Need help with injured fish....

bettababy

The plants I was thinking of... Anacharis... would be very easy to care for in a Goldfish tank. A standard fluorescent aquarium light is plenty, 8 - 10 hrs/day... just push them down into the gravel in bunches (which is how they are sold, by the bunch). If you put 2 - 3 bunches together in a few different areas of the tank it will not only look nice, but help feed the fish naturally with a healthy food. The Goldfish may pull the plants out, so you'll have to decide if you want to leave some floating or not... or just replant them until they're eaten down to the stalk. Once my Goldfish eats them down to bare stalk, I simply replace them. I've also found that if I plant enough of them at once, they grow faster than the fish can eat them, so I don't have to replace them very often.

JouteiMike

Java Moss is another easy one. I have some in my tank with my Goldfish and that stuff lasts for a long time and grows like crazy, even with them nibbling at it. The good thing is with Java Moss is that it attaches itself onto rocks or driftwood, or you can attach it to the gravel as well. You may need to tie it to a rock or driftwood so it can develop roots to attach itself. After that, it's maintenance free. So long as it doesn't grow too out of control, you may need to prune it.

dug99

New info... He has brown patches (looks like bruising) on the skin covering the gills (both sides) and his fins are clamped. So far just on the gills. I can't get pictures as I am at work. He is still eating. Going to do water change as soon as I am off work. I called the pet store and they recommended adding salt (meant for fish) to the water. I'm not sure how knowlegable they are on fish disease. I am searching this site and the net for answers to this problem. Any ideas?

bettababy

You could add a bit of marine salt to the tank... lots of medicinial benefits with that. I wouldn't add more than 3 - 3 1/2 tbsp of salt to a 10 gallon tank, though.... too much salt can cause more harm.
It sounds as if the fish is suffering from severe stress. The other things known to cause this (melanin, which is pigment in the skin) are high nitrates and old age. Think of it as similar to a person with "age spots". When we see this condition in a young fish, first thing to look at is water quality and 2nd thing to look at is stress levels. The salt may help relieve it some, but getting the fish into a suitably sized tank with plenty of hiding places would be the real cure.
Hope this helps.

dug99

Finally have some pictures...

Notice how narrow his mouth is where his top lip is?

dug99

Can you guys see the pictures? They are just showing as red X's for me..

Anyway, here are the links. Copy and paste them into your browser.

fishforum.com/userpix/3781_Goldfish1_1.jpg

fishforum.com/userpix/3781_Goldfish2_1.jpg

fishforum.com/userpix/3781_Goldfish3_1.jpg

fishforum.com/userpix/3781_Goldfish4_1.jpg

Mod note: As the name of the fish has been included in the label, it is suggested that the links be copied and pasted in your browser and be sure to include http:// before each link.

JouteiMike

The best thing you can do is to maintain pristine water quality. Do not overfeed, but keep him eating a variety of different foods to boost up his immune system. Adding salt could help, but I'd only recommend it for treating Ich. Do all this until you can pick up a bigger tank. I agree with Bettababy in the idea that he seems severely stressed. Do you have a hiding spot for him? Sometimes leaving the lights off tends to reduce stress as well.

Some of the pics are hard to make out, looks like a real small Goldfish? Almost looks like a feeder Goldfish, hmmm.

bettababy

Although the pics are not the best, I can say that this fish does not look healthy, and it's not just the mouth that makes me say this. I had to really look through the pics a few times to be able to tell that this appears to be either a ryukin or an oranda... (I'm tempted to say oranda due to body shape, but there is no "cap" on it's head)

Is this the condition the fish was in when you purchased it? I agree that perfect water quality is going to be the most important thing now, and good food... but there may be more going on here than I had first suspected. Is there a thermometer in or on this tank? What is your temp? Nitrate levels at this time?

dug99

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to offer advice to help me with my Goldfish. Unfortunately he died sometime today. :(

He seemed quite healthy when I bought him, and stayed that way for about three weeks. Then I noticed something wrong with his mouth. At first I suspected it was an injury but now I am wondering if he had some sort of fungus or infection in his mouth.
The water quality is very good, I check the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels every water change. The last three days I did 50% water changes each day. The temperature is 23C, I check it every time I do a water change.

I will be shopping for a bigger tank and this weekend.

My other Goldfish is still very healthy and happy. I took these pictures just a few minutes ago. Now if only I could take better pictures....