How should I treat fish with pop-eye and fin-rot?

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Katie

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The BEST thing to use is Maracyn2. it treats both, and is the best medication I have in the fish medication box. I barely use anything else anymore. It even treats more than it says on and inside the package. It has cured several of my fish when I didn't know what was wrong with them, some of them even closer to death than yours sounds like. you just need to start treating ASAP if you want to save them.
You can get it at petsmart and petco, and private fish shops.
Walmart doesn't carry it.
Melafix says it will treat fin rot, but most people will tell you it doesn't really work, so don't waste your money. Use the best available.
 
I have had my two fish for about two and a half years now. One goldfish (won from the fair) and one shubunkin from the pet shop. They are both in a 21 litre tank and have been fine until now - however now the goldfish appears to have pop-eye in both eyes and one has clouded over. Also his tail fin has started to "rot" and appears torn. My shubunkin is lying on the bottom of the tank but doesn't seem to have any physical problems. Neither of them are eating very much either.

So far I have tried Interpet treatment 9 (Anti-Internal Bacteria), Myxazin and Aquarium salts and none have seemed to help. Today I have just done very large water change and cleaned the tank gravel in case it's some sort of an imbalance in the water to try and help.

What should I do next? I'm guessing I'll lose them eventually if I don't try something else.
By the way I'm in the UK.
 
Like Katie said, treat them with Maracyn-Two. It is one of the best all-around antibiotics made for fish. It may be too late for your fish, they sound pretty far gone, but could be worth a try. Good luck!
 
Well it could be a number of things, do you have parasites in your tank? Certain parasites can appear in the tank if you feed your fish too much for example, the remaining food attracts the parasites. These parasites can then attatch themselves to the fish and start eating away at them, which could be the cause of the fin rot. Its quite easy to tell if they are there as they will be more than likely on the glass of your tank or on the fish. Look out for very small moving white bugs.

The other one thats lying on the bottom, may have something more serious, although it could also be swim bladder. This is also caused by parasites or a viral infection. This will cause the fish to lose its boyancy. Some people pre soak the food before putting it in the tank to avoid the fish swallowing air. Another reason could be skin flukes, again caused by parasites. These parasites will be about 2mm in length.

I would check the PH, GH and KH levels in the tank. Test for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Change the water once a week, if you have gravel be careful not to stir up the bottom too much. Dont overfeed the fish. One thing some people try is putting 2 pre-shelled peas in the tank, this provides them with certain nutrients which can help constipation, as they may have that too.

Good luck, maybe scoop them out and get them to a specialist if things dont improve soon. Always remember to re-climatise the fish before sticking them back in the newly changed water, do this by putting them in individual bags, place them in the newly filled tank and leave them for about 20 mins minimum.
 
Goldfish won at the fair, most likely a common or comet. They should grow to about 10-12 inches. Shubunkin about 10 inches. With that said, and you're serious about getting these guys to live to their full potential life span of 20+ years, you really need a larger tank. Ideally a 55 gallon/208 litre tank will be needed, but for now, 30gallons/113 litres as a minimum would work for a short time with plans to upgrade to the larger size in the near future.

Popeye and fin/tail rot are usually brought on by poor water quality. 1 goldfish alone needs at least a 15-20 gallon/ 75 litre tank to start out with. Your tank is about 5 gallons, which is really only suitable for a betta. There's no way to keep the water quality good with even one goldfish, much less two in a 5 gallon tank.

So, for now, I would suggest doing daily water changes of 50%. Feed them every other day, and only once a day, just what they'll eat in a few minutes. Net out any uneaten food. Get that larger tank asap. Don't use aquarium salt in the tank, that's not good when dealing with dropsy or popeye, makes them retain more fluids. Just keep up with the water changes. That should be enough to allow them to heal on their own. Again, I strongly suggest the larger tank, there's no way around it. After 2 years, those fish should ideally be around 6-8 inches or larger, and I have a feeling they're no where near that. So, that means they're also stunted. Good luck!


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It may be too late by the looks of it. The one that is on the bottom of the floor probably has an internal problem like tumour etc. Ive found with goldfish that you need to keep the water very clean, not just tap water too. You can buy special filters to filter the tap water so its okay, and then need to be cleaned out once a week. Having real plants will help keep them healthy.

There is a treatment called Mellafix which is excellent(im not sure if its spelt like that but it sounds like that) But it actually works and is very good. You should be able to get it easily.

Good luck
 
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