how can i help my fish?

Question
I have a 2 year old goldfish living in a 55 gallon tank.it is large and has had septicaemia for about a year.I have tried every cure you can buy and nothing seems to work. she has been on antibotics threw the water for 5 or 6 months and that did not work, so she has been off antibotics for 2 or 3 months. she seems happy and always eats,but still has the septicaemia because many of the vaines in her tail fin are red. she also has always had long poops.latly shes been swiming faster than normal but not scraping on anything. im not sure if thats normal or not.Im also concerned that on her head she is loosing her orange color and is turning white but does not seem like it is a fungus its not furry or anything.  PLEASE HELP ME! email me at jozuck@aol.com  

Answer
Hey Joel,

Not sure if you'll check this here, and i'll try to keep track and email you at your aol account if you dont read this in a few days.

Anyways, if the red streaks wont go away, perhaps they're simply part of it's design? Over medicating for long periods like that wont help anything. If after two treatments, typically, whatever's there is there for life. Try an anti parasite med for a week. If it doesnt go away, then leave it. there's nothing else you really CAN do, right? Up the salt contect with some aquarium salt as well, the salt will help regulate and cure the fish (and water) of bacterial issues. As for color changes, every goldfish i've ever seen tends to change color throughout it's life. One may start out a red-orange, and end up nearly completely white after 3 years. After another 3 be black spotted, and by 10 years be orange again. So long as you do not suspect infection, dont fret.

As for the tail, keep an eye on it. If ever it seems to get worse, pick up a maracyn-two and 1.5x the dose. Because you've medicated so much for so long, your fish will be resistant to the medication, so a 1.5x dose may break through to the problem. Avoid prolonged, heavy medications though.

Best wishes, and good luck!