Ryukin Goldfish

Question
Hi Chris,
Lindsay again, thanks for your answer before on the Ryukin goldfish I asked about a week ago.  You may not remember so I will give you the details again. We have a 46 gallon tank w/4 Ryukin goldfish an upside down catfish and 2 algae eaters.  I had previously asked about one of the Ryukin who was having trouble balancing and was only floating around the bottom and leaning on things.  You suggested we stop feeding them for a few days and then start feeding them peas twice a day, which we have been doing.  He seems a little better, he is swimming around a little bit more, but he still seems to be hanging around the bottom of the tank, and leaning against things.  I can tell you he never, or cannot swim to the top, or even away from the bottom of the tank.  I also mentioned that one of the other Ryukin had some black spots on her skin.  Well we just got home from a long weekend away and all 4 of the Ryukin have black spots on them. (With the exception of the guy with the swim bladder problem, because he already has black specs all over him, so he could have the problem too, we just can't tell.)  Do you know what this might be and what we can do to stop the problem, which is quickly spreading?  Also should we just continue with the peas for the swim bladder patient until he seems normal again, and then start the other diet you suggested or is there some medication we should be getting for him also?  Please help ASAP, as we are worried we might lose some or all of them! :-(

Answer
Hi Lindsay;

It sounds like the Ryukin's swim bladder has failed. Feed peas and other veggies and hopefully he will improve. Feed only a little bit of regular food along with it. Goldfish that are the rounded shapes like ryukins, lionheads, moors, etc, can have deformities of the swim bladder. As they grow larger their bodies stay short but their swim bladder doesn't have enough room to grow and elongate as it should. The ducts become blocked and it can't work properly anymore. The best you can do is to keep the tank clean and feed a high fiber diet. Maintain the tank with 25% water changes every week and gravel vacuuming.

Black spots, splotches and streaks hat appear on goldfish are usually from ammonia burns. It is very common for "fish-sitters" to overfeed. Overfeeding causes ammonia to rise and that's probably what happened. The ammonia has burned them and left the black marks behind. They are like scabbing. Make extra water changes and vacuum the gravel twice a week to help them recover and heal. It can take 2 to 4 weeks or so for the black to fade as long as the cause is corrected (ammonia). If there has been black on one of your fish for awhile already, get an ammonia kit and monitor it. It may be a chronic problem you didn't know about before. Fish that spend more time near the bottom are especially prone to it's effects because the gravel on the bottom is where the ammonia is forming.

I hope they feel better very soon...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins