There are a lot of responses to this article – I’m very happy to have helped so many sick goldfish.
If you notice goldfish disease symptoms and need help, please scan the comments/replies already posted (click the link at the very bottom of the page to view previous comments). Your question might be answered already! And always test the water before writing a comment.
This is the first part in the goldfish disease series. In this three-part series, you’ll learn…
- How to tell if your goldfish is sick (we’ll look at 14 goldfish disease symptoms)
- How to treat 7 of the most common goldfish diseases in aquariums and freshwater ponds
- How to keep your aquarium completely disease free by solving common tank problems
Goldfish are remarkably hardy creatures and don’t often fall prey to goldfish diseases. You just need to maintain good water quality, keep up with tank maintenance, feed your goldfish a varied diet, and test the water regularly. In fact, chances that you’ll find goldfish disease symptoms are slim if your goldfish are kept in a healthy aquarium environment with proper goldfish care.
You may be surprised to find out that most experienced aquarists have very little experience treating fish diseases. This is because they are experts at keeping their fish healthy. – David E. Boruchowitz, author of Aquarium Care of Goldfish
But even under the best conditions, goldfish aren’t entirely immune to diseases.
When you have sick goldfish, you want to catch goldfish disease symptoms early on to prevent goldfish diseases from spreading and infecting other fish in the aquarium.
Some infections are even fatal and can quickly kill your goldfish in a matter of days. This makes it even more important to have a medication like this on hand and treat goldfish disease symptoms quickly.
Treat Sick Goldfish Early
There are two types of goldfish diseases: those that are contagious and those that aren’t. Even if the infection isn’t contagious, you should still put your goldfish in a “hospital tank,” a smaller tank separated from the other fish, so that your goldfish can recuperate without being stressed out.
Separating infected goldfish prevents your healthy fish from receiving medication they don’t need (what is called being “over-medicated”).
First, we’ll look at abnormal behavior signs that could hint that something’s not quite right in the aquarium. Next, we’ll dive into the visual signs of diseases on the body and fins. Later, I’ll walk you through your next steps after you’ve discovered potential problems.
Let’s take a look at a few goldfish disease symptoms to look out for. If you notice any of these symptoms in your own aquarium, it might help to write them down on a notepad. This will make it easier later to determine what caused the goldfish disease and how to treat your sick goldfish.
Goldfish Disease Symptoms in Behavior
- Gasping for breath, rapidly breathing, or hanging at the water surface – One or more of your goldfish might be gathered at the surface of the water, noisily gobbling up packets of air or sucking in oxygen just below the surface. This usually happens when the water isn’t oxygenated enough for your goldfish to breathe comfortably (poor water quality). So sick goldfish will try to find any means they can to get more oxygen. If water quality doesn’t improve, the stress of not breathing in enough oxygen will lower the immune system and cause other goldfish disease symptoms to develop. If you notice gasping at the surface, test the water with a freshwater test kit immediately.
- Refuses to eat or losing weight – This is another goldfish disease symptom you should catch early. Goldfish are naturally ravenous creatures and will eat just about anything if given the chance. So a goldfish refusing to eat or showing noticeable signs of weight loss should be a warning sign that there’s a problem that needs closer looking into. Your goldfish might be suffering from internal parasites or poor water quality.
- Erratically swimming or swimming upside down – Erratic swimming is a sign of buoyancy problems. Trouble swimming could be caused by swim bladder disease, dropsy, or improper feeding (and sometimes feeding peas will help). Poor water quality might also be the culprit (or a result of overfeeding). If you look closely, are there other goldfish disease symptoms you may not have noticed?
- Listless or laying at the bottom – Healthy goldfish actively swim around and interact with their environment. If you have a sick goldfish that never gets up from the gravel, something is seriously wrong and you should take immediate action to find the underlying cause. Usually sick goldfish that are listless are also suffering from poor water quality or an infection.
