MY GOLDFISH NEEDS HELP!

I'd really hate to reccommend a specific course of treatment without a more detailed look at the wound. For now though, I'd suggest removing the fish from the tank into designated quarantine quarters. Salt the water to a 0.3% concentration, which is about a tablespoon (3 tsp) per gallon. Additionally, I'd dose the water in the treatment tank with melafix, and keep up 50% daily water changes to see if any improvement occurs. Just for more information, how big of a setup do you have, with how many fish. If you could provide us your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels, it would definitely be useful in troubleshooting.

Hi. Goldfish are terrific creatures. There are a lot of us here who know and love them, and a lot to learn about them. There are a couple of really good threads here on goldfish keeping in the cold water section. Several are posted as stickys. Check them out. You will probably learn a lot!

There are a couple of things that come to mind right away. One might be the fact that you have goldies in a bowl. It's terrific that you are posting and trying to get good information on them. It's obvious that you care for your fish. Goldfish require around 15 gallons each and a lot of filtration to be happy and healthy. My guess it that goldie's tail problems are related to water quality issues that frequently happen when fish are in a bowl. Are you filtering the water? Do you have a test kit? Have you done any water changes? Answers to these questions along with water test results will really help the people on the forum answer your questions and help you help the little guys. It would probably help to learn a little about the cycling process, too.

Hopefully, you will check in and read some of the goldfish threads and some goldie experts will log on and chime in. My guess it that they will diagnose a bigger tank if possible and a treated water change for right now. An infection is made worse by bad water quality. Most times, fin rot and/or ammonia burn (which this sounds like) can be helped immensely by good water conditions along with medication.

Cool! Inka's on. You couldn't get better goldie advice!

Hello Mariss and welcome. I'm real sorry to hear about your fish. Hope he gets better!

An injured goldfish that's still in the same place with others is going to get picked on. Goldfish (like most others) will literally eat the exposed flesh at an open wound site. Thanks for providing the photo btw.... from what I can see there, it looks like this is the case with your fish.

You need to isolate the wounded fish in a quarantine tank until he recovers and is fully healed. He's also particularly vulnerable right now to secondary infection and parasites, so don't be in a hurry to reintroduce him back with the others until you are sure that he's strong and healthy again. The use of Maracyn/Maracyn 2 is a good measure as it's a broad spectrum anti-bacterial treatment. That will sometimes cloud the water, so don't worry if you notice this. It will also reduce the amount of oxygen in the water, so make sure you have good aeration. Aside from this, make sure you keep the tank clean and monitor the water parameters closely.

The fungus you mentioned should clear up on it's own. If it doesn't or appears to be spreading, it would help to clean the wound using with some 3% hydrogen peroxide or some iodine/betadine on a Q-tip. Make sure you don't get that anywhere else (especially the eyes or gills). Also, don't apply this more than one time because a second application would kill new cells that are growing in.

In your post, you mentioned a number of goldfish in both a "bowl" and in a "tank." Let us know more about how many you have, which kind of goldfish they all are, and what kind of tank and equipment setup you have. We'll be happy to help with any other questions or advice you many also be needing.

Good luck for your new goldie... keep us posted!