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Original poster

Eeek! The Goldfish is dying. Can someone tell me how to save it?

54 replies

SparklyfestiveYellowFeathers · 12/11/2006 15:34

I've kept fish all my blummin life but this has flummoxed me.
Its just one goldfish, the filter is clean, the tank is clean, the water is ok, just added more tonic and he's well fed.
For the last 2 or 3 days he looks mis-shapen and thin.
Atm he's just floating at the top of the tank breathing slowly.

Is he doomed or can I save him?

OP posts:

Original poster

SparklyfestiveYellowFeathers · 12/11/2006 15:49

please!
DD didnt really like the idea of him "going on holiday"

OP posts:

Frizbe · 12/11/2006 15:49

The great porcelain hole for him by the sounds of it I'm afriad...

Original poster

SparklyfestiveYellowFeathers · 12/11/2006 15:50

xposts

Oh no!
Not the porcelain hole!!!

OP posts:

lucy5 · 12/11/2006 15:52

Havr you tried putting a little bit of salt in the water? Saved our fish once but I can't really remember whatwas a matter with it.

Macdog · 12/11/2006 15:58

Try a spot of brandy or whisky in the water(not too much)
Maybe a swim bladder problem, pet shop may have remedy?

Original poster

SparklyfestiveYellowFeathers · 12/11/2006 16:02

Does salt really work?
I'd be gutted if I finished the poor thing off!

OP posts:

GeorginaA · 12/11/2006 16:03

Unfortunately, Sparkly, goldfish (the fancy varieties in particular) seem to be much more overbred these days and more fragile and prone to disease as a result. Sounds like you've done loads and he's been looked after well...

If you do want to kindly help him on his way, please don't flush him - it's a horrible drawn out way to go for a fish. Cheap vodka in an old butter container with the lid closed is quick and painless. Then just bag and bin.

I do know how you feel. I lost one of my guppies yesterday. In the morning he was fine, swimming and eating happily. By lunchtime he was a floater (and half his lucious long tail had been nibbled... ). It's amazing how attached you get to something you effectively can't cuddle or interract much with, isn't it?

GeorginaA · 12/11/2006 16:03

Salt - use aquarium salt not table salt, and yes it can help.

Tutter · 12/11/2006 16:06

ooh good luck

my dad used to try all sorts to prolong the lives of our pets - i remmeber one gerbil getting a thimbleful of brandy. it survived an extra fwe days but was clearly hammered

Cappuccino · 12/11/2006 16:08

hee hee

my grandma once killed a gold fish with a good slug of rum

it swam around for a madman for a night before finally giving it up

Original poster

SparklyfestiveYellowFeathers · 12/11/2006 16:17

Sorry but pmsl at the image of a pissed up gerbil

I wouldnt do anything to him while he's still alive. I'm too much of a wuss.

I have an awful feeling I'll be making a trip to the pet shop tomorrow.

OP posts:

wheresthehamster · 12/11/2006 17:31

When ours are ill we put them in a separate bowl with about 2 inches of water in. They usually recover after a day or two if it's nothing too serious.
The shallow water seems to help them stop struggling to swim down.
We have in the past taken them to the vet's when they've looked a bit off much to the amusement of the waiting room!

tortoiseshell · 12/11/2006 17:32

You could try rescue remedy - it works on hamsters, we've got ours through a good 4 months or so on rescue remedy - just put a few drops in the water.

Bamzooki · 12/11/2006 18:42

Sparkly - do his scales look like they are standing out? Is he eating? Is there anything obvious on his skin?
It does rather sound like he has some sort of disease I'm afraid. We have tropical fish, so minimal experience with goldfish per se, but we have had the odd one go like yours, and while some perked up, most didn't. The inbreeding aspect does have a lot to do with susceptibility these days I think. Same for guppies, which can go from fine to floating in hours ime.
Have you actually tested the water quality? Is that what you mean by 'ok'?

GeorginaA · 12/11/2006 19:13

I didn't know it was a known guppy trait, bamzooki! Explains a lot. I'd only bought the three during half term, so it may just be that they didn't travel well. Other two (and the rest of the tank inhabitants) look in best of health... but then so did the one that croaked...

Original poster

SparklyfestiveYellowFeathers · 12/11/2006 20:19

Bamzooki,. yes his gills look really red and are pertruding a bit.

OP posts:

MazJSimpson · 12/11/2006 20:33

Hi, my goldfish starting bobbing about upside down and unable to keep down in the water. We got a remedy from the pet shop, apparently it's quite common for Goldfish, I believe they said it was a bladder problem. Plus if you know anyone that does Reiki, this can work really well for pets. Good luck.

Bamzooki · 12/11/2006 21:30

Its hard to say without being able to see him Sparkly. But if his scales stick out and esp if his eyes seem to bulge, then it could wel be Dropsy, but by that stage it will pretty much be too late for him. Overly red gills is not a good sign either, - sorry - not much ggod news here is there? Could be TB (not the same as in people tho!)

Tan1959 · 12/11/2006 21:32

Well, when my kids were young and had a goldfish that was doing similar thing to yours, we diluted 1 aspirin in small amount of water and added to fish bowl - it worked for us

mimi1uk · 12/11/2006 21:40

have u tried making sure there is loads of oxygen in the water, if u pour water in from a height it helps oxygenise the water, which is often why many goldfish does does the tank have a pump or just a filter!,,

porpoise · 12/11/2006 21:42

This happened to my goldfish when I was little, SparklyYellowFeathers.
We phoned this woman who lived near us who had loads of fish in a massive aquarium thingy.
She said it was toast. And the kindest thing we could do was take it out of the bowl and chop its head off
My mum couldn't face that, so we just left it.
And next day, it was completely fine. Scooting about like mad!

mimi1uk · 12/11/2006 21:42

sorry that last bit made no sense sorry thats why many goldfish die!

Original poster

SparklyfestiveYellowFeathers · 12/11/2006 23:39

Well as I suspected, the poor thing died . Not sure what dd is going to say in the morning.
It wasnt doing that upside down bobbing thing. I know thats quite common and other fish that I have had with it, have survived.
This really has confused me though as we had everything right. Filter, clean tank, food etc. Maybe it wasnt well when we got it.
Its a bit sad though because we bought it for dd as a present for when ds arrived so we've only had him 4 months

So rather than let the tank go to waste, shall I get another one? Could I get 2 possibly although the tank isnt big or could I get something smaller than goldfish like guppys? I know they are tropicall but I'm sure our pet shop have them as cold water fish.
Has anyone got any other recommendations?
(and no, I'm not coverting it to a hamster cage!)

OP posts:

GeorginaA · 13/11/2006 06:10

How many litres/gallons is it? It's really recommended that goldfish have about 10 US gallons of water (about 38L) whereas if you get a heater and you've already got a filter/pump you can have quite a few fish depending on body size (Think Fish has a good community creator - just add your tank size and it'll tell you how many cms of fish you can have and keep a running tally as you add fish)

If you go the tropical route just buy a few fish at a time and slowly build it up so the bacteria have a chance to catch up with the increased bioload.

If you want to go for a coldwater small fish, what about White Cloud Mountain Minnows ? A lovely little fish, very hardy (trust me, they're my longest living fish!) and can live in either coldwater or tropical.

GeorginaA · 13/11/2006 06:13

(i.e. that's 10 gallons for each goldfish, so 2 goldfish would need 20 gallons or 76L - I know that sounds huge and shops sell much smaller tanks than that for goldfish, but goldfish are messy creatures and really do need that. Pet shops are notorious for giving bad goldfish advice )

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