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wilma
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Posted 1 Year, 2 Months ago #1
I recently recieved a lionhead goldfish from an aquaintance. This poor thing lost both its fins *arms* and when I got him he looked like he had swimmersbladder(?) So I did the feeding the peas thing and he was still bottom up on the water but she assured me he was fine..."his fins just need to grow back"...
Fine...Now I am looking at him and he has the beginings of dropsy.
I cleaned the tank (again) and added epsome (?) salts (just more than 1/2 tsp for my 29G)...suggestions, help...anything..
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johnarthur
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Posted 1 Year, 2 Months ago #2
Moving a fish from one aquarium to another is often a shock to their immune system, and it makes them unable to cope with the potentially dangerous organisms that live in most aquariums. The shock is produced by large changes in temperature, pH or chemical makeup. One way to avoid this is to gradually acclimate the fish; I like to use the simple drip acclimation method, which is described on one of our blogs.

Your aquarium could also have a buildup of ammonia or nitrite, both of which are toxic to fish. In an established aquarium, especially one with healthy live plants, beneficial bacteria change the common toxins into plant food. The toxins get there in the first place because of things like over feeding, over crowding, dead plant and animal matter, and lack of maintenance. Beneficial bacteria develop when a new aquarium goes through its nitrogen cycle, which usually takes about a month. Another blog has more information about the nitrogen cycle.

Based on the information in your question, the goldfish is sick, and the move or something in its new environment caused the sickness. My advice is to stop feeding the fish for a few days, and start changing 20 percent or so of the water every day. Be sure to keep the temperature fairly constant and use a good water conditioner when replacing the water. After a few days, things should start to improve, and the goldfish, if he survives, will start to get an appetite. You can go to once a week partial water changes when the nitrite and ammonia reach zero.

I hope some of that helps, and I hope you will accept my welcome to our forum. Please let us know how the goldfish is doing.
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angela_brown
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Posted 1 Year, 2 Months ago #3
Welcome to our forum!

Looks like John has all the bases covered.

Good Luck with your fish and keep us posted as to how he does!
wilma
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Posted 1 Year, 2 Months ago #4
Matthew passed last night. Thank you for the help though.

Trust me...I'll still be around. It took me over 2 months to cycle my tank...things have been hard. I'm sure I will need more help.
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johnarthur
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Posted 1 Year, 2 Months ago #5
Sorry you lost the goldfish. There are several ways to speed up the cycling process. Just let us know if you need help.
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