my cold water fish

Question
hi my cold water fish (gold fish) has bloated up loads like a puffer fish does. his scales are pricking out and falling off what is wrong with him ?

Answer
Hi Jane,
 That sounds exactly like a disease called "bloat".  No one is exactly sure what causes bloat and it might be several different things that result in the same symptoms -- that makes treating it difficult.  It often seems to be associated with an internal infection, possibly of the intestine or swim bladder.  There are medicines that claim to help but I have had little success with them.  What makes it tricky is that this sort of thing can be caused by "stress" which might be brought on by all sorts of things, from poor water quality, inadequate filtration or aerationg, etc.

 First thing to check is the quality of water the fish is in. Have you been doing regular water changes?  You should be changing about 20% of his water once a week, every week.

 Also be sure that his water isn't getting too hot -- a common problem in summer.  Goldfish are coldwater fish and they can't handle water much above 75 or so.

 
 Also, be sure that he has a good air supply.  This goes along with the water temperature -- warmer water holds less oxygen than cooler water so be sure that he has an airstone in the tank to provide enough oxygen.  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>