- Slow to react to disturbances and stimuli – Are you about to feed your goldfish, only to find that one of them doesn’t seem to notice the food until it’s smack against his nose? Sick goldfish often have trouble reacting to certain things in their environment. Look for other goldfish disease symptoms, test the water quality, and do an immediate water change if test results are less than ideal.
- Rubs against the aquarium glass and other surfaces – This could be a sign of parasites, like ich, or even a fungus infection. At least, something is making your goldfish very itchy. If your goldfish is just rubbing his nose on the glass whenever you come nearby (what I like to call the “goldfish dance”), it could just be a friendly greeting and a demand to be fed (of course, don’t give in to those demands if you already fed your goldfish just moments ago). 😉
Goldfish Disease Symptoms on the Body or Fins
- Clamped or folded fins – Maybe your goldfish constantly holds his fins close to his body or he’s lethargic and doesn’t move around much. There are actually a few potential goldfish diseases that can cause your fish to act this way, and your job is to look for other goldfish disease symptoms that might give the disease away. It might just be a case of poor water quality or parasites. Testing the water with a freshwater aquarium testing kit will give you a better idea of what is causing the problem and how to make the aquarium environment healthier for your goldfish.
- Torn or frayed fins – This is often a sign of stress, especially if you notice little red veins branching out in the fins. Simply changing the water and separating your goldfish from more aggressive fish can quickly solve this problem. If you find that the fins are actually starting to deteriorate into a stump, your goldfish may be experiencing fin or tail rot, which is caused by bacteria (and could attract fungus infections).
- Fluffy patches, discolored spots, or raised bumps – Do you notice a slight fuzz in some areas that shouldn’t be there? If your goldfish has discolored patches on the body or fins, chances are that he’s suffering from fungal or bacterial infections. Hospitalize the goldfish immediately and run some water tests on the main aquarium to determine what caused the goldfish disease symptoms. If the discolored patches actually look like little white specks of salt, your goldfish is suffering from ich, often known as white spot disease. Ich is fairly contagious (even common) in aquariums. If black spots are visible, your sick goldfish have an ammonia burn or parasite infection (this parasite is very rare in aquariums).
- Bloated or has raised scales – If one of your goldfish is abnormally round, large (be careful not to mistake this for a maturing female goldfish), or even resembles a pine cone, he may have dropsy (often caused by bacterial infections and sometimes incurable). A bloated sick goldfish might also be overfed or, if your goldfish have buoyancy problems, filled with packets of air after extended periods of time gasping for breath at the water surface.
- Pale gills – Pale gills can be caused by a number of goldfish diseases, including parasites. Salt is a popular treatment in this case, though you should also consider medications. Medications will depend on the type of parasite that is infecting your fish and can be determined by other goldfish disease symptoms.
- Noticeable lumps or parasites – External parasites are usually visible on the body or fins, and many will cause ulcers and lumps along the scales. Such parasites include ich (white spot disease), anchor worms, fish lice, and flukes. There are many ways you can get rid of parasites, ranging from medication to salt baths. You can even have them manually removed (though I don’t recommend this unless you know what you’re doing).
- Protruding eyes – If one or both eyes of your goldfish are abnormally large (don’t mistake this for natural characteristics in black moor or telescope goldfish), this could be early goldfish disease symptoms of pop eye or a bacterial infection.
- Bleeding wounds, sores, or missing scales – Do you have aggressive or territorial fish in the same aquarium? Solving this problem could just be a matter of finding a separate tank to house your goldfish. Your goldfish could also be infected with parasites, causing him to rub on gravel or other sharp objects.
By catching goldfish disease symptoms ahead of time, you can prevent infections from getting worse, spreading, and taking over the aquarium. And by taking immediate action to treat the disease, your sick goldfish has a better chance of surviving through the infection.
It’s always a good practice to watch your goldfish on a daily basis for signs of abnormal behavior or growths. A good time to do this is right before or during feeding.
Once you’ve noticed signs of a potential disease, you’ll want to put the sick goldfish into a hospital tank as soon as possible so that other fish in the same tank don’t get infected. Then you’ll need to determine what caused goldfish disease symptoms (so that you can effectively treat the disease) and identify problems running rampant in your tank. We’ll discuss more about this in the third part of the series.
You’ll then be able to take measures to ensure your other goldfish don’t get similarly infected.
Test the water with an aquarium test kit will help you identify tank problems. Also think back to events that led up to this point. Did you recently just introduce a new goldfish to the aquarium (without quarantining him first)? Did you just add new water to the tank without letting it adjust to room temperature?
Instead of looking for terrible diseases, you should concentrate on keeping your fish healthy. – David E. Boruchowitz, author of Aquarium Care of Goldfish
Remember: the best cure for any disease is prevention. By keeping your goldfish in a healthy environment, you reduce their chances of getting fatal goldfish disease symptoms. And it’s much easier to care for healthy fish than it is to treat sick goldfish.
How About You?
What sort of goldfish disease symptoms have you noticed? How did you treat your sick goldfish? Are there any goldfish care tips you can offer to help prevent infections? I’d love to hear from you!
194 comments
Hi Christina,
This is an awesome site! I can’t believe I just found it. I would like to ask for your advice, if possible.
My fish, Fishy, has been through a lot this last month. We have had a severe illness in the family, during which unfortunately I did not do a good job of keeping up on tank maintenance, and Fishy contracted a case of tail rot.
He was in a 10 gallon tank. I had the water tested and there was a definite water quality issue. I had been planning to move him to a 20 gallon tank anyway, so I asked at our local pet store if I should go ahead with this or try to address the problem in the current 10 gallon tank. The advice was to move him.
Unfortunately, in order to get the 20 gallon tank set up, I had to take down the 10 gallon tank. So I moved Fishy to a 5 gallon tank for 2 days. Although the water quality readings were okay in the 5 gallon tank, it was a disastrous move. Fishy sat on the bottom of his tank and did not come out of his house for the entire time except to eat. His tail rot got worse and he also came down with pop eye &/or eye cloud. 🙁
I rushed to set up the new tank, added the water conditioner and nutricycle (bacteria), let it run for 24 hours and then carefully added Fishy (this past Monday, 9/2)
Now, he is at least swimming around the tank and exploring. I am testing the water quality in the new tank daily and it appears well within the normal ranges (no ammonia or nitrites, pH around 8.) After researching, I also added 4T of aquarium salt (to the 20 gallon tank.) His tail rot looks better, but I can’t tell whether his eyes are improving.
My question (finally! sorry for the long background): How long will it take to see an improvement in his tail &/or eyes? And should I go ahead and treat him (with something like Fungus Guard? I don’t want to medicate him unnecessarily, but I definitely want to make sure he is healing and to do whatever is necessary. (He is my only fish.)
What would you advise? (& thank you very much in advance)
–Anne
Hi Anne,
I’m glad your poor goldfish is now feeling better. The salt should have helped keep stress levels down and he’s exploring the aquarium, which is good. Sometimes it takes a few weeks to notice improvements, especially if your goldfish had a bad case of fin rot, but it sounds like your goldfish is on his way to recovery! I would give it a week before medicating though. It just sounds like your goldfish went into shock after the stress of the 10-gallon tank and then the move. As long as you continue to watch the water quality and test the water every week, your goldfish should begin the healing process. He sounds like he’s doing a lot better already, now that he’s moving around. If the eye cloud gets worse or you notice stressful red marks on his fins, you might want to look into medicating. But for now, I would just observe how he interacts with the new aquarium. You definitely don’t want to medicate unnecessarily, as this can cause even more stress for your goldfish.
Hope that helps!
Hello,
I need help my two goldfish I got at the fair have devalupted a white spot on their nose. It’s not black, my grey goldfish’s white spot is bleeding a bit. I haven’t changed the tank in 2 or 3 days so foggy. It’s a small tank for two fish, they are acting normal, still eating, still swimming like their suppost to be. They both have the spot, I’m not sure how old they are but their a pretty big size. Please help!
Hi Maddie,
How small is the tank (how many gallons)? You might have to move your goldfish to a larger tank, as problems normally develop when goldfish are cooped up in smaller aquariums. Goldfish are very messy fish, so they need much more water than many other species. The white spot sounds like it might be a fungal infection (is it fuzzy?). If the white spots are spreading (do they look like someone salted your fish?), then you could have an ich problem (my white spot disease guide will help for treatment).
The first step is finding out what caused the disease and then fixing it so that future problems don’t develop. I’d recommend buying a freshwater aquarium testing kit and testing the water immediately for problems. It sounds like your goldfish might be suffering through an ammonia spike (especially if they’re kept in a small tank). Ammonia can be deadly if left alone. Ammonia readings should always be 0 in an aquarium.
Now, once the water quality is better (move your goldfish in a larger tank if you have to – I recommend 20-gallons at the very minimum for two fancy goldfish), you’ll want to treat for the disease your goldfish have. If the white spot is fuzzy, you should find a medication for fungal infections. Many fish hobbyists recommend Methylene Blue as a fungal treatment. If your goldfish have ich (and the white spots look more like small grains of salt), start by treating your goldfish with the salt and heat method mentioned in the above white spot disease article.
I hope your goldfish feel better! Fair goldfish are usually very stressed out from their time at the fair and from the journey home, so this could also have contributed to the infections they developed. As long as you treat the problem quickly, change the water regularly (25% every week for a 20-gallon aquarium – more frequently if your aquarium is smaller) stay on top of water quality, test the water every week with an aquarium testing kit, and give your goldfish ample space to swim around, your fish should be fine.
hi i am only a kid but my goldfish is swimming upside down all the time and is having trouble diving. he used to be very active and would even push around the other fish in his tank but now he just hangs around and swims upside down. he is very tiny, about 2 or 3 cm long. what should I do? my uncle says he will probably die.
Hi Alannah,
How long have you had your fish? How many gallons of water can fit in your tank? Your goldfish sounds very young, and since he’s already showing signs of problems, it’s probably the water quality that is the culprit. Red gills and scales sound like it might be an ammonia problem, so test the water (or get someone else to test the water for you) as soon as possible! Ammonia spikes can affect all of the fish in your tank, so the sooner you test your water, the better. You can find an aquarium testing kit at the pet store. Make sure it’s for freshwater fish. I personally use API Freshwater Aquarium Testing Kit. It’s very cheap and will last you months. Your local pet store should also have it in stock. While less accurate than the liquid version, API also offers strips that you can just pop into your aquarium water for a second and then let it dry for several minutes. Testing is easier with strips and might be more convenient for you and your sister. But testing the water is absolutely crucial for maintaining healthy water in your aquarium and the master test kit will help you monitor ammonia, pH, nitrate, and nitrite so that levels don’t get too harmful for your fish.
Now, let’s look into how to fix your goldfish’s floating problems. The first step is to isolate your goldfish, so your goldfish will get enough to eat during feeding time. It might be hard for him to compete with other fish for food if your other fish are healthy. Since he’s young, you can drop him in a 5-gallon aquarium for now (until he gets better). Don’t keep him in a tank that small though. I’d recommend a 20-gallon tank for one or two healthy goldfish. They can get quite big (most fancy goldfish will grow up to 6 inches or more). And since goldfish are very bulky, they can get really messy and cloud the water with ammonia. So the more space you can give your goldfish the better. But as a hospital tank, 5 gallons might be enough for a very young goldfish.
Make sure you change the water every day to keep your hospital tank healthy (get someone to help you). Just take out 25% of the water every day or every other day. Replace the 25% you took out with conditioned water if you use tap water, so you don’t accidentally harm your fish. A nice water conditioner to use is AquaSafe. Simply put in a few drops of that before you refill your tank and swirl the mixture around, then pour the conditioned water back into the aquarium (make sure the temperature of the new water is the same as the temperature in your aquarium).
What kinds of food do you feed your goldfish? Goldfish are omnivores, so this means that they love meat and veggies in their diet. You can take a look at my goldfish food guide for ideas on what to feed the little guy. To help with his floating problems, you can feed him green peas. Just take some frozen peas and de-skin them. You can get a parent to help you. Then chop the peas up into itty-bitty pieces and drop the pieces into the aquarium. Make sure you feed enough so that your goldfish can have a bite, but not too much to fog the water.
To help make your goldfish comfortable, you can also put in 1/2 rounded teaspoon of aquarium salt for every gallon of water that’s in the tank. The salt will help reduce stress so your goldfish can develop his slime coat (this helps him fight off infections). Don’t use table salt – You can find special aquarium salt in any pet store. This step is optional, but will definitely help the little guy fight off infections.
I hope your goldfish gets better! Let me know if you notice any other problems. Keep a close watch on him and if you find signs of infections (like torn fins or fuzzy discolored growths), be sure to check back here!
Hi my names Marissa, and just when I went to go feed my fish for the night it appeared that one of my goldfish was floating on its side lifeless so my mom changed the water and it was still the same. I have a total of two goldfish. Is there anything I can do for my poor goldfish. I think it might after all I have had them for 5 years. I just need answers. Thank you!
Hi Marissa,
I’m so sorry to hear about your goldfish! Have you tested the water recently? Sometimes poor water quality is the culprit.
Do you notice any signs of disease on your surviving goldfish? If you haven’t tested the water for ammonia, pH, nitrate, or nitrite, I’d recommend doing so as soon as possible. High ammonia spikes or unhealthy nitrate/pH conditions can be detrimental for fish. You can test the water with a freshwater test kit, available at most pet stores. It’s hard to determine a better course of action without more information though.
Let me know those water readings once you get them… or if goldfish conditions get any worse.
also just adding my sister scares him sometimes would that be the reason he is sick?
Your sister scaring him might cause him some stress, but it won’t be the main reason why he’s sick. Definitely getting your sister to stop scaring him will help him feel better though. 🙂
also my goldfish is looking a lttle red around the gills and other places, but he has always been a little orangey. he also has one particular shiny scale that never falls off. Is that normal?
A couple of days ago, I returned home to find (in spite of them appearing fine in the morning) about 20 of my goldfish dead and dying. They were bred last year and transferred into a large
(4ftX2 ft) tank that is planted and mature in my front garden. I removed the healthy fish and triaged them according to the level of sickness. After 24 hrs, I was left with only six healthy fish. I cleaned the tank and re-filled it (although I didn’t leave it to condition fully, nor did I add any quick conditioner. This morning, I find all but two of the fish dead. I have quarantined them. I’m puzzled a bit upset as I feel I may have contributed to their demise. The tank is filtered but it was a particularly hot day, although there is plenty of oxygenating and shading vegetation in there. It has all the appearance of a toxic event but what?
Hi Russell – I’m sorry for your losses! It’s very sad to see any pet die, especially so young, and to experience that many losses can be hard. How are your water readings? What kind of water did you use to refill the tank? The little ones could have been exposed to an infection that went viral. How old were your goldfish? It’s not uncommon for a few fry to die, as many are born with defects. What were you feeding your goldfish? It’s hard to say what caused such widespread deaths without more information. Your goldfish could have been inflicted with bacterial or fungus infections, parasites, malnutrition, poor water quality, or a combination of these.
Christina,
Thank you so much for your prompt reply and the advice. I have isolated the two survivors and have used water from a different pond for their isolation tank. I shall keep a close eye on them. meanwhile, I have cleaned, refilled and treated the original large tank and, having washed the rocks and the vegetation thoroughly, have replaced them as well. I shan’t stock this tank again this year. The dead fish were not really fry, being almost a couple of years old (I know I said last year but I meant last but one!)and had been fine in their position for about a year. Still a bit mystified. My next suspect is the filler I used to help seal the pipe exit hole. Off to by a new water testing kit in order to keep an eye on the refilled tank. Thanks again for your concern and response.
