Squishy looks dead...

[AGreenDarkness]

So I went home this weekend, as always, leaving my roommate in charge of Squishy.

I thought everything would be great because I left two feeder fish in the tank with her. That way she would have food.

I just got home tonight. The two fish were still in the tank and Squishy was completely white. Like clorox white. She was not moving at all. I freaked out. I grabbed the fish out, did a 50 % water change, fed her some pellets and now she seems a little pinker. Does anyone have any idea what happened?

 

[madeve]

My best guess is that the feeder fish stressed her out. Do her gills look normal?

 

[Jennewt]

Some newts change to a lighter color during the night. Perhaps her color was just a bit off? Watch her behavior closely for the next day or two.

When you are gone for a weekend, your axie doesn't need food every day. Adding live fish (or any other possible food) is more risky than just leaving the axie unfed.

 

[AGreenDarkness]

The scary thing was that she looked completely normal otherwise. Her gills are not curled, her tail looks fine. She looked completely normal only she was white. I got the fish out and I am not doing feeder fish any more. I will keep an eye on her, I have seen her plenty of times in the morning and she has never been this white. I will post some pictures if it happens again. thank you

 

[AGreenDarkness]

Having a thought here...Could be completely wrong, but I am trying to figure out what is wrong so my brain is off and running with possible conclusions.

My roommate is pretty much a reptile, in that I am sure she is cold blooded, she keeps the room at about 90 degrees. This usually makes Squishy's water quite warm. We had worked out an agreement to keep the air at about 70 and if Squish was too hot I would put some frozen water bottles in the tank with her.

When I got back from being home this weekend, the room was back at 90 and Squishy had water that felt like it came from a bath. Could this have made her go all white and not-lively?

Also, my boyfriend stayed last night, and since he is pretty much a barbarian, he had the room at 62. Now Squish has water that is freezing cold to the touch. I know they like cold water, but is this too cold? I am pretty sure it wouldn't be a temperature shock because the water would heat up and cool down pretty slowly.

Right now, I have been feeding her the pellets, all the goldfish are out of the tank, she seems a little more lively but still pretty pale.

I also thought that perhaps the fish were a little too big for her and maybe now she is having trouble passing them? I mean a whole fish skeleton has got to be hard to get out. Maybe having the water at a frigid temp will help her with that. She seems to be fat and healthy with her stomach the same width as her head.

I am going to try and get some pictures on here so you can tell me what to do. I always feel so lost. Thank you everyone for always helping me with my panic stricken moments!

 

[Kaysie]

62 isn't too cold. But the constant fluctuating water temperature could have something to do with why she's been sick.

Goldfish aren't great, as far as feeder fish go. They're high in saturated fat. You're better going with rosies or gupppies. As for the excreting, they digest the bones somewhat.

 

[michael]

Keep the barbarian and loose the hot room mate. Anything over 75F is to hot. The tank is to cold when the water freezes.

 

[AGreenDarkness]

Yea, I am liking the barbarian, who is as we speak, secretly digging worms out of my schools flower beds haha. Here are some pics I just took of Squish who, of course, seems fine as soon as the camera is around. Although her one back leg is pointed at a very strange angle, no idea what is up with that.


This is her face, obviously there would be a bit of uneaten food laying there, I am a terrible mom!

Here you can see her funny back legs





See how in these pictures her gills are very pink and fluffy? And even her body has a rosy tinge to it? When I came home last night she was stark white.

 

[Kaysie]

Be careful with worms from unknown sources. Your school may very well use pesticides and fertilizers in their flowerbeds.

 

[AGreenDarkness]

Yea I told him we are gonna rinse them off and put them in some dirt and keep them for a while before we go giving them to an already not feeling well axie. I am always terrified that I am going to give her something that is bad for her, but he is not taking no for an answer. Once he found out worms were her favorite, there was no stopping him from finding a shovel and going to. I think he is a keeper haha

 

[AGreenDarkness]

Does anyone know why she is sitting with her one leg cocked funny? I have never seen it before, was just wondering if it was normal. Boyfriend thinks it is dislocated but when she walks she seems able to step on it, so I told him he was wrong haha. Any ideas? I am open for explanations.

 

[Kaysie]

Yea I told him we are gonna rinse them off and put them in some dirt and keep them for a while before we go giving them to an already not feeling well axie.

I still wouldn't risk it.

As far as the leg, how is it sitting funny?

 

[AGreenDarkness]

Well if you look at a few of the pictures I posted, it seems that one leg sticks out normally but the other one seems curled up or stuck back, they normally are almost completely symmetrical but lately she is sitting like this with one leg bent at the odd angle

 

[Kaysie]

I don't see anything abnormal.

 

[AGreenDarkness]

Alrighty, must just be sitting funny and I have never noticed before. Thanks