Sickly Goldfish

[newkentfishkeeper]

Hi
i am a new goldfish keeper and noticed one of my 12 goldfish looks sickly - seems to be acting normally but i noticed marks on its body. I dont know what it is
and and worry it is going to affect my other fish if it is contagious. Has anybody any idea? i am new to fish and dont want to cause this fish any suffering by not sorting it quickly.

 

[j.w]

Almost looks like it has injured itself maybe bashed into a rock or something. Hopefully someone else will chime in also.

 

[poconojoe]

Agree. Either injured itself or was injured by other fish. Are your fish spawning? Chasing each other relentlessly?
I saw that exact injury on one of my females recently. She was being relentlessly chased and prodded by a few of the males. It was so bad, I was thinking of capturing her to isolate her. I put my net in the water and realized there was no way I could capture her.

 

[Tula]

I think it looks like an internal infection with a developing ulcer. Are you able to isolate it in a separate tank with aeration?

 

[newkentfishkeeper]

Thank you for the responses. Either injury or illness then but i cannot separate with aeration. i can separate buy taking it out of the pond and putting in a temporary plastic tub or similar? But how long could it survive in a plastic tub? How can I find out for sure what it is? Sorry if this sounds like a daft question, but I have never had a fish that was not in good health!

 

[Tula]

If it were my fish, I'd put it in a separate container...a plastic tub will do, with an airstone. Make sure the water is dechlorinated. I would then research a broad spectrum antibiotic treatment available in your area. It will be easier to treat the sick fish in isolation and monitor its condition.

Also, do you have a water testing kit? If it were my fish and I put it in isolation ( hospital tank ) I'd keep an eye on ammonia levels.

 

[Ray G]

marks on both sides of the body but no other fish has the problem is confusing. To me it is the symptoms of an attack by something (bird maybe?). Is that possible for your pond? As it is swimming and behaving normally I would not suspect a disease yet. If it starts being on its own and not feeding then it is probably a disease. So my question is that with your pond is it possible that a bird or cat or something attacked it and it got away?

Ray

 

[newkentfishkeeper]

We have cats so no birds around. The pond is deep and no sides for cat to jump up onto so I can’t think they would be able to. They have never tried to get in the pond before. It’s so confusing as to what to do!

 

[Ray G]

Very strange that only one is like that and it is behaving normally! I would watch it closely and if it shows signs of physically being sick I would remove it from the pond as Tula said. however my experience is that when isolated a fish does not recover too well. however if has a disease that would be the right thing to do for sure. I would wait a little and see what happens. If the other fish start developing reddish skin spots or sores that would be a sign that the problem is transmitted. at this stage without knowing what the problem is using a small does of something like MELAFIX - Welcome to API Fishcare might help to reduce the risk of further infections in the pond.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

It looks like a bacterial infection to me too. It needs to be removed from the pond and treated with antibiotics. A rubbermaid storage bin can work well for temporary housing. You will need an airpump for aeration. And water changes will need to be done daily (ammonia rises quickly and especially in smaller amounts of water) if you buy 2 storage bins you can have one all ready to go for the next day. Just move the fish to clean storage bin/water and clean the used bin and refill so it's ready for the next day. Super clean water is the key to helping this fish recover.

I really feel this fish will only get worse if left in the pond without any treatment.

Trying to figure out what happened or how it happened isn't as important as how your going to treat it

 

[newkentfishkeeper]

Thanks all for your responses- I also went to aquatic shop with photos and got some antibiotics and have started treatment x

 

[Ray G]

Well done! Just for our info let us know how it goes please and what you used? We love to hear how things end up!!

Ray

 

[newkentfishkeeper]

I will do x this morning the sickly fish was hiding in the corner x

 

[newkentfishkeeper]

It has been a week since I started treating the fish with the antibiotics- I have just done a partial water change and re done the antibiotics. Does anyone think there is any difference for better or worse or now think it could be anything else? Many thanks!

 

[Tula]

It does look a little better, but still looks pretty bad. Are you doing the treatments in the pond, or in a separate container?

You might try reading the health stickies on Koiphen.com as they have a health care committee. I've seen them sometimes advise a topical treatment in addition to antibiotics and even so far as antibiotic injections.

I really admire your efforts.