goldfish wont eat.

Question
QUESTION: Darryl:  My goldfish is about 1 and a half years old.  He has always been alone in a 12gal. tank with the bio-wheel system.  When he developed a "white bump" on his tail, my pet store said that my gravel needed cleaning so they told me how to use a siphon.  His water chemical levels were checked and the water was in great condition.  He has eaten Top Fin floating goldfish food all his life.  He has two air stones and frequent changing of the charcoal filter.  I have purchased aquarium salt, he has been given a drug called "general cure," his water has "start right" added to it, and coming from the tap, the water goes through a "Pur," water system.  Nothing has changed in his life.  After the bump appeared, I quickly went to work.  But he is still not eating.  I have even tried blood worms, but to no avail. He has lived so long, grown so much, that I feel as if I am watching him die.  He is still very active but he will not come to the surface to eat.  His gills and fins are fine and erect.  He seems very strong.  When I put in his floating fish pellets he swims very quickly to the top then dives back down very rapidly and does not eat. Where do I go from here?  Many thanks, Wayne Andresen, wandresen@netzero.com PS: I also do the 25% water changes. Thanks.

ANSWER: Hey Wayne,

Sounds like anchor worms or ich. If it's just the one lump, and it looks more like a worm or a little wiggly poop thing moreso then ich, it's anchor worms (usually has a red sore around it). If so, treat for it. Typically, when a fish stops eating, its very, very bad. I typically recommend thawed peas and brine, because 99.9% of fish wont turn it down. Pretty much all the advice i have to offer at this moment is peas and worm meds. Sounds like everything else is in line and running well. Without a strong description of this white bump, its hard to say for sure, but i'm leaning towards the worms.

Best wishes, and good luck on this!

PS Floating food leads to gulping air at the surface. Trapped air in goldfish leads to illness and stress (even death!) so i'd switch to a fast sinking food :)

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

QUESTION: Darryl: Many thanks for the quick response.  The spot started out looking like a blister that one gets on the heel of ones foot, but now looks like a very light grey very small bump.  There is no spreading or protrusions to indicate a worm.  He (or she,) is a fantail and the area is not as full as it once was.  I don't see a red sore around the area and it is not spreading. Just looking at him now, the spot is a little grey and has not changed or spread.  If anything it is staying the same.  
The fish expert at the pet shop that I have been going to will be in today and I am going to take your email with me.  He was given something by American Pharmaceuticals by he name of General Cure.  It is a anti-parasitic medication.  Perhaps he needs another two-day treatment.  I know I am jumping back and forth but the spot does not look like a worm, if by that you mean that something would be protruding from his tail.  It is exclusively in the original area.  (the white bump is more light grey) Do you feel as if I was not given the correct medicine?  This is really stressing me, so much so that, if I knew it would not add to the stress, I would take him down to the pet shop.  But I will not do that.  Yesterday, I did not even attempt to feed him at all.  If I have described anything else that I might have skimmed over in my first email and if anything else comes to mind, I would greatly appreciate a follow-up answer.  Again, many thanks. Wayne wandresen@netzero.com
ANSWER: Hey again,

Hole in the head is an option, but it's more of a pitted area, not a raised bump. I think that you might wanna look into hole in the head pictures and treatments, because off the top of my head, thats the only "gray-ish" colored condition i can think of that would limit to one or two marks, and not seem to progress with any speed.

Hope this helps out! look up pictures of body holes and hole in the head disease... perhaps you'll find a clue there :)



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

QUESTION: Darryl: As I stated in the first email, the spot or "blister" if you will, was on the TAIL of my fish.  Checking on him now, the spot is gone.  I stopped at two petstores with your email looking for fast sinking goldfish food but couldn't find any....so much for living in a metropolitan area of over 6 million!!  Anyway, the original concern is gone even though the beautiful flow of the tail on that side seems a little altered.  Trip #3 yesterday at the pet store confused me even more.  We seem to be "practicing medicine," as doctors do for people.  I was told by the so-called fish expert that the FIRST medicine that I was sold was mainly for parasite-type illnesses.  The store employee has now sold me "Melafix," which is an all natural extract from tea trees. So I am beginning my second day of treatment.  The employee told me that some goldfish do not like brine, so I settled for your "peas," which I assumed were "English" peas.  I still cannot tell if my fish is eating.  Today, I will cut the tiny green peas in small amounts and just hope for the best.  I thank you for all you have suggested.  Wayne Andresen (can you give me a suggestion of a company online would have "fast sinking" goldfish food?)  Thanks
ANSWER: Hey again,

In my opinion, melafix is a joke. It's about as effective as aloe on a sunburn. Sure, it kinda soothes for a few minutes, but once it's soaked into the skin and dried, it stops helping and things go back to the itchy burning sensation again. Seeing as how i cant speak to fish, so i cant ask for sure, i check for clear signs of what works and what doesnt: yes, melafix helps improve color temporarily, but unless you keep dosing, the signs of stress return. A better solution would be your store bought peas and an anti parasitic medication (only if the spot returns).

