Sick, Bloated and Odd Air-pockets - - GoldFish

Question
Hi, We have a goldfish for the last 5 years, recently his body bloated-up; so we looked after best we could, hoping the bloating would reside, but now he has lost some scales and large air-pockets have appeared in place of the scales ( it looks like small balloons sticking out of the side of him ). Any idea what it is? I think the problem may have come form a "dead-log" affect i added to the tank. I bought it from a good pet-shop. It was real wood and while it added a good effect, it rotted!  If we have to say good bye to our goldfish; how do i go about it.  Thanks for your advice, support, help and this great service,  Michael

Answer
I seems he is having swim bladder issues. Some people say the cause of this disease is due to a bacterial infection, the anatomy of goldfish, or diet. If swim bladder disease does have an infectious cause,then water quality is the issue. Either way your aquarium needs to have frequent water changes and should be tested for ammonia regularly. Goldfish produce a lot of waste and their tanks get messy easily. To try to treat this, don't feed your fish for a couple of days. Sometimes this alone will break up the impaction and return things to normal. If this doesn't work feed him thawed peas. It would also be a good idea to complete a water change. Any other questions please ask. :)