Bella - 2011-10-02 Hello everyone! I purchased a blood parrot fish yesterday (or should I say last night) from walmart. I have been so intrigued by 'bella' and have been watching her every move since, so when I noticed her doing some kind of bobbing movement at the top of the tank sort of like she was gasping for air, I pointed it out to my boyfriend and he replied she's ok that's what fish do. Well after 45 mins or so of her doing it I began to panick once I noticed her laying on her side floating!!!! I really don't know what went wrong. I fed her 3 times today and after doing research I realized that my 1.5 tank is entirely to small for her and my water may not be warm enough. Please if you have any more suggestions as to what may be the problem PLEASE let me kmow. My boyfriend changed the water and bella is now stabalized, I just don't want to wake up in the morning and find my first pet EVER .......flatlined!!!! Thank you in advance!
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Charlie Roche - 2011-10-03 Behaviorial problems are usually a result of tank conditions. Gasping at the surface, swimming sideways etc. Yes, the tank is too small and if the temperature was not properly maintained, this could cause the problem. Hopefully, if you corected it quickly, all should be OK. So check you water conditions, temperature, PH etc.
Anonymous - 2011-10-04 Thank you so much
chris - 2011-10-07 Bella is going to get to be 8 inches when she's grown up. You need at least a 55 gallon tank. They also like the water on the warmer side, I keep mine at 80. BPs also need regular water changes of 25-30% weekly. A betta would be a better choice for your little tank :) This is a good reason not to buy from Walmart, the salesperson should have told you this especially with this fish since it is scientifically impossible not to fall in love with their cuteness...I was hooked on first sight too!
Ty Hardymon - 2011-10-15 Gaping is a behavior that most fish perform when they are in an oxygen poor environment. It is possible (given the size of your fish tank) that there is an insufficient amount of O2 in your tank to sustain the fishes metabolic processes. I would strongly recommend a larger tank. And some reading on your part about your new pet.
0007 - 2012-01-27 Parrot fish release a lot of ammonia. Require 60 gal tank or 30 with300 gal filter. The tank must have a developed nitrogen cycle bractria takes months must be bought. 150 watt metal halide with plants help greatly. All tanks must cycle ammonia aka piss and shit roten food plants to nitrite also highly poisonous to nitrite less harmful to a harmless gas tht is the cycle when adding fish you must add befetial bactria not cheap crap from walmart only petco or a pet store. Still requires monthy testing for all these,and 50% water change when issues arise maybe even two on different days .CLEAR WATER CAN BE POISONOUS TAP WATER CAN BE NO INSTANT FIXES MUST DEVELPE AND ESTABISHED TANK HE WILL DIE BLACK SPOTS ARE SIGNS OF STRESS LEARN WHAT YOUR DOING BEFORE YOU BY THEY ARE VERY SMART ITS SAD YOU MADE A BAD CHOICE
Mandy - 2011-05-01 My dwarf gourami has been laying on it's side at the bottom of the tank all day long and looks to be breathing very fast. It's belly doesn't look swollen and I dont see any unusual spots on it. It seems almost like it's gasping for air. It hasn't eaten any food today. I have 4 other gouramis in my tank but they are doing fine. Can someone please help me figure out what's wrong with my fish??
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Charlie Roche - 2011-05-02 Attached is an article from Animal World, Fish Diseases and Treatment, just click on it. Scroll down and you will come to an area that gives you a brief summary of ailments and symtoms. A little farther down is a list of symptoms and the corresponding treatment. It sounds like you should check the tanks PH and temperature and water condition. Try that first and then if you could tell us a little more, what is happening in the tank, with that fish it would help.
gouramigal - 2011-07-14 My gourami is doing the same thing. It's been hiding and not eating for the past 4 weeks or more and then swims fast to the top of the tank for a mouthful of air and then retreats in its hiding spot. Every now and again it comes out but it seems to be getting worse, laying on its side gasping for air. Others have said dropsy but im not sure seems to be common with this species.
kat - 2013-02-21 I have a powder blue one that was in a 10 gallon with 1 neon and its doing the same swims up gets air n back down to lay on its side I have had him for 6 months and he has been like this for 5 weeks ..... No one seems to know what or why he's like this.
katelyn - 2013-02-24 You need more oxygen in your tank it seems. Go get a air pump air line and a bubble strip. The smaller the surface area and the higher the temps allows amonia to Go Up Causing Them To Not Br Able To Breathe. Getting Plants Also Helps Or Making Sure your Filter Is Hitting Hard And Creating Current If you Have one. Good Luck!
saloni rishi - 2013-02-21 today i found a blood ulcer/wound type on my fantail goldfish near her gill but not on gill. it is bloody and has something white visible string . i saw her closely but can't say it was a parasite or what. plz help my fish is healthy eating well is in 15g tank with one oranda. she is in the tank past 3 months always healthy swimming happily.
Sandra - 2013-02-15 All my fish have slowly died - 4 or 5 each day this week. I am going to throw the remained out and wash the tank etc and start again. Can anyone please advise me what I can use to clean the tank, filter etc, so as I make sure I remove any disease that the tank may have and not kill the fish next time I add them.
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Jeremy Roche - 2013-02-16 Before breaking your tank down and cleaning it, get the water levels checked. You can bring a sample to most pet stores. Mass deaths like this usually happen when a tank has not been cycles or from over stocking. What size take is it? Where there signs of disease?
Aman - 2013-02-02 My friend do fish farming. He is having 3 ponds. Each pond is having 30,000 cat fishes. In one pond we have traced red patches & ulcers. In another white patches. Please suggest what is to be done.
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Jeremy Roche - 2013-02-03 May be an over stocking issue. Add more filtration and check water level.
Aman - 2013-02-07 Mam can i use any medicine to over come the same disease?
Barbara Steiner - 2013-02-04 A friend has 2 6' pond goldfish, each with a 'fingernail' size lump on one side. Other goldfish in pond don't have lumps. No other symptoms...fish seem to feel okay and acting normal. He lives in east Tennessee. In summer he cleans the pond regularly, and uses a filter. I can't find anything similar in searching goldfish problems. Does anyone have information or experience with this?
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Jeremy Roche - 2013-02-04 Could be a bacterial infection. Isolate these fish in a hospital tank. Clean and treat other tsnk as well.
lorraine - 2011-05-09 I have a lion head goldfish and it has growths on both front fins. Is this normal? Does anyone know what this could be? I would be greatfull for any help. He is about 9 years old and lives in my outside pond he. He is a good 10 in or more I dont know how long they live.
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Charlie Roche - 2011-05-09 I tell you one thing, your goldfish is about as big as they get. Not too many grow to 10 inches so he must have had really great care. Now for the white spots. Sounds like ich which is treatable. Click on Fish Diseases and Treatment and scroll down to symptoms. Ich is there at the top and white spots on fins is a symptom. There is also the recommended treatment listed. Now if the spots are cloudy or webby looking it might be a fungal infection but again it is treatable. Goldfish normally live 10 - 15 years but 20 years isn't unusual but there is a record breaker who is now 43 years old. Take a good look at the description of symptoms and I believe you will have your answer. Good luck and let us know.
Clarice Brough - 2011-05-09 What kind of growths? If they look like grey or white cottony patches, it could be a fungal infection. Not sure what other types of growth they could be.
Scott Johnson - 2013-01-15 After adding a few neon tetras to my 55 gallon tank all the fish in it appeared to be completely covered in tiny air bubbles. this occured after having them about 2 weeks. There are only 9 other fish in the tank the largest being 2 3inch silver dollars. Within 3 days all fish had died. Any ideas?
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Clarice Brough - 2013-01-15 What looks like tiny bubbles on fish could be several things. Tiny bubbles can be too caused by too much aeration in the tank. Micro-fine oxygen bubbles in the water can make the water look milky. The bubbles can attach themselves to the gills, fins and scales, and they fish can develop bubbles under the skin. But it could also be a parasite like Ich, which is very common if fish become stressed. If your other fish are fine, and are not getting any bubbles on them, I would suspect Ich.
Lucy - 2012-11-26 I have goldfish with white lumps on its head. their is also a human looking white head type thing too. No loss of appetite and nothing has been changed apart from the water. Im really worried it will spread to the other goldfish
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Jeremy Roche - 2012-11-26 First thing to do is test your water parameters. More than likely it is a fungus. There are many fungus medications on the market. Check here for symptoms and links to the medications.
Clarice Brough - 2012-11-26
Hard to say for sure what those bumps are, lots of possibilities. For example if they have a cottony look to them, then it is most likely fungus. Or they could be damage from an injury from sharp objects, a collision, or possibly from tankmates, which has perhaps has become infected. Or it could merely be the fish equivalent of warts, or possibly a tumor of some kind.
The most important things are that the fish has a large enough tank and really good water quality, i.e. no ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate or less than 20. You are right to worry about your other fish too, but keep in mind that infection does not often run rampant in a tank which has excellent water quality. Keep an eye on them for sure, and you may want to do more research on goldfish diseases if you see any changes. Good luck!
Introduction to aquarium fish diseases and treatments.
Hello everyone! I purchased a blood parrot fish yesterday (or should I say last night) from walmart. I have been so intrigued by 'bella' and have been watching her every move since, so when I noticed her doing some kind of bobbing movement at the top of the tank sort of like she was gasping for air, I pointed it out to my boyfriend and he replied she's ok that's what fish do. Well after 45 mins or so of her doing it I began to panick once I noticed her laying on her side floating!!!! I really don't know what went wrong. I fed her 3 times today and after doing research I realized that my 1.5 tank is entirely to small for her and my water may not be warm enough. Please if you have any more suggestions as to what may be the problem PLEASE let me kmow. My boyfriend changed the water and bella is now stabalized, I just don't want to wake up in the morning and find my first pet EVER .......flatlined!!!! Thank you in advance!
Behaviorial problems are usually a result of tank conditions. Gasping at the surface, swimming sideways etc. Yes, the tank is too small and if the temperature was not properly maintained, this could cause the problem. Hopefully, if you corected it quickly, all should be OK. So check you water conditions, temperature, PH etc.
Thank you so much
Bella is going to get to be 8 inches when she's grown up. You need at least a 55 gallon tank. They also like the water on the warmer side, I keep mine at 80. BPs also need regular water changes of 25-30% weekly. A betta would be a better choice for your little tank :) This is a good reason not to buy from Walmart, the salesperson should have told you this especially with this fish since it is scientifically impossible not to fall in love with their cuteness...I was hooked on first sight too!
Gaping is a behavior that most fish perform when they are in an oxygen poor environment. It is possible (given the size of your fish tank) that there is an insufficient amount of O2 in your tank to sustain the fishes metabolic processes. I would strongly recommend a larger tank. And some reading on your part about your new pet.
Parrot fish release a lot of ammonia. Require 60 gal tank or 30 with300 gal filter. The tank must have a developed nitrogen cycle bractria takes months must be bought. 150 watt metal halide with plants help greatly. All tanks must cycle ammonia aka piss and shit roten food plants to nitrite also highly poisonous to nitrite less harmful to a harmless gas tht is the cycle when adding fish you must add befetial bactria not cheap crap from walmart only petco or a pet store. Still requires monthy testing for all these,and 50% water change when issues arise maybe even two on different days .CLEAR WATER CAN BE POISONOUS TAP WATER CAN BE NO INSTANT FIXES MUST DEVELPE AND ESTABISHED TANK HE WILL DIE BLACK SPOTS ARE SIGNS OF STRESS LEARN WHAT YOUR DOING BEFORE YOU BY THEY ARE VERY SMART ITS SAD YOU MADE A BAD CHOICE
My dwarf gourami has been laying on it's side at the bottom of the tank all day long and looks to be breathing very fast. It's belly doesn't look swollen and I dont see any unusual spots on it. It seems almost like it's gasping for air. It hasn't eaten any food today. I have 4 other gouramis in my tank but they are doing fine. Can someone please help me figure out what's wrong with my fish??
Attached is an article from Animal World, Fish Diseases and Treatment, just click on it. Scroll down and you will come to an area that gives you a brief summary of ailments and symtoms. A little farther down is a list of symptoms and the corresponding treatment.
It sounds like you should check the tanks PH and temperature and water condition. Try that first and then if you could tell us a little more, what is happening in the tank, with that fish it would help.
My gourami is doing the same thing. It's been hiding and not eating for the past 4 weeks or more and then swims fast to the top of the tank for a mouthful of air and then retreats in its hiding spot. Every now and again it comes out but it seems to be getting worse, laying on its side gasping for air. Others have said dropsy but im not sure seems to be common with this species.
I have a powder blue one that was in a 10 gallon with 1 neon and its doing the same swims up gets air n back down to lay on its side I have had him for 6 months and he has been like this for 5 weeks ..... No one seems to know what or why he's like this.
You need more oxygen in your tank it seems. Go get a air pump air line and a bubble strip. The smaller the surface area and the higher the temps allows amonia to Go Up Causing Them To Not Br Able To Breathe. Getting Plants Also Helps Or Making Sure your Filter Is Hitting Hard And Creating Current If you Have one. Good Luck!
today i found a blood ulcer/wound type on my fantail goldfish near her gill but not on gill. it is bloody and has something white visible string . i saw her closely but can't say it was a parasite or what. plz help my fish is healthy eating well is in 15g tank with one oranda. she is in the tank past 3 months always healthy swimming happily.
All my fish have slowly died - 4 or 5 each day this week. I am going to throw the remained out and wash the tank etc and start again. Can anyone please advise me what I can use to clean the tank, filter etc, so as I make sure I remove any disease that the tank may have and not kill the fish next time I add them.
Before breaking your tank down and cleaning it, get the water levels checked. You can bring a sample to most pet stores. Mass deaths like this usually happen when a tank has not been cycles or from over stocking. What size take is it? Where there signs of disease?
My friend do fish farming. He is having 3 ponds. Each pond is having 30,000 cat fishes. In one pond we have traced red patches & ulcers. In another white patches. Please suggest what is to be done.
May be an over stocking issue. Add more filtration and check water level.
Mam can i use any medicine to over come the same disease?
Correction: the goldfish are 6' long, not 6'.
A friend has 2 6' pond goldfish, each with a 'fingernail' size lump on one side. Other goldfish in pond don't have lumps. No other symptoms...fish seem to feel okay and acting normal. He lives in east Tennessee. In summer he cleans the pond regularly, and uses a filter. I can't find anything similar in searching goldfish problems. Does anyone have information or experience with this?
Could be a bacterial infection. Isolate these fish in a hospital tank. Clean and treat other tsnk as well.
I have a lion head goldfish and it has growths on both front fins. Is this normal? Does anyone know what this could be? I would be greatfull for any help. He is about 9 years old and lives in my outside pond he. He is a good 10 in or more I dont know how long they live.
I tell you one thing, your goldfish is about as big as they get. Not too many grow to 10 inches so he must have had really great care. Now for the white spots. Sounds like ich which is treatable. Click on Fish Diseases and Treatment and scroll down to symptoms. Ich is there at the top and white spots on fins is a symptom. There is also the recommended treatment listed. Now if the spots are cloudy or webby looking it might be a fungal infection but again it is treatable. Goldfish normally live 10 - 15 years but 20 years isn't unusual but there is a record breaker who is now 43 years old. Take a good look at the description of symptoms and I believe you will have your answer. Good luck and let us know.
What kind of growths? If they look like grey or white cottony patches, it could be a fungal infection. Not sure what other types of growth they could be.
After adding a few neon tetras to my 55 gallon tank all the fish in it appeared to be completely covered in tiny air bubbles. this occured after having them about 2 weeks. There are only 9 other fish in the tank the largest being 2 3inch silver dollars. Within 3 days all fish had died. Any ideas?
What looks like tiny bubbles on fish could be several things. Tiny bubbles can be too caused by too much aeration in the tank. Micro-fine oxygen bubbles in the water can make the water look milky. The bubbles can attach themselves to the gills, fins and scales, and they fish can develop bubbles under the skin. But it could also be a parasite like Ich, which is very common if fish become stressed. If your other fish are fine, and are not getting any bubbles on them, I would suspect Ich.
I have goldfish with white lumps on its head. their is also a human looking white head type thing too. No loss of appetite and nothing has been changed apart from the water. Im really worried it will spread to the other goldfish
First thing to do is test your water parameters. More than likely it is a fungus. There are many fungus medications on the market. Check here for symptoms and links to the medications.
Hard to say for sure what those bumps are, lots of possibilities. For example if they have a cottony look to them, then it is most likely fungus. Or they could be damage from an injury from sharp objects, a collision, or possibly from tankmates, which has perhaps has become infected. Or it could merely be the fish equivalent of warts, or possibly a tumor of some kind.
The most important things are that the fish has a large enough tank and really good water quality, i.e. no ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate or less than 20. You are right to worry about your other fish too, but keep in mind that infection does not often run rampant in a tank which has excellent water quality. Keep an eye on them for sure, and you may want to do more research on goldfish diseases if you see any changes. Good luck!