goldfish ill

Question
hi we have had a goldfish for about 5 years and recently it has been quite lethargic and staying on the bottom of the tank, however, yesterday we went out and when we returned it was curled in half like it was half paralyzed. we put it in a bowl with fresh water and put the pump in also but it was still like it. when we got up the next day its still the same but when we tap on the side of the bowl it starts moving erratic and trying to swim but its still curled in half on its side. help????

Answer
Angie,
Do you perform regular water tests? It helps to know what the ammonia and nitrite/nitrate levels are. If they have reached toxic levels, it can be very damaging to your fish, and is very easily fatal.
Also, how large is your tank? Whenever asking questions about fish, you need to include as much detail as possible, because every tank and every situation is different. There are a billion combinations that fish keepers can have, so in order to help we must have plenty of information to go on.
Goldfish grow quite large and are very large bodied, therefore need large tanks. With one goldfish, you should have a 20 gallon tank at least, and a decent filtration system. You also need to be sure you are doing regular water changes, as goldfish produce twice as much ammonia than other fish, and faster. Filters can not remove ammonia or nitrites/nitrates for you. That is only done by water changes.
I recommend doing small water changes (about 20%) daily or every other day until he recovers, adding stress coat and possibly meds such as lifeguard, and testing your water at least twice a week. This should help. Then you'll want to continue doing 30-40 percent water changes (if you have a 20 gallon tank) once a week. Anything smaller, and you'll have to do more frequent water changes. And you will need to upgrade as soon as possible.
Also, it would be a good idea to do some research on the nitrogen cycle.