Need help, not sure what is wrong with my fish!

[Skyygraphx]

Hey all, I'm new to the world of fish. I rescued 2 goldfish Yin (gold) and Yang (white) from an aquarium that had been left behind in a friends house after the previous renters moved out. They didn't want them so I figured they would be good starter pets for my son. I initially had them set up in a 10 gallon tank, which I quickly realized was too small for them. I have since moved them to a 20 gallon but before that Yin (the gold one) got ammonia poisoning, which appeared to have healed nicely after moving into the bigger tank. Unfortunately, about 2 weeks after moving into their new tank it looked like there were little white cottony growths on several of his scales, he was very lethargic and swollen on the left side of his body. I moved him into a "quarantine tank" and have been treating him for 4 days with Marineland all-in-one remedy for external fungal and bacterial infections and he seems to be doing much better. He is now swimming more actively, the damaged scales look almost back to normal, there are no cottony growths...but he is still swollen and now appears to be breathing heavily, which he was not doing before. His scales are not "pineconing" nor does he seem to be having difficulty swimming up or down and the swelling is still only on the left side, so I don't think it's swim bladder... I also don't have exact numbers for the water specs, but the strip test kit I have indicated that his water is within all safe ranges. I know he is not constipated as I see little fishy poops in his tank. His diet consists of flakes, freeze dried blood worms and crushed, peeled peas interchangeably. Any ideas on what might be causing the swelling and heavy breathing would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Ironworker161]

Skygraghx, 2 things come to mind, an internal bacterial infection can cause swelling or bloating however, this usually effects both sides, the other is egg impaction, which can be on one side or the other and causes the scales to spread out.you can treat a bacterial infection by adding a garlic tonic to the water. As for egg impaction I'm not sure of a treatment for that. Maybe others on the site could help with that. Also.if it a boy then eggs aren't the problem. Hope this helps.

 

[Matt68005]

It could be nitrite (nitrIte not nitrate) poisoning. The simple solution would be to set up a tank full of nothing but half tank and half new cold water, buy some cheap methylene blue from a fish only store or order it online, and starve the fish for a few days while in the blue water solution in the smaller hospital tank. M. Blue is very good for minor wounds, and ammonia/nitrate poisioned fish to recover and get good oxygenated red blood cells flowing in their body again. Very safe also, just dont get it on your clothes or the floor, its very easy to stain. Should run about 6-7 dollars for small bottle online or at a fish store.