Hello! I am really worried about my large goldfish, Monster, who is suddenly very ill.
Monster is about 11in long and probably about 8-9 years old (he was a "gift" from a customer back when I still worked at an LFS, so I don't know for sure - he started as a feeder fish and just never got eaten!). He lives in a 60 gallon tank (w/ 10 gallon sump filter) with a large plecostomus (~16" - I realize that this tank is kind of too small for him, but it was a temporary situation. This pleco was also a "gift" and he will be moving into a 90 gallon tank in the next few days) five other goldfish who, though fairly large, are all noticeably smaller than him. This tank has been established for about a year and a half with the only change being the addition of the pleco a few months ago. I just did a water change on Tuesday, and have not tested the parameters since. I will update this post with that information soon, but I am so worried and think this is so urgent that I wanted to get this up ASAP.
As of yesterday morning, Monster seemed okay except his lips have been red and puffy for about a week. I thought that he must've "kissed" the plecostomus, so I've been keeping an eye on them and adding stress coat (actually Stress Guard by Seachem) to the water to encourage healing. His lips did not seem to be getting worse and in fact seemed a little bit better though still red and puffy. They were not hindering his ability to eat or breath, and other than his lips he looked and was behaving normally.
This morning I went downstairs to feed my fish and Monster looks absolutely awful. His lips have turned white, his body is patchy and turning white, all of his fins look rotted (the "veins" in them still stand up but they look torn in between), and he is floating around somewhat vertically without much care for where he is...he seems weak and very, very sick. I have tried to take some pictures but unfortunately they don't accurately show what he looks like. I've included them anyway to give you some idea, but they're not very accurate (please note that his eyes are fine; they only look weird in some of the pictures due to the reflection of the light that I was shining in the tank to be able to take the pictures). All of the other fish in the tank seem 100% normal.
The only tank I have available right now to use as a quarantine tank is a 10 gallon which seems too small for him to be in even temporarily, but I am willing to put him there if you all think it would be beneficial.
Please help me. I really love this fish and I have never seen this before...I do not know what to do. The closest fish vet is 40 minutes from me and it is -25° F with windchill outside right now so I am not sure Monster could handle the stress of the trip.
Thank you so much!!
-Ailey (and Monster
)
Monster is about 11in long and probably about 8-9 years old (he was a "gift" from a customer back when I still worked at an LFS, so I don't know for sure - he started as a feeder fish and just never got eaten!). He lives in a 60 gallon tank (w/ 10 gallon sump filter) with a large plecostomus (~16" - I realize that this tank is kind of too small for him, but it was a temporary situation. This pleco was also a "gift" and he will be moving into a 90 gallon tank in the next few days) five other goldfish who, though fairly large, are all noticeably smaller than him. This tank has been established for about a year and a half with the only change being the addition of the pleco a few months ago. I just did a water change on Tuesday, and have not tested the parameters since. I will update this post with that information soon, but I am so worried and think this is so urgent that I wanted to get this up ASAP.
As of yesterday morning, Monster seemed okay except his lips have been red and puffy for about a week. I thought that he must've "kissed" the plecostomus, so I've been keeping an eye on them and adding stress coat (actually Stress Guard by Seachem) to the water to encourage healing. His lips did not seem to be getting worse and in fact seemed a little bit better though still red and puffy. They were not hindering his ability to eat or breath, and other than his lips he looked and was behaving normally.
This morning I went downstairs to feed my fish and Monster looks absolutely awful. His lips have turned white, his body is patchy and turning white, all of his fins look rotted (the "veins" in them still stand up but they look torn in between), and he is floating around somewhat vertically without much care for where he is...he seems weak and very, very sick. I have tried to take some pictures but unfortunately they don't accurately show what he looks like. I've included them anyway to give you some idea, but they're not very accurate (please note that his eyes are fine; they only look weird in some of the pictures due to the reflection of the light that I was shining in the tank to be able to take the pictures). All of the other fish in the tank seem 100% normal.
The only tank I have available right now to use as a quarantine tank is a 10 gallon which seems too small for him to be in even temporarily, but I am willing to put him there if you all think it would be beneficial.
Please help me. I really love this fish and I have never seen this before...I do not know what to do. The closest fish vet is 40 minutes from me and it is -25° F with windchill outside right now so I am not sure Monster could handle the stress of the trip.
Thank you so much!!
-Ailey (and Monster
)