Please help me with my fish

[helpmewithfishdisease]

I have a goldfish, and she has been alive for a couple of years now. HOever i think that she has a disease and i was wondering if anyone could help me please. She is losing her scales, keeps lying on the bottom of the tank then goes mad and then lies there for another hour. Her eye seems to be blown out, it looks swollen, she also seems to have red patches on her. On her fin on the top of her body there are spots and there is this red thing that looks like a mini burn sort of thing. I really am stuck so please i would love some help. Thanks

[LittlePuff]

What kind of goldfish? What size tank is she in? What are your nitrates? When was the last water change, and how much was changed?



Kim

[helpmewithfishdisease]

I'm not sure exactly what kind. She is in a 1 and a half gallon fish tank, i changed her water about 2-3 weeks ago and again today. i take about three quarters out and then refill, and then i do it again

[Lexus]

1st of all this is the wrong board to post on, this belongs under goldfish, general or beginner.

Goldfish should not be kept in that small of an area. Each goldfish requires at least 20 gallons. here is a good site for goldfish and bowls
http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=2650

I am thinking that because of the poor water quality your fish has developed a disease, of what kind Im not sure, the pros will have to answer this one.

It may be too late to save him and if you intend to it is best to set up a bigger tank right away for him

[MB75]

Well said! And on top of that, goldfish needs the company of other goldfishes. It is cruelty to keep just one in such a small space that the fish cannot have a good swim.

So please do your goldie a favour and by a tank of proper size and some other goldfishes to keep him company. This tank should be preferably 100 g to begin with.

[aurora_skys]

what color are the spots on her fins? have you tested the water parameters lately? burns make me think of high ammonia levels... in any case, call you lfs for advice and tell them the specifics.

[garfieldnfish]

I would do an immediate water change. Your fish sounds like he has ammonia burns, ammonia poisoning and pop eye. Pop eye is not a disease in itself but a sign that something is wrong like fever in humans. Popeye usually goes away if the problem of the other ailment is solved. A goldfish (the fancy variety needs a minimum of 15 gal of water for the first goldfish and 10 more for each additional goldfish). A 15 gal tank would be ok for your fish and if you want to give him a playmate you should get a 29 gal standard tank. But the bigger the better. A common of comet goldfish belongs in a pond not in an aquarium. But if kept in an aquarium no less then 55 gal because they need the swimming space. But to safe him you need to do at least 50% water changes daily until you can get a larger tank.
Also you said something about spots on the fins. Are they small white spots that look like grains of salt? If so that sounds like ick and you can get Ick Clear made by Jungle to treat it (there are other meds but I found this one to be effective and easy to use). Ick is a parasite that is always present in an aquarium but when a fish is sick or the water conditions are less then ideal the ick bug gets the upper hand and a fish can become infected. It needs to be treated or it is fatal, but fortunately it is probably the easiest fish disease to treat. With the meds you see the white spots pop off in just a day but you need to continue the treatment until it is finished. The other option is to increase the temps of your tank to 82 and add aquarium salt to the tank. The increase in temps speeds up the life cycle of the bug and then the salt will kill it in it's secondary stage. But in your case I would use the medicine because with the small tank raising the temps would also lower the oxygen level and that could be deadly to your fish. So if it's ick go with the meds.