Goldfish with cloudy eyes and a lump on its back

Question
I have a fairly large aquariam with nine fish. They include goldfish (6) and loaches (3 recent additions). One of the gold fish has a problem. She has a red lump on her back just in front and to the left of her dorsel fin and her eyes are cloudy. She seems to be in good health with no difficulty in feeding or swimming.

I have 2 larger males which, recently have been chasing her arounbd the tank.

She has had the spot for some time but i'm not sure how recent the eye problem has occured as i've only just noticed it. i'm not erven sure if the 2 problems are related?

The tank is 4' X 2' X 2'. I have had the 3 largest fish for 4 years and they are between 5 and 6 inches long. NO3=100, NO2=1, GH>10, KH=10 and pH=6.8.  

Answer
Hi Nigel;

She is probably very stressed from being chased. I would isolate her to a hospital tank so she can recover. A ten-gallon tank would suffice. It needs only an airpump with an airstone and lights. No decorations, heater or filter is needed because you will be changing her water every day. (A filter wouldn't help much anyway because it will not have a bacteria balance.) It would be a good idea to use aquarium salt and melafix in the hospital tank too. They help avoid infection, soothe and heal damaged tissues. Feed her very small amounts. She doesn't need much right now and excess food will just pollute the little tank.

Make a water change in the big tank too if you haven't done so already. Goldfish are very messy guys. That's a pretty heavily stocked tank so they need a 25% change once a week. Vacuum the gravel weekly too. They'll love ya' for it!

If the one fish doesn't look better in 2 or 3 days, you might need a regular antibiotic or an antifungal. I would try Fungus Cure, Maracyn or Maracyn 2. There are others too if those aren't available. Look at what's available at the local fish store. I have a suspicion that just getting some rest and immune support from the salt and melafix she will be just fine on her own.

I hope she feels better soon......

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins