sick favorite goldfish

Question
QUESTION: I have a 10 gallon tank with a hang on filter.  Tank has been established for about 9 mos.  I have 3 fancy goldfish.  I dont test for ammonia, nitrate/trite or ph.  The fish started with a growing lump on it's shoulder, that got pretty big and then quickly shrunk back down.  Then it started getting bloated, but slowly.  I originally got a Jungle broad spectrum type of treatment that you float in a little ring.  That seemed to help.  Several weeks later another lump showed up on the other side and disappeared. The fish never seemed bothered by the lumps, and was acting normally and was quite vigorous. Next the fish started getting noticeably bloated, and had little appetite.  I also noticed its rear end was strange looking, and its poop was long and white.  I also noticed a small thread like thing sticking out of the butt at times.  I noticed the fish was now lethargic and not eating at all.  I got a Jungle treatment for parasites thinking maybe worms?  I finished that about 3 days ago. During that treatment, I noticed a couple places on the fish that looked like white stuff was coming out of the fishes skin.  Now that is gone.  Then I noticed the scales started sticking out, so now I am thinking dropsy?  The fish still doesnt eat, but it is acting more vigorous again.  I went to Petsmart and the guy recommended Maracyn and Maracyn 2 used at the same time.  I did the first round of that today.  I would love any other recs or suggestions.  Is there any food that would entice it to eat?  I am using fish crisps now.  Thank you!

ANSWER: Hi Jackie,

Your two main issues here that are causing all of this chaos is your tank/filtration size and the fact that you don't test your water.  99% of all diseases are directly a result of the water quality and fatally toxic water can 'look' crystal clear.  This is why it is ever so important to test the water routinely.  Otherwise you'll never know what's stressing, diseasing and finally, killing your fish, and if you know it's off you can take immediate measures to correct it.

A 10 gallon tank is far too small to support 3 fancy goldfish, especially with only a 10 gallon hang on filter.  All fancy goldfish REQUIRE a 20 gallon tank for 1 goldfish and 10 gallons for each additional goldfish and with double that in filtration.  Anything less cannot scientifically support the enormous bioload that they create.  It's no wonder that the average life of a goldfish well taken care of in the proper environment will live 20+ years but the average lifespan in the US is 3 weeks for fancy goldies.  People tend to think they are easy, or starter fish, or just don't do enough research into what they really need to live a healthy, long life.  Your fish is getting sick because of the cramped conditions and I bet your water quality is really off.  You should invest in a liquid drop test kit (strips are horribly inaccurate) immediately.  A $30 API freshwater master kit will last over a year.  Your ammonia should always be 0, nitrites 0 and nitrates 5-20 ppm.  You really do need to know how bad it is (medication probably won't work if it's too bad) and even worse you'll never, ever be able to completely correct it in a 10 gallon tank with 3 goldfish.

I would upgrade as soon as possible, to a 40 gallon tank with 80 gallon filtration.  If they are babies (under a year old - pet stores usually sell them around 6 months old) you could get away with a 30 gallon tank/60 gallon filter knowing that you'll need to upgrage later when they get larger.  You will no longer have diseases run amuck in the proper sized tank.  Even in the interim a clear, plastic rubbermaid container of this size with a hang on 80 gallon filter would suffice.  You should line the new tank and filter with gravel and filter media from the 10 gallon to quick start the cycling process.  I would leave the 10 gallon running and leave the sick fish alone in there for treatment.  You do not want to treat the two that aren't sick as anti-biotics can be harsh and you don't want to transmit whatever the sick fish has.  I really need to know what your water readings are though so that I can give you steps to getting that quality corrected to make the medication as effective as possible.

You shouldn't treat with anti-biotics randonly unless you really know what it is.  Firstly, you run the risk of treating for the wrong item and wasting value time the fish might not have to recover and secondly, again, anti-biotics are harsh on fish and you really shouldn't put them through treatment unless it's absolutely necessary.

If the fish's scales were sticking out like a pinecone and he was lethargic and not eating this is dropsy, a serious bacterial infection.  It's possible in some cases that lumps can be developed from this as all sorts of secondary illnesses seem to accompany dropsy.  Again, I would separate the fish into it's own tank and Maracyn and Maracyn II will work for dropsy.  I would also increase the temp to 78 F-80 F.  Goldfish are really coldwater fish but the higher temp does help with fish that have dropsy.  I would also add 1/8 tsp. of common epsom salts per 5 gallons of water.  DO NOT USE aquarium salt for fish that have dropsy.  The epsom salts will help reduce the fluid build up in fish with dropsy and aquarium salts help fish retain water and this will for sure shut down your goldie's kidneys.

If the fish had white strings trailing from it but they weren't forked on the ends (forked ends is anchor worm - a parasite) then it was columnaris, a serious baterial infection.  Columnaris is a fast killer and you can also treat it with Maracyn & Maracyn II.

Change out the water 25% daily while medicating and DO NOT FEED the fish as long as you are medicating.  Part of the problem with dropsy is that the fish's system needs to be purged.  When you do feed, try a fresh, thawed, skinned pea in bits.  This will also help your goldies and you can routinely feed them peas, it helps them from swimbladder.

A good disease reference site for you would be:

http://www.goldfishinfo.com/identify.htm

Good luck : ) April M.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again April.  I have more info for you.  I bought the test kit you rec.  Here are my results:  ph is 7.6, ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, and nitrate is 40 (best that I can tell, 80 looks so similar!).  While at pet store I looked at the fish display, and mine are not "fancy" fish.  I have 2 comets and 1 oranda.  The sick one is a comet.  If I dont have the facilities for a hospital tank, can I put epsom salt in with all the fish or would it harm the others?

Answer
Hi Jackie,

Your ammonia and nitrite and pH are all awesome, your nitrates are high.  They should be contained at 20 ppm.  I would upgrade your tank and filter asap, do a good gravel cleaning and do 25% water changes 2x a week until your nitrates are in check and do not overfeed because excess food (and the waste created from it) will just cause more nitrates.

Your oranda is a fancy goldfish.  Fancy is a broad term that is used to describe the plump, compact fish such as orandas, moors, pearlscales, ryukin, fantails, etc.

Your comets are not fancies, as these are single tailed goldfish.  Fancies and comets are NOT compatible together as comets are more aggressive then fancies and will outcompete them for food and will attack and bully the fancy as they grow older.  These fish can also grow to over a foot in length.  Unless you are planning on upgrading to a 120-200+ gallon tank for 2 comets or placing them in a large outdoor pond (what comets are really meant for) I would return them to the petstore or re-home them.

This would leave you with the oranda and the 10 gallon and would be fine for you for at least another year (provided you get at least a 20 gallon filter).

See this page as a good reference on the groups of goldies:

http://www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/goldfish_and_koi/comet_pond.htm#top2

AND

http://www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/goldfish_and_koi/goldfish_fancy.htm#to

I would only treat the sick fish, not all fish.  If you put epsom in with healthy fish it will draw out their water and can kill them.  He has the dropsy from the too small of tank plus the high nitrates.  You can medicate him in a clear, plastic rubbermaid in the corner with a hang on filter.  This is a space-saving, cheap set up.

Good luck : ) April M.