fantail stuck in ornament

Question
hi my fantail goldfish got stuck in an ornament earlier and we had to push him out backwards as he was squeezed in there.
he seemed ok, swimming around fine and eating, just his top fin was drooping (clamped fin?) i heard this is a sign of stress so i turned off their light and he seemed ok, but still a bit droopy.
i have noticed some white stuff on his tail which was not there before, it is not like slime or spots but more like scratches but blotchy, is it from the ornament? and what can i do for him?

thankyou

Answer
Hi Bec,

The scratches are probably from the edges of the ornament, which you had to force him out of. Since he is probably hurt, you will want to add a conditioner to protect his scales and fins, and to reduce stress. I would recommend API's Stress Coat, or simply Hagen's Aqua Plus. In a week or two, he should recover.

If the spots look like cottony growths, or some sort of other irregular patch, your fish may have a disease. Columnaris may be the most likely one. However, most likely, your fish is not sick, just mildly injured.

Here's a good link to see if you suspect that your fish may have a disease:

http://www.fishlore.com/Disease.htm

Good Luck, and I hope your fish recovers!