Injured Goldiefish Help

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My_Goldie

Part Time Ninja
Mar 1, 2009
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Angela
My goldfish, Goldie, had an incident this morning (got stuck inside one of the decorations) and is pretty banged up now. He's scraped off scales and skin along one whole side of his head and it's the worst on his gill plate.

He was stuck, and I pushed him out carefully and now he is very lethargic and just kind of sits, and doesn't seem totally there. He gets random bursts of energy but also keep sitting towards the top or bottom of the tank.

I'm thinking he's not doing so well, and was just wondering if there was anything I could do for him. I don't have a cycled quarantine tank, and don't want to take the chance of moving him to an uncycled tank.

The other 2 guys in the tank aren't messing with him at all, and neither is the pleco.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.:confused:

Oh and I have a 50 gallon tank with 3 goldfish and a pleco.
 
Last edited:

macfacker

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Jan 1, 2009
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Introduce Melafix into the Tank just as you would add when introducing a new fish.
This won't harm the other fish and do good for Goldie. The healing process will take time but shouldn't be more than a week before his up and about.
 

7itanium

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Jan 31, 2009
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Melafix and maybe a bit of aquarium salt (NOT marine salt)

its a general stress reliever as well as helps kill some infections
 

crimsonmoon

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Aug 31, 2008
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i would do 3 or 4 50% water changes a week and add melafix. pristine water works wonders for wounds
 

7itanium

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i would do 3 or 4 50% water changes a week and add melafix. pristine water works wonders for wounds
agreed with that idea as well.. but of aquarium salt cant hurt either
 

Kashta

Always Niko's fault.....
Jun 24, 2008
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Welcome to AC, My_Goldie. :welcome:

Many of us here share your interest in goldfish. I'm glad you've found your way to our site and this forum.

My goldfish, Goldie, had an incident this morning (got stuck inside one of the decorations) and is pretty banged up now. He's scraped off scales and skin along one whole side of his head and it's the worst on his gill plate.
Goldfish are very inquisitive and manage to squeeze themselves into very tight places. They're a very wiggly fish that are good at surprising us like that. Of course, they're not real good at figuring out how to get back out again. I hope you've already removed that decor item from the tank. Try also to avoid anything else that has rough surfaces, sharp edges, and other tight places that may cause harm to your fish.

He was stuck, and I pushed him out carefully and now he is very lethargic and just kind of sits, and doesn't seem totally there. He gets random bursts of energy but also keep sitting towards the top or bottom of the tank.
A superficial external wound from a minor scrape on the side of a goldfish should heal itself well in a matter of days to a week or so. But given the circumstances and the extent of damage that you describe (scraped off skin), he should be quarantined to a smaller tank where you can treat the wounded fish better (aquarium salt and melafix as already recommended)... watch him now for the onset of infection, fungus, and so on... and keep him in a less stressful environment that he needs for recovery. Adding some stress-coat, as well, will help replace the natural slime coating around his open wounds. The slime coat is his way of fending off both infection and parasites, to which he is especially vulnerable right now.

I'm thinking he's not doing so well, and was just wondering if there was anything I could do for him.
I share your concern here. The injury itself should heal quickly, but he's at a very high risk now for other complications which may set in as a result of the wound and his distressed condition.

I don't have a cycled quarantine tank, and don't want to take the chance of moving him to an uncycled tank.
You need to get one. If you've got a 50 gallon tank with 4 fish in it, you need to have a quarantine tank on hand (or something else suitable) to isolate a fish in a hurry when an emergency comes up. You've just found out why this morning.

Very few quarantine tanks are already cycled. If they were, they'd be inhabited with other fish already and, thus, unavailable for use when a need arises. While using one for a sick or injured fish, you'll be doing frequent water changes anyway to keep the environment clean and to medicate the fish properly. It's also much cheaper for you to treat 10 gallons at a time than 50 gallons.