And sorry for my vaugness on explaining myself in my previous message. I had a very... interesting day at work, and came home with difficulty articulating clear thoughts. I understand hole in the head sounds like something near the gills or further forward, but in severe, or oddity cases, there are times it can appear elsewhere. If the spot is in the finnage of the tail, it's a parasite for sure (or a sticky peice of poop!) but if things seem to have cleared up already, then the anti parasite medication must have killed the parasite, and it was shriveling and dying over the last few days. Keep up the pea feeding, as it will help, and when the fish seems to be healthy and happy again, you can continue feeding regular goldfish flake, but pre soak it. take a small cup of tank water and put his food into the cup, swirl it with your finger so it sinks, and pour it in that way. Not exactly a fast sinking pellet, but it works.

My boss and i had a "discussion" over feeding goldfish today. She doesnt believe in sinking food for them first, and of course she's "been doing this longer" and knows whats best, but of the tanks she fed floating, and the tanks i feed sinking... mine are far healthier! Same flake, same amount of food, same setups (exactly identical) but mine dont gulp air and can swim better!

Now to prove it to her...

G'Night, and best wishes!

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

QUESTION: Darryl: I apologize.  I was thinking this was what you did for a living.  HE ATE YESTERDAY!!!  He ate the peas that I had cut in half AND some of his Top Fin food !!!  I had not fed him for at least a day and a half.  I have already added the melafix this am.  I have 4 more days to do this, one teaspoon per day.  The filter is out of the aquarium but the biowheel is still in use. Because the melafix is all natural, is it still ok to use?  And is daily feeding ok?  I like your idea of sinking the food and plan to use it.  I am very very grateful to you.  If you see your boss, ask her about continuing the melafix teaspoon doseage and not having the filer in the aquarium.  How often do you feed your goldfish, assuming you have goldfish?  He only gets a spoon that is only labeled "only a pinch," which means it is smaller than 1/2 tsp.  I scooped out the floating pellets that he did not eat.  So he did eat the peas, maybe 3 or 4 and very little of the floating.  So I will close now for it is very early and I have a bad habit of repeating myself.  Again, thanks so much and as we say in Texas.....'preciate ya!!!  Wayne Andresen
ANSWER: Hey again,

I do do this for a living. Allexperts is just for my personal enjoyment, but my days are spent working at a big pet store!

My boss thinks that the fish should be kept hungry, being fed once a day for only a few moments, but personally, now that I run the department, my fish are healthier and livelier! I feed the fancy and feeder goldfish once a day, but i feed them enough to have them continuously eating for 5 minutes like any other fish (except when they're sick).

The melafix is fine to use with biological filtration and shouldnt even be bothered by carbon. It's great that he's eating! That's a great sign. I'd feed him as much as he's willing to eat for the next few days. It should gradually increase to his normal amount of food. If he eats the peas and gets atleast a few flakes or pellets of his normal food for protien, he should not only liven up, heal, perk up, and become healthier, his color should improve and he should live longer too!

Hope things work out for you! I'll hope to get another message from you in a couple days saying that your fish is eating more and doing great! Best wishes.

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

QUESTION: Darryl: You will be receiveing two emails from me.  The bump is NOT gone.  It is a grey color and looks as if it may have some sort of grey line under the skin of the fish.  I just don't know of any other way to describe it.  There is NO worm looking parasite on the tail.  There is no tail splitting.  I am a novice so I can only tell you what I see.  This is driving me crazy.  I wonder if the growth is irritating him?  Help if you can shed any more light on this puzzling situation.  Thanks, worried Wayne.......wandresen@netzero.com  

Answer
Hey again,

the bump still sounds like a parasite. Keep an eye on it and see if it gets worse. I'll venture to say that some coppersafe will clear it up after a few days.

I'll do some further research and if i find out anything different, i'll email you. If not, then start up the coppersafe, and see how things go. Best wishes.