Mark303

If it is flukes, I have debated removing the sand substrate to try to remove potential eggs. But I am unsure if it is unnecessary, would risk crashing the cycle, or how to even go about properly cleaning.

yes, I didn't witness any more flashing however the flashing fish became lethargic and bottom sitting, so I quarantined and treated with Maracyn and Paraclense and he shed a massive amount of his slime coat and then died a few days later. Currently back to treating display tank with Prazipro again. So far the remaining fish seem fine.

I do have an inkbird that I haven't set up or really learned yet. I guess my thought process was to test the heaters for any issues and have them somewhat close to calibrated to the desired temp before putting in the display tank and using the inkbird as a failsafe rather than relying on as the temp controller. I expected the heaters to be off a couple degrees but was confused as to the 10 degree variance that is greater than the calibration ring allows to adjust that much. But sounds like the small tank is the issue. really appreciate everyone's input!

I purchased two 150W Eheim Jager heaters for a 75 gallon tank. Before putting in my display tank I thought I would test the calibration in an empty tank to not risk harming my fish. However the only empty spare tank I have is a 10 gallon. Both heaters were wildly inaccurate. Testing individually I set at 75 degrees and tank reached 85degrees, which maxed out the calibration adjustment ring. Since it happened with both heaters I was wondering if this is due to the small size of the tank and overpowering of the heaters for that size. Any suggestion of how to accurately test and calibrate?

Thanks DaveO! Now that you say that it feels like the flashing might always occur within 24 hours of a water change. The last incident of flashing definitely did.

no I dont. the flashing has been rare, but is usually pretty severe, bouncing off their their sides off the bottom of the tank several times.

I imported a fancy goldfish and did a two week quarantine with the med trio and everything looked good. However after moving the fish to my display tank I noticed the new fish, as well as an existing fish, flashing a couple times (several days apart.) Reading online I suspected flukes so I treated the whole tank with Prazipro once a week during my 50% water changes for two weeks. I did not see any other flashing during this time, waited two weeks and then repeated the two week treatment again. After that I noticed another different fish flash, so repeated this process again with the 2nd treatment lasting 3 weeks. I had not seen any signs of flashing once again for the majority of this time. I monitor water conditions with an API master kit weekly, and last week found the Nitrites rising to ~.5ppm. in response to this I did water changes every 1-2 days adding Fritzzyme 7 after changes. My cycle seems to have been restored the last couple of days. Today I saw another fish that had not previously exhibited flashing, flash pretty severely. Should I continue to once again treat with Prazipro? Could it be due to something else? I don't see any physical signs of flukes, Ich or any real behavioral changes besides the fairly rare (but severe) flashing. The tank is pretty bare with sand only. Only other products used in the tank is purigen in the HOB filter (which was removed during treatment) and Prime for water changes and to neutralize the spikes when I was trying to restore the cycle. Thanks for the help!

Air shipping definitely contributes a good deal I think, but I have next to zero local options. I have ordered from the two most popular fancy goldfish sellers, and seen swim videos of the fish in great shape before shipping and then some have arrived with severe swim bladder I was unable to cure. Both have had great customer service and helped me a great deal. I also only use airfreight shipping at this point to minimize any potential issues. But the fish are still being raised and imported from Thailand which has to be extremely hard on the fish

Thanks Lennie, I don't take as negative! I have seen this before after researching online. I guess I am just trying to figure out how to move forward after already committing to goldfish. If I lost all my fish to illness or something I would probably consider a different species of fish at this point. But also aware that would probably be a whole new set of issues I would have to learn to navigate haha. Trying to get to a point where I can just enjoy my tank for a while. thanks again!

Thanks Torbay. That advice is pretty in line with the conclusions I am finally coming to. in your experience for my 5 fish how much rapashy / bloodworm / peas would you give per meal? My fish are all imported from Thailand and the vendor did mention the +78F conditions as well. My tank does seem to stay in the 74-78 range naturally. I have always been hesitant of heaters with the potential issues that brings as well, but am considering it more and more.

BACKGROUND: I have kept ornamental goldfish for about a year and a half now and always seem to be struggling with swim bladder (especially Orandas.) Many arrived from mail-order with minor cases that seem to slowly get worse overtime. I eventually had to euthanize a couple when it became severe and incurable. The fish I have had have ranged in size from 3.5" butterflies to 6" Orandas. Currently I have 5 fish in a 75 gallon tank. One 4" butterfly, two 4" Ranchus, two 4.5" Orandas. During the learning curve of fish keeping my main diet was a pinch (maybe 5-10 pellets per fish) of Saki-Hikari sinking pellets twice a day and peas 3 times a week (~2 peas per fish.) And occasional Tetra dried baby shrimp. This diet seemed fine for many of the fish, but also they have grown very very slowly and I still have gotten swim bladder with several fish. For variety I have also tried frozen brine shrimp but seems to dirty the water column a good deal, and a large portion seems to end up in the sponge filter. My fish were never too interested in broccoli, and eat spinach quickly but also seem to spit out alot that I end up having to remove from the tank. In attempt to cure / avoid swim bladder I have tried Kenta Gas Release 1.5mm pellets, but seemed a bit large for my fish and didn't seem to have much a different effect on my fish than Hikari pellets. And also unsure if gas release formula is okay for a daily food. I have never been clear from information online what a correct amount of food is, so really have no clue if what I have been doing is over or underfeeding. It doesn't help with goldfish always begging for food and my excitement to want to grow my fish to big chunky adults. MY QUESTION(S): I recently purchased two 4.5" juvenile Orandas that handled shipping great and have been out of quarantine in my display tank a couple weeks. However any Saki-Hikari sinking pellets triggers pretty severe swim bladder with them both. They are also pretty good at out-competing the other fish so has been difficult to make sure I am not overfeeding them with pellets. This time I was able to quickly "cure" with fasting and a pea only diet, however when re-introducing pellets I will see the bladder issues start to return later that day. But was able correct agin quickly with a peas meal. I have just started trying Repashy Supergold gel food within the last 24 hours. So far it seems to not trigger any bladder issues and the fish seem to love it as well. My main question is, if this continues to be successful can I completely eliminate pellet food from my fishes diet and just feed mainly Repashy and peas? Anything else I should add into rotation? I thought about trying frozen bloodworms but wasn't sure if they would trigger bladder issues or would dirty the water column too much. I have seen people suggest trying a different pellet, however it always seems that Hikari is the most popular option and wasn't sure what other alternative to even try. I have read to soak the pellets but was unclear if tap water was safe for this, and mostly just cautious to give the new Orandas any more pellet. Are Orandas in fact particularly prone to swim bladder? My ranchu and butterfly managed to avoid any issues this whole time. So debating if I just need to give up on Orandas, but was kinda the reason I got into fish keeping. Sorry for a lengthy post! thanks so much for any advice!! I love fish keeping but this is really becoming a never ending battle.

I have a ranchu for about a year with the same "lean" since I purchased him via mail order. It doesnt always happen, but has never gone away and concerns me when I see him doing it. It has never developed into full blown swim bladder issues. Id also be interest if anyone has any insight.

sounds like a good setup. I second the advice on researching a balanced diet for them. I still struggle with fancies getting swim bladder issues.

I have had the best luck with Anubias. my goldfish leave them alone.

I have had really good luck with Anubias in my goldfish tank. hardy plants and my fish don't seem to mess with them much at all.