need help with goldfish fin problem!!!

K

kelleyincolorad

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Aug 1, 2003
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One of my fancy goldfish has this weird deal happening with it's top fin. It looks like the bottom of it is "gone"??? There's this little piece left, then an obvious gap, then the fin looks okay as it gets closer to the head. I tried to take a picture, but I had no luck. The little guy seems to be fine otherwise. He's eating, swimming like he normally does...my other fish don't have anything weird happening.
Does this sound like a problem? Should I test the water for...what??? I just did a 1/2 tank change, filtered out the rocks, and changed the filter, just in case.

Thanks so much!
Kelley in Colorado...still the proud owner of a birthday party goldfish that has doubled in size and is the dominant fish in the tank.
 
Fins will return

Keep the water perfect, fresh water frequently and the fins will grow back if, as it sounds, someone took a chunk out of it.

OTOH, if it is a birth defect, maybe it won't.
 
clear or missing?

Just remembered something about fins. They can be damaged when water quality is poor and you will see red streaks through the fins. This can actually damage the fins somehow, they can turn clear then get a gap at that edge. They may return, but my goldfish's tail was never quite straight after that where that clear part had been, it curled. I think Puregold site talks about that, not quite sure however.
 
Just a thought- does it look like this?

lips7-9b.JPG


More photos of this same fish here.
We suspected either a bacterial or parasitic problem- the fish looked and felt fine otherwise.

I Prazi'd the tank twice according to the Goldfish Connections instructions, then fed Medi Gold for two weeks then Metro Gold for two weeks. While this didn't specifically target a specific problem it effectively eliminated most of the possibilities- and is the regimen for all new purchases now.

At any rate the fin sloughed off a bit of gunk them went back to looking like just holes in the fin.
It is now about a month post treatment and the holes have begun to close- slowly but surely.

Perhaps eliminate the possibility of any problems, then super clean water and super good food will enable the fish to repair itself.
 
Your fish looks just like our little sick guy. It's tail doesn't have any holes in it. The best description I can come up with is:
There is one piece of the back of the fin left (the thicker part that I am sure there's a name for), then there is a "chunk" missing for about 1mm--not huge, but noticable. It doesn't look torn, just "gone". I don't see anything wrong with the other fish, nor on any other part of this fish. I'm going to take some water in to get tested today, and hopefully buy my own test kit. There are no real good fish stores near us..just a Petsmart, but a couple of the staff seem to have a clue...I think?? I'm still learning!

We did have one small fish die about two weeks ago, and the only thing we found wrong was high ammonia. They couldn't tell me for sure if the ammonia did the fish in, or not. I had noticed that this fish was doing a lot of hanging around the top and gulping for air the night before, then my daughter found it the next morning. No noticable problems with the exterior.


How did you get such great pictures of your fish? I tried to use my digital on all the different settings, but had no luck.

Thanks! Kelley
 
That's a lot of time taking pictures of fish:eek: !!!

I gave up after seven digital shots and one 15 second video that didn't work.

Okay, so I ran down to my local Petsmart and got some stuff called Mela Fix and dumped that in the tank. I also had them test the water and all is well with that. This stuff is supposed to help heal fins, etc..quickly. It smells like Vicks Vapo-rub.

One question about it, though...since my fish doesn't have a fungus of sorts, just how long do you all think I need to use this stuff? It has instructions for infections, but not really for fin damage. I'm also supposed to remove the charcoal bag from the filter. How long do you all recommend I keep that out?

The folks at the store weren't much help today, so I hope you all don't mind my questions!

Thanks again! Kelley
 
I am the happy owner of six tanks with freshwater fishes. In one of them I have 12 goldfishes (huge one's - the older is five years old and 33 cm in length). I have the "holes in the fins" each time I forgget to change water and to give them some live food (e.g. little worms).
I don't know if you have rocks or other sharp objects in your tank because that can be a cause for ypur problem too. Anyway, my goldfishe's fins grow back from theyr own. You don't have to wory too much because goldfishes are strong fishes.
 
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