I've been trying to cure my goldfish for over a year! Any ideas on what to do now?

I suspect the biggest problem is ammonia. OP, do you have gravel in the tank? If so, how often do you vacuum it? I do partial water changes and gravel vacs each week, often 2x a week. Waste can really accumulate in gravel, especially with goldfish. I'd also be worried about leaving sliced veggies in the tank for 3 or more days, as the veggies break down it can foul the water. I leave fresh cut veggies in no more than two days, and if I have blanched it, less than a day. It will literally dissolve in my tank, oh what a mess, and if you have water quality problems to begin with that could make it worse. To keep my veggies weighted down, I have a heavy plant base that used to have plastic plants sprouting from it, and I removed the plants. I inserted a blunt screw threw it, and I "screw" a section of sliced cucumber or zucchini to the screw and voila it sinks to the bottom.
 
Can you try to post some pics of this, please? It may be a viral or bacterial condition called septicemia that goldfish are prone to (it comes in both a viral and bacterial form). I am sure the ammonia content in the water isn't helping, either (and could be triggering re-lapses of the viral form, if that is what you have going on, and the fish isn't totally shaking it). If it is bacterial septicemia, you have to feed medicated food to get rid of it- the medicine in the water usually won't. What kind of filtration do you have going on for these guys? Also, are these fancy, double tailed, goldfish, or the common/comet single tailed goldfish? 2 fancies in a 55 gallon tank is plenty of room, as long as they still have heavy filtration- 2 commons/comets in a 55 may get a little cramped, and you'll need to do additional water changes (in addition, even, to the water changes that have already been recommended). Sorry to hit you with the 20 questions, and I hope sweet Penny starts feeling better soon!
 
If you want some hornwort when you get back, I have tons of it (you can probably see it in the pond pic). It grows really easily and does a great job sucking up nitrates.

If your fish are unaccustomed to veggies, then maybe don't leave a slice...because it can take a while to get them used to eating it. However if they pick at it readily, one slice should get all the way eaten in a day or so. You can definitely have problems if you feed too much (although a decaying vegetable doesn't actually create ammonia the way protein does, it can cloud the water and make a slimy mess if it is not removed). Either way, they will be fine for 3 days without food.
 
Alright guys, I'm doing a water change right now. I changed out a little over half and I've refilled it part way. I'm letting them get used to the water, filling it slowly. I'll try to answer all of your questions in one post.

For the cucumber, I'll give it to them to try before I leave and if they don't eat that, I'll give them peas. I won't leave it in for the 3 days.

As for the gravel, I took out the crushed coral about 3 - 4 months ago and I plan on buying a new bag when I come back from vacation.

As for pictures, I can try, but her spots are currently going away because I added stress coat yesterday. Again, they go away temporarily and then come back. The eye is popping a little bit, but it would be hard to catch that in a photo. I just ordered medigold with jumpstart. I hope it comes soon, but I think the standard shipping is 7 - 10 business days. I have an Aquaclear 50-75 with the sponge, ammonia remover, biomax, and carbon, and the other filter is a 20 gallon filter with ammocarb in the filter. I'm not sure what brand as it was my mom's filter from 20 years ago, but it still works great. They are common/comet varieties. The sick one is a common. I did only have 2 in the 55 gallon, but back in about December I fish-napped the other 3 because my friend had no idea what he was doing and they were near dead. So I saved them. I didn't realize 55 gallons wasn't enough for the 5 of them. I knew I'd have to get a bigger set up one day, but I thought that would be a few years down the road. Penny and Lucky are about 5 inches long (not including their tails), Larry and Moe are about 2 inches long and Curly is about 1 and a half inches long.
 
Update: Finished a big water change (I think about 65%) and cleaned the tank and filters. They are all going crazy for the cucumber! They all look really happy. Penny's red spots are gone for now and her pop-eye is hardly noticeable. I'll be taking the cucumber out before I leave tonight and I'm going to add stress coat. I'm feeling better about leaving her for the 3 days that I'll be gone. The medigold has been shipped and hopefully I'll have it by the end of next week. I'll definitely keep everyone updated as to how things go. I really appreciate all the info that everyone is giving me here. I've used your forums before to other fish ailments, but I finally broke down and made an account! Hee hee!
 
That is good news. To me it all points to a water quality issue. In the future though, I'd just clean one filter at a time, you don't want your cycle to crash, you need the good bacteria. Good luck and please keep us updated. :)
 
Well, what I did with the filters this time is I didn't scrub them out like I usually do. I rinsed out with tank water and only scrubbed where it was really grimy and blocked the flow of water. I am hoping to get better at taking care of them. I didn't realize I was lacking in that department.

Also, quick question! Is it ok to use a pool test kit to test my water or should I buy a specific test kit? I currently use the strips and realize they're not as accurate.
 
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platytudes said:
If you want some hornwort when you get back, I have tons of it (you can probably see it in the pond pic). It grows really easily and does a great job sucking up nitrates.

If your fish are unaccustomed to veggies, then maybe don't leave a slice...because it can take a while to get them used to eating it. However if they pick at it readily, one slice should get all the way eaten in a day or so. You can definitely have problems if you feed too much (although a decaying vegetable doesn't actually create ammonia the way protein does, it can cloud the water and make a slimy mess if it is not removed). Either way, they will be fine for 3 days without food.
Click to expand...

I'm in NJ, how would you give me hornwort? Maybe I can find somewhere nearby to buy a little bit?
 
Actually, I think the two filters are really a bit undersized for that tank....the best you should rely on is half of what the manufacturer states they are capable of...
 
I'll look into a new filter to replace the 20 once I fix my financial situation. Another Aquaclear the same size as the one I have should do the trick right? Then I'd only have to buy one type of filter inserts instead of 2 different ones.
 
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