orange goldfish

Question
Last week, the goldfish was bloated and the scales appeared to be raised after a couple days the fish returned to normal size but noticed this morning black developing on both sides of belly and it doesn't seem to be swimming as much. Is this serious or will it work itself out in a couple days?

Answer
Hello Nancy,
It is a bit hard to help you with much when there is not very much detail as to how you take care of your fish and the tank size (should be 20+ gallons) but I can tell you that your fish most likely had Dropsy (stomach fills with liquid, belly balloons out until scales begin to stick out), however there is a slight chance it was something else because Dropsy unless treated properly is almost always fatal.
Black spots are normally ammonia burns, and that means you need to do a water change straight away!
If you are doing frequent water changes (never less than once a week) and the color continues to change it may be nothing, as goldfish do change color sometimes. But random black spots are almost always ammonia burns, so please test your water often to make sure your fish isn't being exposed to chemical poisoning.
Hope this helped, and if you do write back with more detail, I may be able to help even more. Thanks.