Injured Goldfish

Question
I was changing the water in my goldfish's bowl and he got cut. he has a big red spot on his forehead that looks like blood. He also has red dots of blood at the corners of his fins. He has been laying at the bottom of the bowl on his side. He was fine until he got cut. What should I do? Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hi Erica;

Poor guy. It sounds like he is in shock. The best you can do is just wait it out and hopefully he will recover on his own. Don't try to feed him until he gets better. If he doesn't eat the food you offer him it will foul his water. Then the water will have to be changed again and he will be further stressed.

I really think his troubles have come from being in too small a space and his immune system is weak. I'm so sorry that you have been misinformed about what goldfish need. He really needs a larger tank with a filter as soon as possible, at least 5 gallons, but 10 gallons minimum is necessary for one goldfish to live in long term. Goldfish are just very messy guys that grow to be over 6 inches long and have a life span of over 10 years. It's a myth that they can live in a bowl. It's just impossible for them to live long healthy lives in such a small space. Here is a good web page about what goldfish need;

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art3503.asp

I hope he gets better very soon...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins