Goldfish face gone

Question
My daughter got a regular Goldfish from Walmart (I know not the best choice) and we bought a 1 gallon tank with a a filter system by Tetra about 6 weeks ago.  The goldfish went from gold to having black spots throughout his body, so we changed the water and filter and put de-chlorofier in it as well.  Now half of the face looks like its been eaten away and the eye fell out.  Oh, and also the black is almost gone.  Its still eating fine and swimming around.  There is another goldfish in the tank and its had no problems at all.  I have tried to look up diseases, but can't really find anything that matches what is going on, any suggestions?  I thank you for your time in advance!

Answer
Hi Teree;

Poor guy. The problem is that goldfish can't live in such small tanks or bowls, even with a filter. I'm so sorry you were misinformed somewhere along the way. It's a very common myth that goldfish do okay that way. You may see or have experience with goldfish surviving in such small spaces for a long time but that's all they're doing; surviving, but not thriving. Goldfish are very messy fish that get very large and need at least ten gallons per fish to thrive. They also have a life span of over ten years.

Your little guy was burned from waste toxins that built up too much in the tank water. That's what the black was from. It could easily happen again, especially as he grows larger. He may have an infection on his face now but a bigger tank may help it heal without medication. The only way he will get better is to get them into an adequate size tank of at least ten gallons with good strong filtration. They will outgrow the ten gallon too within a few months so get a 20 or 30 gallon if you can. Until then, change 50% of the water in their tiny tank every single day to keep waste toxins down to a more tolerable level. Below are some web pages to tell you more about the proper care and keeping of goldfish;

http://www.firsttankguide.net/goldfish.php

http://www.epinions.com/content_3185614980

http://www.netpets.org/fish/reference/freshref/goldfaq.html

I hope your little guys do better soon...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins