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[hoangphan]

Yeah, i have a calico fantail and it sinks then floats, and keeps doing this, any ideas on why? Also, any information that i can get on these Period, would be GREAT. THANKS!

[Bojangles]

Yeah, i have a calico fantail and it sinks then floats, and keeps doing this, any ideas on why? Also, any information that i can get on these Period, would be GREAT. THANKS!

Swim bladder disease. Far as I remember there is no cure for it. You get it by feeding flakes or other floating food. The fish gasps too much air on top because they cant see in front of their faces. I used to manage a fish store and Ive seen alot of people with this problem.

He might recover if the swim bladder isn't broken and it'll just take a few days to expell the condition. Hope he makes it.

[seamaiden]

There are cures that can be effected, it starts with feeding things like frozen green peas squeezed out of their skins. The other types of cures involve puncturing the swim bladder, so I wouldn't recommend it for someone with pretty much no experience.

Go to http://www.wetwebmedia.com - they actually have sections just on goldfish and you can write in to get your questions answered more in depth (do them a favor, though, and use their Google search tool first).

Start here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebInde ... malnut.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebInde ... isease.htm

Follow the links!

[hoangphan]

Thank you guys so much, but, highly unfortunately, the little guy was found dead this morning. Oh, do you guys know if Calicos eat bloodworms?

[Bojangles]

Thank you guys so much, but, highly unfortunately, the little guy was found dead this morning. Oh, do you guys know if Calicos eat bloodworms?

They do, but they make more mess than its worth. Because their eyes are on the sides of their head, they dont pick them out of the gravel very well. I kept a fancy goldfish tank for my auntie and I fed frozen brine and sinking Hakari pellets. Gets some loaches to help you pick out the left over food. I suggest dojo, kuli and horsehead loaches but stay away from clown loaches because they are very sensitive to water temp and cory cats that will fit into the larger goldfish's mouth often by accident.

[hoangphan]

Ok, so, I guess loaches are fish that can be kept in a tank with fancies then, oh, and the bloodworms i have are freeze dried, so they keep floating, well, I noticed that my fantail eats it before it can sink, so I dont really know if the worms do sink or not.

[Bojangles]

Ok, so, I guess loaches are fish that can be kept in a tank with fancies then, oh, and the bloodworms i have are freeze dried, so they keep floating, well, I noticed that my fantail eats it before it can sink, so I dont really know if the worms do sink or not.

It'll sink when it thaws out. The reason you thaw it is so that they arent gasping on the surface for food. Thats what causes them to suck in large amounts of air, which is one of the causes for swim bladder complications.

[hoangphan]

ooo, ok. Wait, how do you thaw them? I mean, they arent cold or actually frozen, thats just the way they were prepared; now they are just dry.

[seamaiden]

There's a big difference between freeze-dried and frozen ANYTHING.

You're going to keep killing your fancies if you don't start feeding them a LOT more vegetable matter. Things like spirulina, fresh zucchini, spinach (give the land plants a brief trip into boiling water or a microwave to help break down the cellulose), frozen green peas squeezed out of their skins.

The problems fancies suffer can be involved, depending on just how 'fancy' they are. Bubble or celestial eyes, foreshortened bodies (fat, round), eyes set very wide all make ALL feeding for these fishes difficult. The fish don't "gasp" at the surface for food, they're trying to get it into their mouths. If you ever do find the fish gasping, you know you've got a problem (water too warm, too dirty, not enough surface agitation) because this is usually a sign that there's not enough oxygen in the water for them.

Brine shrimp will only add a bit of color, but are not worth much nutritionally speaking and, as you now know, can block their guts and cause....... wait for it.......!
Swim bladder problems.

Did you use any of the links I provided?

Ok, so, I guess loaches are fish that can be kept in a tank with fancies then, oh, and the bloodworms i have are freeze dried, so they keep floating, well, I noticed that my fantail eats it before it can sink, so I dont really know if the worms do sink or not.