Hey about 2/6 of my fish have a large pimple like bump. It is located right above their eyes and white. We just put them in a tank about 1 hour ago and just noticed it now. The bump is about the size of the push part of a pen. Anyone know what this might be?
Hi Jacob,
The white pimples could be parasites. Do they look small like salt grains? If so, I recommend the treatments mentioned in my white spot disease guide. If the white pimples are fuzzy, you might have the beginnings of a fungal infection.
How are water readings? Ich (or white spot disease) is very common in aquariums, especially if your goldfish are new. Ich can also spread quickly. If you’re unsure that your goldfish might have ich, I would treat the water with aquarium salt anyway. Just put in 1 teaspoon of aquarium salt for every gallon (follow the natural treatment in the guide mentioned above). If the white spots don’t clear up in a few weeks (or get worse), let me know.
my fish is much better after just 1 day. I don’t know how big a 2o gallon tank is, sorry, but his normal tank is quite small, it is about 20 cm long, wide and tall. he shares the tank with one other fish who is smaller than him . we don’t have another tank so we put him in a silver bowl we use for baking that is around the same size as his normal tank. he has stopped floating upside down but is hanging around at the bottom of the bowl, but that might be because he’s tired, he spent all day and night yestersay trying to swim away from his reflection because it looked bigger than him. he seems quite comfertable now but he when I dropped in some mushed peas he didn’t seem to like the look of them. he likes the pea’s skin though, he gobbled it right up. he ignored the fish food. I have had him for about 4 months. he is still slightly red.
Alannah, goldfish should never ever be sitting at the bottom of the tank, not unless he’s sick. Even tired goldfish won’t sit at the bottom of the tank (in fact, goldfish sleep as they float!). So the fact that he’s sitting at the bottom should tell you that something is very, very wrong.
Also, when feeding your goldfish peas, you should take off the skin – don’t let him eat the skin! You most likely have an ammonia problem in the tank because, from the sound of it, your aquarium has become too small for the little guy. A small tank may be fine at the beginning, but once your goldfish grows, he will need a bigger tank. Ask your parents if they can at least get your goldfish a 20-gallon aquarium. If a 20 gallon isn’t within budget, you can try putting him in a food-safe container for now that holds at least 20 gallons. Even a 10-gallon aquarium would help, if you can’t get a 20-gallon tank right now.
Your goldfish may look small, but goldfish are very, very messy fish. They’re not like many tropical fish – they discharge a lot of waste. Goldfish are a lot bulkier than other fish, so they dirty the water a lot more. This waste can cause harmful ammonia spikes in the water. As your goldfish grows and becomes even bigger, he’ll discharge even more waste. If left in a small aquarium, he could die. Right now, he’s showing serious signs that he’s uncomfortable with the water. Before he gets worse, you should really think about getting a bigger tank for him or he may not last long.
Goldfish can live for longer than 10 years if you take good care of him. Right now, the water is really hurting him. Let me know if you need any more help, but you should really talk to your parents about getting a bigger aquarium.
also, my Dad boils the water and lets it cool, he finds it much more effective than the drop thingy that you put in the water to get rid of chlorine and stuff.
Please help! My black moor fish is just sitting at the bottom of the tank gasping for breath! Can I do anything to stop him from dying?!
Hi Jenny – Have you tested the water recently? What are water readings? Poor water quality is normally the cause of many goldfish infections. After observing your goldfish, do you notice any other signs of sickness? Is he bloated? Are there fuzzy discolored patches? Are there red marks along his skin and fins?
It’s really hard to determine what to do at this point without more information. What size aquarium do you keep him in? How old is your goldfish? If water quality is the problem (often due to high ammonia), I would change 25% of the water immediately and then daily until ammonia levels go down. But definitely test that water. You can find an aquarium testing kit at any pet store – make sure you get one for freshwater though.
Hi, thank you for your quick reply.
I havent tested the water recently, didnt realise you could buy home kits. (I take a sample into the shop usually) There are no other visual signs..he is quite a round plump fish anyway and I havent noticed any difference in size, only had him for 2wks. He eats floating pellets so could possibly be gulping air, would this make him lay at the bottom and not move though? He is in a 72litre tank with one other goldfish that seems to be perfectly fine. I have done a water change and will do this daily. Can he get better or is it to late?
Hi Jenny – floating pellets do cause buoyancy problems for many fancy goldfish, though I don’t think it would cause your goldfish to lay at the bottom. Mainly air gulping might cause some fancy varieties to swim erratically or even upside down. If your goldfish frequently has swimming problems, buying sinking pellets might definitely help, but it wouldn’t solve the listless resting at the bottom though.
From what you told me, the size of your aquarium seems fine, so that may not be the problem. To keep two goldfish in a 20-gallon aquarium, you will need to do a 25% water change every week though (or whenever water readings are less than desirable after testing). I’d say just pick a day of the week and make it a routine. Until you can get the water tested, maybe sprinkle some aquarium salt (to help with stress) and complete a water change every other day. But definitely get the water tested as soon as possible. The sooner you know for sure what the problem is, the faster your goldfish can heal. Aquarium testing kits are not very expensive (only about $20 for an API master test kit) – well worth the price and they last for a while. I recommend the liquid version instead of strips, since the liquid version can be more accurate.
Since you don’t notice any other signs of infection, I’d say your goldfish has a good chance of pulling through. Of course, some infections are less visible (like internal parasites) and it’s really hard to recommend better treatment at this stage without knowing the root cause of the problem. The good news is that any disease your goldfish might be infected with isn’t spreading to the other fish. Some diseases take time to infect other fish in the aquarium, but at least we know it hasn’t gotten to that stage yet (and maybe it never will).
Right now, it sounds like your goldfish is just stressed. He may not even be infected with anything yet, so it’s a good thing you caught the warning signs early. If ammonia is the problem, you definitely want to get rid of as much as possible. So keep doing water changes until you can make a trip to the pet store. Once per day or every other day should be fine. Don’t change the water more than once per day though, or you might cause your fish even more stress.
Keep me updated on his progress!
hey my goldfish is little bit floating in air . what to do ?
little bit float on water and after 3 or 5second its move its fins what’s the problem ?
Hi Sonrig,
What do you mean by floating? Is your goldfish swimming upside down or swimming erratically? Or is it just bobbing through the water without moving its fins? Is it keeping at the surface or resting at the bottom? Does it look bloated or constipated? It’s hard to know what’s wrong without more information.
I won a goldfish from the fair and now itit’s been about a month that I have him. Its been eating fine and its been very active but I noticed that he’s not as active as he does not eat. What should I do to help him?
Hi Luis,
Congratulations on the new goldfish! Have you done any water tests recently? What are water readings? What kind of aquarium do you keep your goldfish in? Are there other signs of stress, like red fins or black spots? Does your goldfish keep at the surface or stay at the bottom of the tank? A goldfish that refuses to eat is definitely a sign that something’s very wrong, but it’s hard to diagnose the problem without more information.
Help Please!!! I woke up this morning to a distressing sight. My two goldfish (fancy & regular) have red streaks on all thier fins and dark red spots around their gills, sides, and on their bellies. One of them has an eye that looks swollen and both are lethargic. They were fine last night and this morning they were both sitting at the bottom of the tank not moving very much, nor were they eager to consume their food. I have had the tank and fish for 3 months and have never had a problem with them or the water quality (regular changes of water, testing, etc.) of the tank. We had the water tested today and it was good across the board. We were told it was probably a fungus and bought PIMAFIX to treat the tank/fish, but the protruding eye and red streaks/blotches are still present. I moved the fish to a “hospital” bucket and changed the water, cleaned the glass, artificial rock and weeds, and vacummed the rock bed. I also removed the carbon filter upon the introduction of the PIMAFIX (as instructed by the employee at the fish store). I do not want to lose these guys as they are very active and have unique personalities (for fish). Do you have any suggestion or advice on how I can successfully save my buddies? Thanks.
Hi Galvan,
If water readings all show that water quality is fine, you might have a parasite problem. Do you have snails in the tank? If so, I was reading that these spots could be the larval stages of intestinal flukes. I would try treating your fish with an anti-parasitic medication. First, complete a 25% water change to get rid of some of the Pimafix in the aquarium. I really doubt the problem is related to fungus, since most fungus will show as white cottony growths. Get some aquarium salt and follow the directions on the carton. If you’re using API Aquarium Salt, put in 1/2 rounded teaspoons per gallon of aquarium water. I recommend PraziPro for treatment. It works very well for internal parasites and it’s light enough that it doesn’t harm otherwise healthy goldfish.
Treat with an anti-parasitic medication for a week and let me know if you notice any signs of healing. I hope your goldfish pull through!
I do not have any snails or plants in the tank. We removed all the artificial plants/rocks and scrubbed them just to be safe. I changed the water (50%) and did not put anything back in while allowing the Pimafix to cycle through the tank. They were improving within 3 days of treatment, but they are lethargic once again and have a couple of black spots showing on various parts of their bodies. I will try the salt and PraziPro treatment that you recommended unless you have any additional advice for treatment. Thanks again for the advice, I really appreciate it.
hello i hope u can help me. i’m new to owing gold fish. i have 3 in a 1.5 gallon tank. one big & the others r smaller. i think i may have been over feeding them. i stop that thay . i just recently change the water. i used api stress coat to make water better. i let them get use to water. dont put them back in the water until 20 mins later. do they they need meds i have quick cure for ick, portozoan parasties. my big one has a big redish poop coming out. & they r swiming alil stress. they have been still a few times & my two small have been upside own a few times today. what can i do to keep them alive. my kids love them.
& i just change my filter just now. they get coming up to the surface. i know there not hurgry. they keep going down to the rocks & pick them up. when the same stop swiming they foalt to the top. they have a small stomach boat but nothing unsally. ithey always act hungry. when they c any of us. idk whats going on & im very worried. plz help me.
Hi Corda,
A 1.5 gallon tank is much too small for one goldfish, let alone three. As they mature and their bodies develop, they will excrete more and more waste. One fancy goldfish can grow up to 6 inches long, some even longer than that. Eventually, the ammonia they produce will poison them.
You really need to upgrade your tank as soon as possible. My guess is that right now they’re suffering from ammonia poisoning and not enough oxygen in the water. They could die if left in those conditions. I recommend a 20 gallon aquarium at the very minimum for one or two fancy goldfish. Since you have three, I suggest getting at least a 30-gallon. Goldfish are very messy fish compared to many tropicals and will need as much space as possible to keep ammonia levels low. Even if you can only afford a 10-gallon tank, it will most certainly be better than the one gallon. Keep in mind that you will need to upgrade eventually if you do go with a 10 gallon, but since your goldfish are still young, they might do okay in a 10 gallon for a year or two (if going this route, you will need to do frequent water changes – two or three times per week depending on water readings).
Until you upgrade, I recommend doing daily 25% water changes. Your goldfish still won’t survive very long with just the water changes, but it will help to keep the ammonia down. In the meantime, you can also get a freshwater aquarium testing kit – this will let you know how your water is doing and help you closely monitor water conditions. To help with the floating problems, you may want to fast them for a few days (about 4 should be fine). After the fast, give them some green peas (de-skin them first and chop them into little chunks before feeding). This might help the buoyancy problems, but my guess is that your goldfish are swimming upside down because they’ve been gasping for breath at the surface of the water (and in return taking in air that is causing the swimming problem). There’s not enough oxygen in the water right now, so your goldfish are probably really struggling to breathe.
Definitely upgrade the tank as soon as possible, and let me know if you need any other help. I hope your goldfish pull through!