ill fish

Question
QUESTION: Hi I have 2 fish at in my tank, a gold fish which is fine and a moonlight fish which is ill, it has been swimming erratically and now floats about at the surface bent over in an arch it is still managing to feed but i think its blind also, what should I do?

ANSWER: Claire,

First off, those 2 fish should not be in the same tank. The goldfish is a cold water fish and the moonlight is a tropical fish and needs the water temp to be between 80 and 86 degrees.Before I can answer, i have a question or 2 for you. What are you feeding them? What are your water readings? Since goldfish don't have stomachs, they cannot digest their food, and it comes right back out as ammonia. I'm thinking your ammonia is way too high, and the moonlight is suffering. I would check your water readings on nitrites, nitrates, ammonia and ph. Are you doing any weekly water changes? If your ammonia readings are up, I would say he is most likely suffering from ammonia poisoning. I would REMOVE HIM FROM THAT TANK IMMEDIATELY, and place him in your hospital tank. Set the heater to 84 degrees and maybe put an air stone in with him. I would do a water change every three days. Don't forget to condition the water before you put him in. I will be able to help you more once i get the answers to my question. I will wait to hear from you.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi im sorry I gave you the wrong name, its a black moor fish not a moonlight, i think i may be feeding them to much, just read an article sujesting you only feed the fish 2 flakes of food twice a day is this right? I have been giving them a pinch twice a day. I dont have a device to check the water readings and temp but the food is aquarian goldfish flake food.

Answer
Claire,

  No problem on the confusion. Its sounds to me like your Moor has swim bladder. Common causes are constipation, gulping air while eating at the surface. I would fast the fish for 2 or 3 days and then feed him a pea. Make sure the pea is lightly steamed and you take the outer cover of the pea before you feed them the inside. I would invest in a heater. You do not have to have a heater but it helps when treating swim bladder. You can turn it up to 78-80 degrees while treating the sick fish. I would also add a 1/8 teaspoon of Epsom salt to the water. I would stop feeding them twice a day and go for once a day. A pinch isn't bad as long as its a small one. Actually, I would stop feeding them flakes, and change their food to pellets. They sink when you put them in, so the fish don't grab air while eating them like they do while eating the flakes. You also cannot over feed them, just follow the directions on the bottle. You goldfish will try to convince you he is starving, but he isn't. I would also suggest strongly that you acquire a water testing kits. Try to got the liquid testings not the strips, because the strips give false readings. I would also start doing 25% water changes every 3 days since goldfish are very messy fish. If the ammonia get too high in their water, they will become very ill and possibly die. VERY IMPORTANT that you do water changes even if you have a filter. I hope this helps.