radu Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Hi Hoping someone could shed some light on the following: I have a large goldfish that seems to be spending a lot of time gasping at the top of the water, his top fin is down and he seems tired. I put aquarium salt in his tank and the water parameters are good. His mate seems okay, a tad slow but fine so I don't think what this fish has is catching. The other fish does not gulp at the surface of the water. He has no prescence of ick or fungus probalems so I am finding it hard to work out what this fish has. His appetite is fine. Have recently dosed the tank with melafix and the dosage finished a couple of days ago. I am quite worried about him, would hate to wake up one morning and he has died. Please help asap, if pos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustcooktea Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 What was the reason for the melafix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Are his gills looking redder than they should? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radu Posted October 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 The reason for using the melafix is because in case he had fungal probs, his gills seem bright but he is a lovely orange colour so nothing really unsual in my opinon. Have noticed that in the morning when I wake up they are all at the bottom obviously waking up and he is still parked up the top of the water, his head is at the top of the water with the rest of his body just hanging down, like he just "hangs". Rang a pet centre today and they could not help me either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustcooktea Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 It looks like we lost a few posts from this thread. Caryl had wondered about the oxygen and had suggested that the biggest fish would be the first to show signs of this. This could be something to look at as goldfish have high oxygen requirements. I thought I remembered you saying that the tank is a hex. These have less surface area in proportion to the volume of water (and therefore less space for oxygen exchange). What are the dimensions of the tank and how many fish of what size are in it? I have heard that a goldfish requires a surface area of 30 square inches for every inch of length (excuse the non-metric units). http://www.petlibrary.com/goldfish/fishcare.htm Perhaps you could try positioning your filter so that the surface gets more agitation and is able to exchange more oxygen? Best wishes MCT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radu Posted October 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Thanks for the above info, have repositioned the filter this morning, and have decided to sell these tanks and get one large rectangle tank instead where they can all live together. Must say it makes me a tad angry that pet shops don't tell you these things. I have learnt a lot but when I started out I was told these hexa tanks were fine for the size fish I have as they are all larger than the norm. Pet shops must make heaps of money from beginners that take fish keeping seriously and love their fish as I had bad experiences when I started as I was told nothing at all about seasoning a tank or the cycling of a tank. It was tempting to just give it all up and just accept fish keeping was not me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustcooktea Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 I know what you mean about pet shops, radu. My first experience with goldfish was being sold two comets for a 13 litre unfilter bowl. I am surprised that one of them lived six months. My daughter now has two fancy goldfish in about 100 litres (760 x 300 x 500). At the moment they look small but I am hoping in good conditions they will be able to live a nice long life and grow large. I have learned heaps from googling the internet and fish keeping sites like this one. I now know that I can't expect the lfs owner to give me the information I need to care properly for our fish. Have fun hunting for a new tank! MCT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Yes, my post got lost in the crash It is the surface area which is more important than the size, or depth, of a tank. Goldfish need lots of oxygen so break up the water surface as much as possible. The bubbles in the airstone don't release oxygen into the water a they rise up the tank, it is when they break the surface that the action takes place. Bigger fish need more oxygen and better filtration as they put a huge bioload on the filter. Your fish might just have grown a little large for the surroundings which is why it didn't have a problem before, and why it is affecting only the larger of the 2 fish. If it is indeed a lack of oxygen, the problem will worsen over summer as the water warms up as there will be less oxygen in warmer water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radu Posted October 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2005 Hi Went out today and spotted a larger tank, but because of the size of the two fishes, am thinking seriously about finding someone with a pond that could maybe take them on, so they could have a natural outside life. Any ideas who I could contact, who might be willing to take either one or two of them on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted October 19, 2005 Report Share Posted October 19, 2005 Any ideas who I could contact, who might be willing to take either one or two of them on. Would be "really" nice to know where you are. Truly amazing the amount of members that don't include their location in their profile. One of the best ways to find friends in your area and get help here is by adding your location to your details. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radu Posted October 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2005 Hi Oops sorry, I am located in Wellington, J'ville area. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted October 19, 2005 Report Share Posted October 19, 2005 Oops sorry, I am located in Wellington, J'ville area. No apology needed... the choice is entirely yours Having your location up there saves a lot of posts like these, and now we know where you are, we can tell you that there are literally hundreds of members in the Wellington area.. Why not edit your profile and your location will then be on "all" posts that you have made. Back to the topic: subject: what is wrong with my large goldfish Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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