Ill goldfish - help appreciated.

CathyMoran

Hi, we have an indoor goldfish that is about 15 years old, he is 10-12in long and about 4 in wide. He started to swim upside down a lot last week and progressed to lying on his side for hours on end not moving but breathing...I did not have the heart to let him be killed so my husband bathed him in aloe vera. Now he is jumping around the place - I am still worried about him. The water in our tank is good though we have cut down on the food that we are giving him. The other fish in the tank are fine. I would appreciate any advice - I know that he may just be getting old but he is a very much loved pet.

Fishyfreak

Sounds like a swimbladder infection, there are some interpet treatments available on the market in most pet shops. Well worth a try. I've always found swimbladder diseases to be hard to shift but it can be sorted.

Be careful with the dosage and make sure the tank is well aerated as most of these treatments strip the water of oxygen.

Good luck.

If you need any further advice go to www.irishfishforum.com

puheen

hi,
sounds like he has a swim bladder infection, we had a similar problem with some of our fish you can get a treatment from pet shops that you add to the water. It worked very well for us on a few occasions with no losses.Hope this helps.

CathyMoran

Thanks, he is the only fish that is affected, the others are fine...we are very attached to them all. Will get the hubby to get him treatment tomorrow.

Edit: the hubby told me that he already gave him swimbladder treatment (sorry), could it be anything else? Sorry for all the questions, we just really love our fish.

Wolfsberg

CathyMoran wrote: »

Edit: the hubby told me that he already gave him swimbladder treatment (sorry), could it be anything else? Sorry for all the questions, we just really love our fish.

Probably not. Just tell him to follow the instructions on the treatment 100%. If you have a filter, remove the carbon media(usually a black sponge or bag of grit) as this will neutralise the medicine.

CathyMoran

Thanks again - hopefully he will make it - will see if I can post a photo of him tomorrow, he is a spectacular fish.

Wolfsberg

Do post a photo. Is he a standard or a fancy goldfish? He should have plenty more life in him if he is properly looked after... My aunties record for a Goldfish is 28 years!!! :eek:

Did yiz ever get a bird?

Lauragoesmad

Wolfsberg wrote: »

He should have plenty more life in him if he is properly looked after... My aunties record for a Goldfish is 28 years!!

Thats amazing!!! That must be some kind of record. And I thought I was deadly with my nearly 5 year old black widow fish!

Hope the poor little guy is ok, OP!!!

TouchingVirus

Definitely sounds like swimbladder. I had a number of goldfish suffer from this, always found it best to leave them in the tank with their friends. Never heard of it being referred to as an infection though, more like a fish is either susceptible to it or not. Some recovered, but for most it was an intermittent problem. Changing the diet might work as it did for my black moor

CathyMoran

Here he is, he is more lively first thing in the morning and all his brothers and sisters wanted to be in the photo also!

Edit: Sorry that it is such a bad photo, he was just so active!

Fishyfreak

He's a beaut of a fish alright.

I can't think of anything else that would effect bouyancy other than swimbladder disease. (other than fish with deformaties i.e Parrotfish)

Try a bit of googling Cathy just in case it turns up something else.