my poor fantail... :O(

Question
hello...

I desprately in need of your help! My fantail goldfish (2 inches), is over a year old and the past four days he has gotten really ill. He has been in a tank with a smaller fantail,(1 inch) for 7 months, who is having no problems, the temp is 76-78, the tank is 10 gallons. I do a partial water change every month. It started off as him just hanging out at the bottom of the tank, sluggish, dorsal fin pressed down to his body. I knew he wasn't feeling well, so I just waited to see if he would come around. The next day he wasn't doing any better, but I didn't have any time to do a water change. On the third day, he was swimming around a lot more and his dorsal fin was upright again. I thought this was a good sign but I noticed that his gill movement was extrordinarly rapid. He's not swimming up to the the top of the tank trying to gulp air though, he's just swimming around, mouth going at a full speed. I decided to give a 75% water change, using tap water. I added aquarium salt and tap water conditioner as usual. Today his gill movement is even worse, it seems as if he can hardly keep his mouth closed. It appears as if he is choking on a long yawn, he'll swim around having brief spasms, and then he'll calm down. Did I mention he hasn't been eating for the past 2-3 days? And let me tell you, he is a pig. He'll manage to get a little bit of food in his mouth and then a few seconds later it will come back up. I haven't noticed any other signs of distress on his body, I've tried to research this and keep coming up with nothing that helps me. Could this be flukes, and how would I know? If so, where can I find the medication if it's not sold in stores? I also heard of a medication called quick fix? Would this help?

Oh my goodness, I am so paniced. I love him.
Thank you so much.

Superly sad,
kerry  

Answer
Hi Kerry;

It could be gill flukes, or even another type of parasite. Or, it could be a fungal infection, bacteria, or protozoan. It's impossible for me to tell without being able to see it for myself. That's tough to do on the internet. Medications are available at fish stores for gill diseases so look at the gills themselves, at the filaments under the scale-like plates that cover them. Here is a link to a web page that tells you about many different symptoms and treatments for gill diseases and how to identify them;

http://www.nationalfishpharm.com/fish_diseases/gill_disorders.html

In the meantime, get an air pump and an airstone to add extra oxygen to the water. It may help her until we can figure out what's going on.

The fact that neither fish have grown very large in the past few months is not good. Your goldfish should be at least 4 inches long by now. Tank size is a factor, as well as water quality. All fish need a 25% water change and gravel vacuuming once a week, every week. Try doing a 25% water change every day for the next 5 days or so to start getting it straightened out as quickly as possible without stressing them. Your fish will probably feel much better. The goal is to reduce a waste toxin called "Nitrate". When nitrate is above 40 ppm it slows growth, stops breeding, decreases appetite and suppresses the immune system. Your goldfish also need a larger tank. I would get a 20 gallon for them. They will do much better in many respects. Each goldfish needs at least 10 gallons to reach their full potential size of 6 to 8 inches.

I hope your fish recovers okay. Followups welcome...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins