# Other Animals > Other Pets >  Goldfish help!

## Fbt123

Hi guys,

yesterday i won a goldfish from this fair, i set up a temporary tank for it in my room. Basically i got out of bed to check on him and i find him on the floor, almosr dried out but with some moisture in his skin. I put him back in the tank and he began to breath and eventually start moving around a bit. The only problem is he kept on sinking but now hes floating at the top with his nose just out the water. Is swimbladder disease (i researched about fair fish diseases) possibly doing this? Thanks for helpping  :Smile:

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## Carlos

After a dry out period damage to swim bladder could be physical or maybe some bacteria has set in.  Get some Melafix and treat fish for a week according to label directions.  Also, get a top for that tank  :Smile:  !

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## Fbt123

Cheers carlos tge gokdfish is way better now its swimming around ecerywhere! Ive got a lid as well lol

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## Fbt123

Heres a pic of him scavenging for bubbles (he thinks bubbles are food XD)


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## bill

> After a dry out period damage to swim bladder could be physical or maybe some bacteria has set in.  Get some Melafix and treat fish for a week according to label directions.  Also, get a top for that tank  !


And figure out what in the water chemistry caused him to jump in the first place.  :Smile: 


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

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## Fbt123

I think it was that there was too little oxygen in the water, niw that filter is installed the fish has got really energetic.

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## bill

There ya go. Fish normally need a reason to jump. In an aquarium, it's normally something wrong with the water. I once had a betta jump from one of my tanks (had a death and high ammonia). Luckily, there was a tank next to it he jumped into. Pure luck!! 


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

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## Fbt123

Haha very lucky fish   :Big Grin: . As far as i can tell the ammonia levels arent that bad as ive removed all uneaten food and the fish isnt lethargic. I will also do a % 50 water change every day to reduce the build up of un wanted chemicals.

thanks for the help and ill keep you guys posted about how it goes with the goldfish. My mates one died today  :Frown: , but mine has improved LOADS since yesterday :Smile:

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## Fbt123

Can i put any fish with the goldfish once ive got a bigger tank (Itll b plastic cant afford a massive glass tank lol) or is mixing species a no no?

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## bill

Goldfish are a true community fish. Just remember that they grow large and are vegetarians (no live plants, they eat them). They also are very proficient at creating waste (especially ammonia) so make sure you have a lot of bio media in your filter to increase the amount of bacteria. 


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

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## Fbt123

what is bio media?

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## Joey

Biomedia filters will have a gravel like substance in it. They will come in different varieties, but mostly should be like little holey hydro balls almost. Might be worth ebaying/gumtree/preloved for a glass tank, over time to upgrade him. Cheap plastic tanks just aren't big enough for commet goldfish once they get going. And I have never owned one that "only grows to the size of the tank". I have a 12 year old fish I won at a school fete and he is 7 inches easy, and still growing. But they do like having fish friends!

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## Boomsloth

Common goldfish which is likely what you have requires tons of space and room to grow and keeping them in anything too small will stunt it's growth. My common goldfish got to over a foot. It was kept in 120 gallons for the first two years and now lives outside. 


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## Fbt123

I am aware that it needs a bigger tank, the one its in now is a temporary one. Hopefully i should be getting a 34 litre one soon and then a bigger one after that

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## Fbt123

Would this tank be ok for a few months?

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## Fbt123

The ruler is 15 cm long

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## Fbt123

Here he is in his new tank! I will upgrade it again because im getting a big glass tank fir christmas hooefully. Ill also buy more fake plants etc. but fir now this is what hes got

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## limnologist

His water looks dead, you should be careful in case there is an ammonia build up.

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## Fbt123

What does that mean? I do %50 water changes daily. I think it may have been my camera making it look 'dead' as it was dark in my room and my camera sucks lol

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## Boomsloth

The water looks fine and as long as you keep up with those water changes it should remain healthy. I'd say you have maybe 5 months before it gets too big depending on the temp you keep it and how much food is offered. 


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## limnologist

> What does that mean? I do %50 water changes daily. I think it may have been my camera making it look 'dead' as it was dark in my room and my camera sucks lol


when I say that, I mean there is too much waste in exchange for bacteria. You should try cycling a tank and not changing it for a few months. the bacteria naturally grow and take care of all the waste, keeping the water clear. I wouldnt recommend water changes every day, there is too much room for error.

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## Fbt123

Ok how ofteb shall i do them

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## limnologist

after you have the water stabilized you can leave it for 5 months.

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## Carlos

> after you have the water stabilized you can leave it for 5 months.


5 months without a water change on a small tank with a goldfish will have Nitrate levels so high it will affect the fish... and that's on a cycled tank with 0 levels of Ammonia or Nitrites  :Mad:  !

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## Fbt123

Yeh thats waaay too lpng without a water change. Btw carlos i wont leabe it for 5 months without cjanging water ill do it weekly

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## limnologist

> 5 months without a water change on a small tank with a goldfish will have Nitrate levels so high it will affect the fish... and that's on a cycled tank with 0 levels of Ammonia or Nitrites  !


I guess really it depends on how many water plants you have and how much water you replace when it evaporates. I have natural tanks with plants, very few creatures, and no filtration and they can last a whole year without a water change.

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## Tomato Frog

I just wanted to chip in here.. your set up for the fish is okay for now, but basically you will want a 29 gal tank for your gold fish at the smallest as soon as you can get one, and I would always recommend getting a larger tank if you have the option to. As for housing goldfish with other fish from my experience you should only house them with other goldfish, koi, or shubunkin of a similar size. Some people do have luck putting them with other fish, but I would not risk it, most other fish need a heater anyways and a goldfish WILL eat any other fish small enough to fit in it's mouth. Now with water changes it really depends on tank size, amount of occupants, and if you have a proper filter, but most people do water changes of 1/4 to 1/3 of the water every 2 weeks to a month. I hope this was helpful for you, and the best of luck with your fish  :Smile: 

- Dani

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## Fbt123

Once the goldfish reaches 4 inches in a few months i will put him in the pond. This is not a permanent tank that hes going into

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## Fbt123

Ok, goldie has gotten worse. Hes git loads more white dots on his body and tail, but u can only see them from an angle on his body. He is swimming around loads but hes got more spots which is bad  :Frown:

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## chibikaie

It's likely he has some kind of external parasite. Keep the water clean as you have been. I like to use salt dips for external parasites, but they can be tricky to execute if the fish isn't healthy to begin with or if you're not confident about the treatment. A less brutal approach is adding a small amount of salt to the water. Goldfish can easily tolerate a teaspoon per five gallons; there'll be some debate about how much more you can add.

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## Fbt123

Ive been adding 2 tbsp of salt evrry day and doing water changes every 2 days because im statting the nitrogen cycle

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## limnologist

> Ive been adding 2 tbsp of salt evrry day and doing water changes every 2 days because im statting the nitrogen cycle
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


he has ich. try giving him saltwater baths every few days. also, warm the water a bit more, allow the water to get at least a couple of weeks old before changing it, and try getting some ich medication at the pet store.

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## Tomato Frog

The fish has Ich, if you aren't already using it, you need to use melafix ASAP! It's likely from you doing so many water changes, if you have been changing the water and the new water you add isn't the same temperature as the water he is in it can cause stress and stress is one of the main reasons fish get Ich, if you don't treat him soon he will die from it. Sometimes they are too far gone to help them, but you can always try. Also I would double check and make sure the doses of salt are the proper amount.. in the small bin you have him in you don't want to over salt the water.

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## Fbt123

It is the rifht dose. I was told to just use salt. The water is tjr same temp as well

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## Harry potter

**** Deleted Post Contents for Infraction****


DigitalPunk - Paul

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