Gold fish seems to be sick

Question
Hi, Chris
we have 2 gold fish ( 1 gold, 1 black) for over a year now, they are always good eaters. Today we noticed that the fish stop eating and reacting to food. Both swim low in the tank, from time to time one fish tries to "kiss" another one ( it doesn't look like biting off, more like licking it). I don't see any color changes in them. Both have a very big bellies for several months now, but used to be very fast and ate just fine until today.
I do admit the water was dirty, so as a first step we changed it, cleaned the tank ( 10 gallons ), and treated the water with conditioner and Safeguard to reduce the chlorine. We do have a filter, good water circulation and lights. The water is always kept at a room temperature.

If the fish is sick, is there a medicine we should be using?
where can we get it?

Thank you

Answer
Hi Natalie;

They may be constipated but they also may need a bigger tank if they've grown a lot since you first got them. Once they recover from having their tank cleaned, hopefully they will start eating again. Sometimes cleaning the tank makes them very stressed if it's been awhile. Remove any uneaten food from the tank and cut back on food a bit. If they do get hungry, try feeding them peeled cooked peas instead of regular food for a few days. It will help their digestion if they are constipated.

Goldfish are natural born gluttons so they will make you think they are starving all the time. They only need a little bit of food once or twice a day. Give them only what they can consume from all areas of the tank in less than 5 minutes. Feed what they can consume in less than 2 or 3 minutes if you feed twice a day.

Make a 25% water change every week too. Their water may have gotten pretty dirty and they just didn't feel good. Look for signs of spots, dots, or redness. Anything physical that just doesn't look right should be watched, or let one of us volunteers know so we can help you further in case it's serious.

I hope they do better soon...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins