Topic: My Black Moor Is Sick :(.............Please help

[user26]

I have 5 fish in total.


3 of them are goldfish and 1 inch in length.

the other 2, a black moor and another goldfish are 2 inches in length.

Is the tank too small for them?

[RinsMom]

Back at the beginning of the thread, there were at least 2 posts that said your tank is way overcrowded.  In other words, yes, your tank is WAY too small for them.

Even though your fish are "small" right now, goldfish are big waste producers and are poisoning their own water with their waste.

One post recommended 20 gallons for the FIRST goldfish, and 10 gallons for each goldfish after that.  So... for 5 goldfish, you would need at least 60 gallons for those goldfish to be healthy and happy.

Goldfish can grow very quickly given good food and good living conditions.  My daughter had one that went from feeder goldfish size (about 1") to 5" in about 4 months.  After we put it in our pond out back, he has continued to grow and is now about 9" or larger (in 1 1/2 years).

Fish in overcrowded tanks can die quickly from disease caused by poor water quality.

You can't see poor water quality.  The poor water quality is caused by the build-up of ammonia, NitrIte, and NitrAte which comes from their waste (poop).  It can look crystal clear and still have very high NitrAte and ammonia levels in the water.

[user26]

I can't do anything really, besides changing the water, I'll be giving the tank to an expert fish care taker in a couple of months but now the black moor has gotten a lot worse.
HE became bad after i went for holidays, i gave the tank to a friend of mine & when I got back the moor was discoloured and all.(this was in july last year), he lost his colour and had developed a lot of whiteness.
Now he's quite bad, I'll post a pic of him tomorrow and of the medicine I'm going to use, I'm sorry, but I can't afford a bigger tank, I really can't.

Please help me to do the best I can.

[Cholly]

It's not going to replace a huge filter and some tank volume(bigger tank), but if you do daily 50% water changes, it will help. Don't forget to dechlorinate and try to match the water temperature as closely as you can, thermal shock can easily kill with large water changes. It's possible to change 75% or more successfully, if you match the temperature closely enough(I did two 90% changes in three hours when a toddler poured liquid soap in two of my tanks)

[user26]

Hi again, I have some more questions, while doing a water change, is it ok if I boil the water(to dechlorinate) it and then use it after a day or so, or just keep the water as it is for a day and then use it the next day?(what do you guys do?, i don't have that kind of dechlorinate kit and nor does the pet shop)
Also about my black moor(mr. oggles), he used to be jet black, as black as ever! when i got him(some family friends gave them to me) they were all fine and all.( I have Black moor x1
Goldfish x3) but then i went for holidays and when i came back i saw he was different, had lost color and seemed different.
The goldfish are absolutely fine, no problem whatsoever, I'm attaching a pic of the black moor, please tell me what I can do within my reach to make him better, also I'm attaching a pic of how he was a year back and now and also of the medicine the guys at the 'fish shop' gave me, just tell me if its good or if i should go in for something else(the name is leader anti points blanc, active ingredients are methylene blue with anhydrodi & triphenylmethanol), please tell me how many water changes and doses.

PICS:-
I've attached them, the first 2 are of how he is now and the last one is of how he was before
Before( a year ago)


(if any of the medicine i will have to use)

Thanks


PS:
I know my tank is small(I have a rectangular fish tank, Length-37 cm, Breadth-25 cm, Depth-24 cm), Im sorry but if I give them away theres no one who has a bigger tank and at the pet store, they will be given away and who knows what will happen to them, i can't think of leaving them, I love them a lot!
The place where I'm currently staying(i don't want to say the country), people don't know anything about fish keeping, especially the guys at the fish shop, they say I can add more fish to tank(yeah right), I mean all they care about is the money, not the fish, so no use of their help, but I trust you guys well so please help me with this and if you're having any trouble with your pc please feel free to ask me as I'm an expert in that field.

[Cholly]

Don't boil the water, that totally removes the oxygen while actually doing nothing to the chlorine. As long as your water contains chorine only, no chloramine, letting it set 24 hours in an open container will allow any chlorine to evaporate out without reducing the oxygen content.

Actually color changes in moors until adulthood are fairly common, his color won't fully settle until it's nearly full size. Medication is not needed at this time.

I didn't recognize any of the active ingredients but the methylene blue, which has been often used for external parasites like ich. Hopefully you won't need it, many problems can "cured" just by improving water quality by changing water and it looks like you have taken our water change recommendations to heart, the focus is little fuzzy, but your fish looks like he/she is in good health.

Hopefully you can get a bigger tank before it becomes a major issue, in the meantime, keep up your water changes and good luck!

[user26]

sorry, i just need to clarify on one issue, the first 2 pics of the attachment i had taken yesterday and the last one was taken a year ago(in which he's full black)

I'm worried he's sick, his color has changed a lot in the recent pics.

[RinsMom]

It is rare to find a pure black black moor... it is common for them to change color to rust or orange as they get older.  He does look fairly healthy now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Moor

[user26]

OK, thanks, but his fins seem different, i'm worried about that, are they ok?
Any idea on his age, cause I don't know how old he is cause i got him from a friend who got him from another friend.

[RinsMom]

His fins look fine...... where he is more orange, they will be light, also.

No real way to tell age.....  but I've had lots of goldfish that change from black to orange, and also ones that changed from orange to pure white.