I was getting two tiny ornaments in a bowl that would live for 2 years max (and they would've in the bowl!) Likewise the little beggars have snuck into my heart... :love: