Goldfish has buoyancy problem--PLEASE HELP

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Milwaukee Mike

New Fish
#1
Jun 17, 2013
6
0
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#1
Hello:

My goldfish ("Spot"), a fantail about 2.5" to 3" long, is usually very active; however, for the last 48 hours, he has barely left the bottom of the tank, sitting with his belly on the gravel. Now, there's nothing visually wrong with him, except for his fins being limp against his body, and he isn't leaning to one side or another. In fact, if you tap on the glass, he's able to swim off the bottom and appears almost normal; however, as soon as the tapping stops, he invariably sinks down to the bottom and remains there almost motionless.

I have no idea what could be causing this. It may be related to the water change I did Saturday morning, but I treated the water the way I always do and I've never had a problem like this before.

Last Friday, I added a 1.25" bristlenose pleco to help with my algae problem. The pleco appears to be staying about as far away from Spot as he possibly can. He's having no problems at all, which makes me think it isn't water quality, though I could be wrong.

I feed him a diet of almost all flake food, so I figured he might be constipated. I fed him a couple peas after I'd taken the shell off (very early Sunday morning) to see if that helps, and so far, his condition has remained unchanged.

I have a 20 gallon tank and the temperature is hovering in the low 70s lately.

I've read about adding a tiny bit of aquarium salt to fix his swim bladder, the pea trick to help with constipation, fasting him to help him get through this, etc. I have no idea where to start. I haven't fed him anything (the 2 peeled peas) since Sunday morning? Does anybody have any ideas?
 

M

Milwaukee Mike

New Fish
#2
Jun 17, 2013
6
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#2
Update: I'm leaning toward constipation/blockage as the culprit. He's jut now passing pea that he ate 36 hours ago.

Should I keep fasting him or should I give him a drop of olive oil to speed it up?
 

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OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#6
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#6
Milwaukee Mike said:
the in-rushing water stirred-up a bunch of long pieces of black, thin stool.
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Do you vacuum the gravel when you do water changes?

You mentioned you have a 20 gallon tank. This is normally considered the minimum size for a single fancy goldfish. Adding a pleco (which are tropical fish and need higher water temperatures than a goldfish) will likely push the tank into water quality issues. Do you know the kind of pleco you have? The 'common' variety can grow 2feet in length or more, and are (as goldfish are) tremendous waste producers.
 

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M

Milwaukee Mike

New Fish
#7
Jun 17, 2013
6
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#7
Alright. Ran the full battery of water tests. Ammonia is 0. Nitrates and Nitrites are both nothing or next to nothing (2.5 and 0, respectively), well below the danger zone. In short, everything looked superb, though PH was 6.6 and I'm wondering if I need to bring it up somehow.

I put him in a hanging mesh basket to get him off the bottom, added a small bit of aquarium salt per the instructions, and administered Maracyn 2 just in case he picked up something from the new addition to the tank. [KEEPING FINGERS CROSSED.]

To answer a couple questions, 1) I always vacuum my gravel, and 2) the pleco is only about 1.00" or 1.25" and, per the fella at the store, is of a variety that will reach a maximum of four or five inches over several years. If it becomes a problem, it's out.
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#8
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
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#8
Large fluctuations in pH cause problems. I would not be concerned about your reading unless its vastly different than your tap water.

What kit are you using to to test? I've not seen a level of 2.5 for nitrates on any kit I've used.
 

M

Milwaukee Mike

New Fish
#11
Jun 17, 2013
6
0
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#11
OrangeCones said:
You should see ammonia as yellow if it is zero. Any green tint and it is reading some ammonia.

You should see nitrite as blue if it is zero. Any purple tint and it is reading some nitrite.

There is no reading of 2.5 for nitrate. It starts at zero (yellow) and goes up by adding orange concentrations. It starts at 5, then 10, then 20, then 40, then 80 and lastly 160.
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I am fully capable of following directions. The ammonia was pure yellow. The nitrate was solid blue, no purple. Also, as to "there is no 2.5," what would you call a color that shows up exactly between "0" and "5" on the color chart? I was never a math major, but "2.5" would seem to fit the bill.

As to the pleco, I have given the length of it twice now. If would recommend that you google "bristlenose pleco" to get an idea and picture one at the stated length.
 

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