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i need help with my gold fish ,?
so i have this poppy out eye gold fish and for the last 3-4 days hes been lying in a corner against a rock and one of its eyes is all red and swollen and seems like there is liquid inside of it , he does not come up to eat and i dont know what to do , i have the bubbles on and the flites and i put the light on relly sometimes ,someone pls help :)
2 Answers
- 6 years ago
Please answer the following questions for further advisement:
How big is the aquarium (i.e; how many gallons)?
Was the aquarium running prior to adding in the goldfish? If yes, was it cycled?
What's the rating of the filter, and the GPH (if you know)?
Are you testing the waters ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels? If yes, what are they currently?
Have you been doing water changes? If yes, when was the last time one was performed?
How often are you feeding your goldfish?
- I'm not sure what type of goldfish you have, there are several types, the most common ones are common/feeders/comets, sarasa comets, shubunkins, and fancy goldfish. Fancy goldfish include fantails, moors, orandas, ryukins, pearl scale, celestial, bubble eye, and many, many more. In short, commons/feeders/comets, and shubunkins grow 10-16" and require a *minimum* tank size of 40-55 gallons. The smaller fancy goldfish (fantails and such), growing between 5-6" should have at least 15-20 gallons. The larger varieties such as orandas, growing up to 11-12" need between 40-55 gallons.
- All fish need an aquarium that has a filter rated for the size of the tank. Goldfish produce very high amounts of waste, therefore, they should their aquarium should have have a filter rated for an aquarium 1.5 to 2 times the size. Fancy goldfish are awkward and do not do well against high currents so they need two filters.
- All aquariums *must* be cycled *prior* to adding in fish. By cycling, I'm referring to the Nitrogen Cycle, not turning on the filter for a day or two. The Nitrogen cycle is the process of spiking the ammonia levels (no fish in the tank), in order to build up bacteria. This bacteria is beneficial in the aquarium, it converts ammonia to nitrite, and nitrite to nitrate.
- Ammonia is deadly to fish, which is why we need that bacteria. Nitrite is also deadly to fish in high amounts, if it is not high enough to kill them, it will cause diseases, and other illnesses. Nitrate, again is deadly in high amounts, there is no bacteria to convert nitrate, therefore, it needs to be removed from the tank with water changes.
- With new aquariums ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels need to be monitored daily, and water changes should be done every 3-4 days for the first 10-14 days, after that, weekly water changes are required. When performing a water change you will need to take out 25% of the water, and add in fresh, dechlorinated water. If your ammonia, ect levels rise, a daily 50% water change is necessary.
My advice to you: It sounds like popeye. Which would most likely be due to poor water quality. I would recommend doing a daily 50-60% water change until your levels read as follows: Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 0ppm, Nitrate: 10ppm (ideally, under 5ppm). The previous is just a guess, please provide additional information, and a picture would be helpful as well. Until then, I cannot be much help.
*Edit in response to OP - That looks pretty normal for a fancy goldfish, but the lethargic behaviour is probably due to poor water quality. I would go to the pet/aquarium store and pick up something to test your parameters. In the meantime, I would recommend doing a 50% water change, for about 4 days, and see if that helps.