The other 2 guys in the tank aren't messing with him at all, and neither is the pleco.
I wouldn't expect so, yet. This just happened today. Even so, that fish is weak, lethargic, and wounded now and he will be for many days to come. He's a prime candidate for even the most peaceful fish to start picking at him, especially when he's resting. It's not safe for him in the same tank with the others in his present condition.

Oh and I have a 50 gallon tank with 3 goldfish and a pleco.
Three small goldfish may outgrow a 50 gallon tank within a short period of time. Which types of goldfish are they? If they're 3 black moors or another type of smaller (adult sized) goldfish, they should be okay to stay there together. But large bodied varieties (such as comets, fantails, or orandas) would become overcrowded there.

You have something else to consider about your present setup. Goldfish and plecos do not make suitable tankmates. If it was a fish store who sold you these 4 together, I would not seek out their advice on either goldfish or tropicals in the future. Both kinds are extremely messy fish that produce a high amount of waste. So the pleco adds more to the bio-load than he helps you with algae control. Besides which, plecos need warm water conditions while goldfish need a cold water environment. There is no safe overlap in between where either the goldfish or the pleco (or both) would thrive over the long term. The slime coating on goldfish and other high-bodied varieties is also very appealing to most suckerfish, like plecos. If (or when) the pleco decides to choose this slime over algae, your goldfish are in real danger. They are most vulnerable when they sleep. Further, the healthy green form of algae which gets consumed by the pleco won't be there for the goldfish to graze on, which they do.

Please look through the information found here:

http://www.goldfishconnection.com/articles/details.php?articleId=153&parentId=1

http://www.goldfishconnection.com/articles/details.php?articleId=144&parentId=1
 

My_Goldie

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Mar 1, 2009
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Angela
Thank you everyone for your help.
To answer some of the questions, I have 3 different types of goldfish.
Goldie is a Ryukin
Pepper is a Black Moor
and Skid is an Oranda (Who originally was black and orange, but has lost all of his black coloring now)

Goldie is doing a bit better now, but his skin seems to be flaking off a bit, and I have noticed that his slime coat has started to cover the wounds again.
I do have another tank (20 gallons) that I could possibly move him to although it currently has a betta in it. Would it be okay to just move the betta back into one of the gallon bowls I have, clean and treat the tank with chemicals, and then put Goldie into it?

Thanks!
*Ang*

Oh and another question, Do you think it would be safe to move the pleco into the betta tank? If it doesn't end up being used as a hospital tank for a while that is.
 
Goldfish are tough as nails and frequently peel off scales. As long as there is not an obvious open wound, they will usually make it through just fine. If it is more serious than missing scales, you will really want a QT tank to help your goldie recover quickly.

The betta will be fine in the gallon tank. That sounds like the course of action I would take.

How big is your pleco? He/She will definately require more than 20 gallons in the long run.
 

My_Goldie

Part Time Ninja
Mar 1, 2009
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Angela
So today Goldie is definitely doing better. He is almost acting normal he just looks like crap. lol. Has a very thick slime coating on the left side of his head where he scraped off all the scales. I also noticed that he banged up his tail pretty bad during the whole ordeal and it is looking frayed. :(

So last night I moved the betta into a bowl and let the tank sit for a few hours with some new chemicals and a 50% water change, then moved Goldie from the 50 gallon into the 20 gal. He seems to like the filter in this tank more, as the one in the 50 gallon creates a pretty strong current and that was just pushing him around as he tried to chill out. I went out and got some Melafix and added it to my tank just as you guys suggested. And am also feeding him some medicated fish food which fights against bacterial infections just as a precaution.
So I feel confident to say that I think he will be okay. :D

My pleco on the other hand is rather small only about 4 inches, and has never messed with my goldies before. I'm thinking I will leave him in the 50 gal as he will quickly outgrow the 20, and will just move him if there are any signs that he is causing trouble.
 
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