please help my fish are sick

[slushy06]

I have two tanks one cold one tropical but in my cold water tank the fish are becoming inactive and bottom sitting. I have 4 fish 3 goldfish and one shabumkin in a 50 litre tank with sand a filter a bubble blower and a live plant. The shabumpkin is looking pale.

I have run a water test nitrate levels are a little high but not dangerous and ph levels low but not dangerously so. Any ideas please help I love my fish and know how quick you have to be with fish illness. I am really attached to them.

4 goldfish in a 50 litre tank is massively overstocked. Goldfish get very big and produce a lot of waste, 50 litres is too small even for 1 goldfish. I would guess that this is a water quality problem. Can you post the exact water readings? When did you last clean the tank and filter?

The fish are very small I was told it was fine until they got bigger than 2 inches do I need a bigger tank I have a spare one if so but I thought it was bad to switch tanks when they are ill I cleaned the filter 3 weeks ago and did a 50% water change sunday with tap safe and hoovered up poo.

The levels are 5 the ph were 6.5

That's awfully low pH for goldfish. What's their mucus coating like, can you see any strandy bits like cobwebs coming off them? Is it the nitrAte that is 5 or the nitrIte? A nitrAte level of 5 is fine, a nitrIte level of 5 will kill your fish pretty quickly. Do you have a test kit for ammonia?

If water quality is a problem due to overstocking then moving them over to a bigger tank right away is the best thing to do. How did you clean your filter?

nitrate is 5 the test kit for ammonia was clear my partner does the filter cleaning so not 100% sure but I think he uses the fish water to clean it then puts it all back in.

The other tank is also a 50 litre so it would mean moving two out to slow down the overcrowding but I have no cycle run in there Can you do it from scratch quick enough.

If the tank is to small what size do I need I don't mind how much it costs I know it is silly but I love fish. No stragly bits both scales and mucus coating seem fine. One has 3 little white spots but I think it is sand and not white spot is there anyway I can be sure.

It's not silly to love fish I wish more people did! If the other tank is 50 litres and not cycled then there's no point moving them over.

You'll need to sit down for this bit! Long term they will need a tank of around 60 gallons. Common goldfish and shubs can reach around 10 inches long. They are really pond fish but they can be kept in tanks if you give them enough room. They can live for 30 years if you take good care of them!

Where are the spots on the fish? Male goldfish get breeding tubercles on their gill plates and the first ray of their pectoral fins (the 'arm' ones) when they are mature and ready to spawn. There's a pic here- farm1.static.flickr.com/55/147836775_4fb19da461.jpg

The fish that is sick, does it have any other symptoms at all? What do the inside of its gills look like, can you see what colour it is? Are its eyes cloudy?

They are all sick but one first then the others came down after eyes are not cloudy can't see the inside of the gills. The white spots they are at the top of his body just below his fin not like the picture.

No other symptoms at all they just seem lethargic. We knew they needed that size when they were bigger just thought we had a year or two to get it.

I had 3 goldfish live 15 years before these then my dad put some little black fish in who un known to us had white spot and killed them

I wouldn't leave it too long to get a bigger tank, it can stunt them keeping them in a tank that's too small and that can cause longterm health problems. At 2 years they should be 3 or 4 inches long so too big for a 50 litre tank.

The white spot could be the start of an ulcer, I would keep an eye on it. What is their diet like, are you giving them any fresh veg?

Does your tank have a thermometer? Any idea of the temp?

I tried fresh fruit and veg but they won't eat it so stopped they have mostly flakes. The temperature I have just discovered is really low so will put the heater in it is only 55f . But just looked and my house is only 13 degrees as I cant put my heating on it makes ds chest bad.

That might be what's causing them to be sluggish. If they don't perk up when the temp picks up then I would keep an eye out for symptoms of a bacterial infection like red streaks in fins and ulcers.

Okay Thanks will keep a look out but hopefully they will perk up a bit. I am a bit paranoid because of how quick my other fish went.

But thanks a lot for your help and advice nice to meet someone else who loves fish and doesn't laugh and make stupid comments like do they go well with chips.

No problem, I love my fish too and have spent so much time and money on them. Some people just don't get it.

I would keep testing the water too just in case you get any ammonia spikes. Hope they perk up soon!

Thought I would let you know I put the temperature up and the fish are back to normal . Going to do a partial salt water change now to get the levels back down. Thanks again for all your help.