As an aquarist, discovering your goldfish develop red patches on their bodies and fins may raise several questions in your mind. Your goldfish turning red may indicate several health issues in your fish that require immediate attention for their well-being.
So, why is your goldfish turning red? Let us find out.
Ammonia burns are the root cause of your goldfish developing red patches on their bodies and fins. However, if your goldfish is under poor water conditions, turning red also indicates red pests. Provide good water conditions and avoid overcrowding to avoid such health issues in your goldfish.
The below article will discuss the reasons, treatment, and prevention for your goldfish turning red.
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My goldfish is turning red
Your goldfish turning red indicates severe health issues like ammonia burns and red pests in your fish.
Red pests are, also known as pond pests, an illness caused due to a bacterial infection of the bacterium cyprincida.
Excessive ammonia levels in the tank can lead to ammonia burns in your goldfish.
Inadequate tank conditions also contributes to such health issues in your goldfish.
You should pay immediate attention if you discover your goldfish fins turning red for the well-being of your fish.
Is it normal for your goldfish to turn red?
Your goldfish turning red is an alarming situation as it indicates significant health issues like ammonia burns in your fish.
Ammonia burns can make your goldfish weak and prone to several diseases and parasites.
Therefore, not paying attention to such a situation can lead to severe health issues in your goldfish, eventually leading to the passing away of your fish.
What are the reasons behind your goldfish turning red?
The below are the reasons behind your goldfish turning red
- Ammonia Poisoning
- Red Pests
Ammonia Poisoning
Ammonia poisoning is the root cause behind your goldfish turning red. Excessive ammonia in the tank can burn your goldfish’s skin, making it red and look like your fish is bleeding.
A spike of ammonia in the tank is caused due to the following factors
- Contaminated water in the tank can lead to a spike in the tank’s ammonia level
- Setting up a new tank can lead to ammonia spikes
- Inadequate pH levels can cause ammonia spikes in your goldfish tank.
- By-products of your goldfish can contaminate the tank’s water causing ammonia spikes in the tank.
- An overcrowded tank can cause ammonia spikes.
- Chemically treated water can cause ammonia spikes in your goldfish tank.
Excessive ammonia in the tank can lead to ammonia poisoning in your goldfish, making your fish sick and prone to health issues like losing appetite and being lethargic.
When the ammonia levels in the tank reaches to a toxic it can lead to ammonia burns in your goldfish.
Some other symptoms of ammonia poisoning in your goldfish are
- Your fish is clamping their fins
- Red patches on your goldfish skin
- Your goldfish laying at the tank’s bottom
- Your goldfish gasping for air at the top of the water surface
However, you can treat ammonia poisoning if you detect it early.
You can detect ammonia poisoning by performing a water test in your goldfish tank.
| Particular | Goldfish |
|---|---|
| Ammonia Levels | 0-0.25ppm |
| Nitrite Level | 0ppm |
| Nitrate Level | Below 40ppm |
Goldfish can thrive up to an ammonia level of 0.025ppm in the tank. However, you should try to keep the ammonia level at 0 ppm for your fish’s well-being.
We suggest you check the tank’s ammonia level with the help of the API Test kit as it provides accurate results.
You can buy it from Amazon API TEST KIT.
Also read: Ammonia Poisoning In Goldfish
Red Pests
Red pests can also make your goldfish turn red. It is also known as pond pest, an illness caused due to a bacterial infection of the bacterium cyprincida.
You will discover bloody red patches in your goldfish body if it is suffering from such a bacterial infection.
You can easily spot such an infection in your common goldfish due to their lighter color varieties. However, in the case of a fancy goldfish like a black moor, it will be a task to spot as they have highly pigmented skin.
Red pests can also make your goldfish fins and tail fall off in severe cases.
This infection is uncommon in a healthy fish as it attacks the fish with a weak immune system.
If you have placed your goldfish under good tank condition, it is rare for your goldfish to suffer from red pests.
Poor water condition in the tank can be the root cause behind your goldfish suffering from red pests.
Contaminated water also contributes to many other issues, like ammonia spikes in the tank, making your goldfish weak.
Therefore you should perform regular water changes and add a sound filtration system in your goldfish tank to prevent such issues in your fish.
We advise you to purchase Fluval High-Performance Filter to maintain your tank’s water quality.
You can buy it from Amazon Fluval High Performance Aquarium Filter.
Also read: Do Goldfish Need Filters?
How can you treat such issues in goldfish?
Here are the ways to treat such issues in your goldfish.
In the case of ammonia poisoning
- Perform a 50% water change to drop the ammonia level below 1 ppm.
- Stop providing food to your goldfish for several days in case of elevated ammonia levels in the tank.
- If your fish is distressed, you can use a pH control product to stabilize the ammonia in the tank.
- Do not add any new fish to the tank until the ammonia level drop below 0.25ppm.
When the ammonia levels in the tank reach a toxic level, it can lead to ammonia burns in your goldfish.
In the case of ammonia burns
- First, place your affected fish in a separate tank.
- Provide treatment to your fish with quality antibiotics and antibacterial medication.
- Avoid treating your goldfish in the home aquarium as it can kill the beneficial bacteria from the biological filter, making you perform a nitrogen cycle once again in the tank.
- You will start seeing progress in your goldfish within 3-5 days. You should provide the treatment until your goldfish is eating normally.
- After your goldfish gets cured, you can place them back into your home aquarium.
In the case of Red Pests
- Perform a 50% water change to improve the tank’s water quality, as contaminated water is the root cause behind your goldfish suffering from red pests.
- Add aquarium salt to your goldfish tank to treat such bacterial infections.
- We advise you to use API Aquarium salt for the well-being of your goldfish. You can buy it from Amazon API AQUARIUM SALT.
How can you prevent such issues in your goldfish?
The below are the ways to prevent such health issues in your goldfish
Provide good water conditions
Contaminated water is the root cause behind ammonia poisoning and red pests in your goldfish.
You should provide good water conditions in your goldfish tank to prevent such issues in your fish.
Perform a 30% water change weekly to maintain the tank’s water quality.
Ensure to add water conditioner to the freshwater before adding it to your tank.
A water conditioner helps eliminate chlorine, chloramine, and other toxic chemicals present in the tap water.
We suggest an API Tap water conditioner for your goldfish water as it helps to eliminate the harmful toxins from the water.
You can buy it from Amazon API TAP WATER CONDITIONER.
Also read: Do Goldfish Need Water Conditioners?
In addition, we advise you to add a water filter to your goldfish tank as it helps to eliminate the harmful toxins from the water and keep your tank clean.
Also read: Can Goldfish Live In Dirty Water?
Avoid Overcrowding
You should avoid overcrowding your goldfish tank as it can lead to such health issues in your fish.
As goldfish are messy fishes, they produce a lot of waste in the tank.
So, overcrowding your tank can make your tank water contaminated, increasing the risk of ammonia spikes in the tank.
Contaminated water can also lead to oxygen deficiency in your tank, making your fish gasp for air at the top of the tank’s water surface.
In addition, as goldfish require ample space in their tank, placing them in an overcrowded tank can also affect the growth of your fish, eventually making them suffer from excessive stress.
So, you should provide ample space in the tank to ensure your tank to ensure healthy growth and development of your fish.
We suggest you to provide one gallon of water for every inch of fish to avoid overcrowding in the tank.
Suppose you have a 10-gallon tank in your home. So here is the number of goldfish you can place in a 10-Gallon Tank.
| Types of Goldfish | In A 10-Gallon Tank |
|---|---|
| Common Goldfish (4 inches-14 inches) | 1-2 baby Goldfish |
| Fantail Goldfish (6 inches-8 inches) | 1-2 baby Goldfish |
| Shubunkin Goldfish (9 inches-18 inches) | 1 baby Goldfish |
| Comet Goldfish (2 inches-12 inches) | 1-2 baby Goldfish |
| Sarasa Goldfish (4 inches -14 inches) | 1-2 baby Goldfish |
Also read: What Happens When You Overstock Goldfish Tank?
Conclusion:
- Ammonia burns and red pests are the primary reasons your goldfish turn red.
- Your goldfish turning red is not normal as it indicates significant health issues in your goldfish.
- Red pests are uncommon in healthy fish as they attack fish with weak immune systems.
- You can treat ammonia poisoning in your goldfish by performing a 50% water change and not providing food for a couple of days to your goldfish.
- You can treat ammonia burns with quality antibiotics and antibacterial medication.
- You can treat red pests by adding aquarium salt to your tank and performing frequent water changes.
- Provide good water conditions and avoid overcrowding to prevent such issues in your goldfish.