Hey new to this and very worried about my fish!
He is showing terrible signs of fin rot. Clamped fins and his tail is shredded and i think he has got a secondary fungal infection as well.
I was away for two weeks and my dad was looking after my fish and didn't notice his deterioration when i came back i noticed Vic (fish name after Vic Rattlehead,, iv had him for about a year and a half with no problems) was staying on the bottom of the tank. This was on the 30th of July. I did a 3/4 water change and treated the water with Gold Disease Safe.
Then did a full water change yesterday because the quality of the water was not improving. Treated the water again. The redness around the tail has gone down slightly and it is still eating.
It is in a tank on its own (its one of the elite kits you get the weird shaped tapered tanks, 15inches long at the front, 11inches at the back, width is 8 1/2 inches and 10 inch deep). The tank uses an elite mini filter. Iv got it on low because the suction was too strong for my sick fish.
Is there anything that could help Vic more than i am already doing? i feel so bad he has got into such a state and i don't feel like i can do much.
Any advice would be very much appreciated!

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I hope you can get to these and they help.

Would it be possible for you to upload the other images through Photobucket or Imageshack and copy and paste the IMG codes? I don't have a Facebook account so I can't see three of the photos.

Poor water quality is the main cause of disease. This can be due to overstocking, overfeeding, inadequate filtration and lack of maintenance.

Going by the photo I can see, the fish is indeed suffering from what appears to be quite advanced finrot. Finrot is a bacterial infection which involves pathogenic bacteria including Aeromonas, Pseudomonas or Flexibacter, which are present in all bodies of water.

To tell you the truth, the tank is too small for a goldfish. Common goldfish in particular can grow very large (upto 30cm/12"), produce an incredible amount of waste, and should really be kept in a pond. Going by the dimensions you've provided, the tank holds around 15-20 litres, which isn't big enough.

Do you have a liquid test kit? If so, could you provide the test results for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If you don't have one, I'd suggest buying one immediately from an aquatic store.

The only way to successfully treat this fully is to move the fish into larger quarters indefinitely. You need to buy a larger tank, and obtain some mature filter media from another fishkeeper. It is vital that water quality is improved to reduce stress on the fish. In such a small volume of water, toxic ammonia (a by-product of fish metabolism which is excreted via the gills) could be accumulating within the space of a few hours. Ammonia can be lethal even in small concentrations and its toxicity in water increases with pH and temperature.

I would also suggest disposing of the treatment you are currently using. Broad-spectrum medications aren't particularly effective. eSHA labs 2000 is a powerful anti-finrot treatment, and I've had a lot of success using this product.

If you manage to sort out the problem now, the odds of the fish surviving are rather good (about 60:40 actually). Keep an eye open for any secondary fungal infections. Don't bother feeding the fish for a while, and focus on keeping water quality at satisfactory levels. This means a stable pH, a zero reading of ammonia and nitrite and a low level of nitrate.

thank you so much for such a detailed and helpful response. I am really beginning to hate large chain pet stores. No one has ever mentioned about that tank being too small before and was sold to me as being able to hold 2 large goldfish or 3 small ones. I dont have anything bigger to put it in now and don't have the money for a new tank....is there anything you can suggest for the time being?
I will get to my closest pet shop and get specific treatment and water testing kit.
I feel so bad, Im really upset by the whole thing I had no idea about the size of the tank being an issue for
one lone fish you think all the leaflets and stuff they give you tell you everything.
Thank you so much again!
you have been very helpful.

thatg was the kit i mentioned in the other thread & the medicine. i would isolate him so the others are not being treated also as they may become immune to the medicine. do you have some aquarium slat to help perk him up a little? might damage the fresh plants if you have them but thats less important than helpig him feel better!

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Bad advice is rife amongst large chain stores, who tend to put profits before the welfare of the animals they are selling. Free leaflets are laid out to catch out customers and they are a sneaky way to advertise products which are next to useless. The descriptions put onto aquarium packaging are nearly always misleading, but unfortunately noone can put a stop to it. A good forum (like this one) is the most reliable source of info.

If you have a garden centre nearby, a large plastic container (preferably new) would do until you can raise funds for a larger tank. Ask around on a few other fishkeeping forums to track down a filter, a used Eheim classic external model (these are going for about £30) would do. While you won't be able to cycle it, plenty of water changes and minimal feeding will keep ammonia and nitrite in check.

Hey sweetie,

We got our tank from p@h for about £30 (without the lid, add about £10 for the lid) it's L30"xW1ftxH15" the make is Clear Seal and has a gold sea horse on the rim.

As I know your going there tonight. Darn if only your dad told you sooner, you could have come to riverside aqauria, as they will be alot more helpful than the people at p@h as Roddy's mum has just bought some fish that have come down with fin rot as well and gave her a rubbish medicine to give them. They were quite pushy with her.

Hope you find what your looking for

aquarium slat? The only place i can go at the last minute now is Pets at home. Would they have this and do they stock decent treatments?
Im so worried i am going to do the wrong thing.
I am also going to look at decent sized tanks like my other.
There are no live plants in my aqarium. And it is the only fish in the tank so no other fish will be effected.
I just feel so bad that because of misinformation iv put my fish through undue stress and illness from which it may not recover.

There is clearly a secondary fungal infection. How do i treat both safley?

this is the tank poor wee vic is in. Stupid Acorn pet stores!

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