# Goldfish cannot get upright, sits on bottom, cloudy eyes -thinking of euthanizing him



## Bunny

So the goldfish went from being normal to sitting on its side on the bottom of the tank overnight a couple of days ago. I immediately put it into a bucket on its own with a seeded filter (always have an extra one running in my main tank) and tried feeding it peas to help with any swim bladder problem. This was 3-4 days ago. He will swim upside down around the bottom of the bucket, but is incapable of more than that. About 2 days ago I tried adding a bit of aquarium salt to the bucket to see if it would help and not really seeing any improvement from that... 
Now I just noticed that his eyes are starting to cloud, and additionally, the eye on his left side (the one he is usually resting on) is starting to get a little abraded from leaning on it while swimming. This is the smoothest bottomed bucket I have... but apparently not enough 

He wont eat anything but the blanched/shelled peas. Sinking pellets go untouched. I'm not sure if he can recover from this at this point. Anyone have any advice...?

He is about 3 years old, fancy goldy, big tail, big eyes. He was a black moor that changed to gold/white colour.

If its possible to save him, I would like to. He never seemed remotely unhealthy before... and then all of a sudden - this.
It it is not possible to save him, then what is the kindest method of euthanasia - I've read clove oil?


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## jobber

Test your water for ammonia, nitrate,...

would help if you provide some water parameters.

Make sure fish has clean water. Add a bit of aquarium salt.

Epsom salt if it looks like digestive problems.

A black moor turning gold white to me seems more like a sore or ulcer.

Good luck.

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## Bunny

Ahh... He started changing colours at least 2 years ago... turned completely gold, then started turning white about a year ago... right from his mouth to the tip of his tail.

Ugh. I just did the water tests before I changed his water... I'm not gonna lie - this makes me feel like a terrible person. I guess 80% every two days is way too little....
Ammonia is at 4ppm, nitrite at about 3 and nitrate is at about 30 ppm....
Should be way more diluted now though - just did an 80% change, and I think I'm going start 60-70% twice daily...

Would any of that really cause him to not be able to stay upright? That's the main problem... He tries to swim and ends up doing barrel rolls before settling for being upside down...
The upside down is cause pressure on his fat eyes... 

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## Bunny

He just lies on the bottom of his bucket...

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## kim86

What's the size of your main tank? How many other goldfish are in it? Did you change anything like add new fish or switch foods recently?

Peas and some plain epsom salt should help clear his system out if constipation is the problem. You could try adding a heater to the bucket to raise the temp a few degrees so it perks him up a bit until he can swim better.


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## Bunny

Unfortunately i do not have a spare heater for his bucket right now...
main tank is 33gal, no other goldfish. No recent additions, no recent changes to the main tank. Latest addition was a bnp probably about 2 months ago. Other than that, there are 11 minnows, 6 corydora elegans, and a common pleco (no he does not suck on the gold fish's slime coat - totally ignores him).
oh, also some shrimp and a mystery snail.


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## Bunny

Help guys... Please. ..
It pains me to see him in such a bad condition. Yet he isn't weak. Just... upside down. I'm worried about his eye if he doesn't get upright soon... it's starting to look worse. He is pooping fine, peas go in, peas go out, so I do not think he is constipated. I just need him to swim properly again. 

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## onefishtwofish

Disabled fish can swim the right way up again after his owner makes him a LIFE JACKET to stop him sinking to the bottom of his tank | Mail Online

I have also seen variations using cork


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## onefishtwofish

Disabled fish can swim the right way up again after his owner makes him a LIFE JACKET to stop him sinking to the bottom of his tank | Mail Online

I have also seen variations using cork
Goldfish owner makes wine cork life jacket for poorly pet


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## Bunny

I think I'm actually going to do that..

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## onefishtwofish

why not??? its woth a try. if he has trouble competing for food, let me know i have a 10g he can have


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## Rockman

Bunny said:


> Ahh... He started changing colours at least 2 years ago... turned completely gold, then started turning white about a year ago... right from his mouth to the tip of his tail.
> 
> Ugh. I just did the water tests before I changed his water... I'm not gonna lie - this makes me feel like a terrible person. I guess 80% every two days is way too little....
> Ammonia is at 4ppm, nitrite at about 3 and nitrate is at about 30 ppm....
> Should be way more diluted now though - just did an 80% change, and I think I'm going start 60-70% twice daily...
> 
> Would any of that really cause him to not be able to stay upright? That's the main problem... He tries to swim and ends up doing barrel rolls before settling for being upside down...
> The upside down is cause pressure on his fat eyes...
> 
> Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk


That is a serious issue. Seems like you're having problems with your filter (in an established tank ammonia and nitrite are always zero; anything else is cause for concern). Have you done anything with the tank/filter lately? Do you happen to know what your pH is (it's important to know when dealing with ammonia toxicity)?

Obviously you'll be wanting to fix this ASAP. Big water changes and testing every day until your bacteria start working again. A ammonia binding product like Seachem Prime or API ammo-lock is probably a good idea. You can also add a little bit of aquarium salt to help with nitrite toxicity as well.



Bunny said:


> Unfortunately i do not have a spare heater for his bucket right now...
> main tank is 33gal, no other goldfish. No recent additions, no recent changes to the main tank. Latest addition was a bnp probably about 2 months ago. Other than that, there are 11 minnows, 6 corydora elegans, and a common pleco (no he does not suck on the gold fish's slime coat - totally ignores him).
> oh, also some shrimp and a mystery snail.


I'm a bit concerned about that. It sounds a bit overstocked. What size is the common plec, the BNP and the Goldfish?

Water quality issues can sometimes cause swim bladder difficulty in fancy goldfish. If you can work out your water troubles your goldfish may return to normal.


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## indreamx

I think its good to lower down the water level so he breathes easier and he doesnt float. How big is he? I have a heater i dont use. But what i know a goldfish doesnt need heat right. If he can eat, epsom salt with mixed to the food can help. I hope he recovers


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## illogic

garlic is also good to help them eat/heal them


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## Bunny

I ended up putting him down a few days ago. Being upside down wasn't the problem. Being upside down though caused him to lay on his eyes and they were getting scraped up on the bottom of the bucket I had him in.
That's why there was water issues too - he was in an isolated "tank" with only a small spare filter, I wrongly assumed it would be enough if I sucked food/poop out right away.
Thank you guys, I just wish I had known some of that earlier... might have been able to try something else for him... I just wasn't willing to watch him rip his eye apart by leaning on it when swimming. 

Ahh well, he is in the great wide ponds of yonder now...

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