You can take the freeze-dried bloodworms and press them on the inside of the tank below the water line. They are not the same as frozen, and if you leave things like excess food in the water you're again causing yourself a lot more problems than you'd be solving by doing something like adding khuli loaches (or any loach for that matter, they are a widely varied group of fishes and many become very large and VERY AGGRESSIVE. I'm not kidding about this).

I, and others who are knowledgeable, highly recommend against putting any kind of tropical fishes in with temperate fishes, especially goldfish and koi. Pond dojos and the like would be more appropriate, but you won't need them if you feed the right foods, DON'T overfeed, and do your regular water changes.

[hoangphan]

I did goto the links, and I got alot of information from them, however, all I got was that one would feed the fish peas if they were having problems witht he swim bladder, not that I should be feeding them veggies. Thanks for that tid bit! Also, I am getting my brother a two gallon tank, would you guys have any suggestions as to what fishes I should put in it? I know that the Calicos wont do well in there because they create lots of waste and need aprox. 10gallons per fish.

[seamaiden]

You're welcome. I know that there's a LOT on that site, it helps if you use their Google tool set to search WWM only, and then select "Cached" when you click on the link, it will automatically highlight your search terms, makes things much, much easier.

A few fancy guppies would do fine in a tank that size. Be careful, not too many, especially if you get any females. They'll need the temperature to be stable, they like it in the 74F-80F range. I like to keep things a bit on the cool side so there's better dissolved oxygen, plus it slightly slows their metabolism, just a wee bit. And THEY will love those freeze-dried bloodworms!

[hoangphan]

Man, I tell you, before this week, I thought taking care of aqaurium fishes were EASY, now? Pshhhhh, yeah riight, this is hard stuff. Oh, you said if the Calico is moving its mouth in the water then its not getting enough oxygen? I'm asking because my calico is moving around the tank, and he/she moves his mouth open and close alot.

[seamaiden]

No, that's not what I meant to say. If they're gasping at the surface there's a problem. The surface of the water is where the oxygen/carbon dioxide interface is located. Fish that are oxygen starved will gasp at the surface (National Geographic, PBS (on the Kalahari), and Discovery channel have all had shows where they may feature fishes that are trapping in vanishing pools. This happens all over the world. The fish are often showing gasping because the water cannot hold sufficient oxygen for them.

A goldfish making movements with its mouth should be coordinated with the pumping of its gills, which is how it breaths.

Just curious here, but how did you end up on a marine fish/reefkeeping site when you're keeping goldfishes?

[hoangphan]

Um...woah, the thing says "Aquarium Fish Discussion," there's a difference? I just figured aquarium fish, goldfish is in aquarium. Sorry if this is the wrong site.

[seamaiden]

Yes, there is a difference, especially here, a website dedicated to reefkeeping (an exclusively marine domain). You do realize you've found yourself on a website that is called REEFS.org, right? That means that you not only won't find many people who will discuss your goldfish problems with you, but that you will likely not find much information on this particular segment of the fish population here.

And, to be sure, I'm not saying you're not welcome, that's not for me to say, and I'm sure you ARE welcome. I'm just saying that if you want to find the most and best information for YOUR needs, a site like wetwebmedia would far better suit you is all. Also, I think that there's a freshwater discussion area here, just scroll down a bit in the forums list page.

Go to wetwebmedia, and I believe that their discussion forums are linked on the home page. There you will find such a wealth of information that it may overwhelm you, just sign up, take things easy, tell them that Marina sent you. You'll be fine and so will your fish.

Then, once you've mastered goldfish (and I'm sure you will) you may very well likely be bitten very hard by the "I gotta have more!" bug. That almost inevitably leads to a desire for marine fishes, and then reefkeeping. Once you get to that point, you'll already know exactly where to go for some of the best information on the web.

[hoangphan]

Yay! Lol, thanks so much, you have really been ALOT of help. Would this be the riight place to ask about Tiger Oscar Cichlids?

[seamaiden]

Not really (unless you post in the F/W forum). Again, I think that wetwebmedia would be your best bet on the subject.

[hoangphan]

Ok, thanks so much! Umm, well, I guess thread closed? Idk how to close a thread on this site, or does the thread just die?

[seamaiden]

It dies. Good luck!