lazy blackmoor fish

[squall50008]

Hi i was wondering if anybody could help me i have had my blackmoor for about 2 weeks and he just lays down the bottom of the tank until i feed him.

The pet store advised me to put in aquarium salt when i do a water change but everytime i put aquarium salt in my tank my fish get sick.

I have a 28l tank with only the black moor i am wanting to get another goldfish but don't want to until my little guy is better.

Can anyone help me with this issue?,it would be much appreciated.

Thank you very much

squall50008

 

[MissFishy]

Did you just set up this tank? Has it cycled? If you just set up the tank, the fish could be suffering from ammonia poisoning which can be quickly fatal. Read up on cycling a tank in the link in my signature or the freshwater stickies. What are your water parameters?

 

[squall50008]

Hi yes i have just set up the tank about 2 and a half weeks ago i went to the pet store today and they tested my water for me but they didn't tell me the parameters, all i know is that there was a bit of amonia and my ph was too high so i put some ph down in the tank and i also bought a amonia remover ball and put that into the tank near the filter like they said.

His tail i have noticed is not as open and flowing as when i bought him, it is closed and sort of hangs together.

Do you have any more ideas i would love to hear them.

 

[MissFishy]

Oh boy...first idea, do NOT take any more advice from that pet store. They sold you way too much stuff that you do NOT need and that has probably done more harm than good. i.e. messing with your PH. You need to immediately do at least a 75% water change to get some of the ammonia out of the tank as it is probably killing your fish. Next, you need to throw out the PH down and never use it again. After that, take the time to read through the link in my signature on "cycling a tank." This will explain what is going on with your poor fish, he is dying from ammonia poisoning and this can be easily fixed if you take the time to understand it. I have no idea what an "ammonia ball" is, but it sounds like something they made some money on selling to you as you don't need whatever it is. After you've done the water change, take a sample of your water to the pet store, ask them to write down the parameters, specifically ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and PH and bring those numbers back here and post them. Do NOT let them tell you what else you need to buy. Remember, they are there to sell you stuff and often have no idea what they're talking about. Come here for neutral and accurate advice.

 

[Seleya]

Your immediate concern is to safely cycle this tank with the fish in it.

You will need to get test kits -- ammonia and nitrite for the immediate future, nitrate within a few weeks. The dropper style tests are typically considerably more accurate and economical than the test strips.

The fish store should have given you the numbers from the test, otherwise, why test??? You cannot rely on them anyways as you need to test the tank daily at first and weekly as the cycle progresses and you can more closely understand the trends. Water changes, water changes, water changes. No more chemicals unless in an absolute emergency [in which case Ammolock is an option but should not be considered a solution, just a band-aid until the water can be sorted out]

A 28 l tank can support small goldfish for a little while if you keep right on top of the water changes. They will, however, rapidly outgrow that tank. With your moor and a friend, you will eventually need a minimum of a 100 l tank, with a good surface area [wide, not tall tanks].

Is he eating readily? Moves when disturbed but otherwise stays on the bottom? Yawning? You may also be dealing with flukes, which are pretty common on goldfish. Where are you located? The treatment of choice is praziquantel, which is very, very safe and will not impact your biofilter. To use it, you need to do as large a water change as possible as it reacts first with organic compounds.