2 Unhealthy looking fish

[Everlasting]

I have two fish in my tank right now that are acting and looking a bit weird. One is a orange and white fantailed goldfish. He has a section on his back near his tail that looks like flesh, the way it looks if a fish gets bitten (but I dont really have anyone capable of biting). It's white and somewhat fuzzy looking. He also has a black mark on the edges of his fins on one side of his body. They look the way a peice of paper looks if you set fire to it, burned.

The second fish that isn't looking well is my male red & black splashed swordtail. He is looking very clamped and has a bit of white on his scales near his tail, also kind of fuzzy (not ick).

Anyone have any insights?

 

[jsoong]

More info would be helpful - tank size, water parameters, etc.

The goldfish sounds like he has an ulcer (picture might help). Black on goldfish is a sign of healing after some injury, most common on fin edges would be ammonia burn.

How big is the fish? Generally, goldfish don't get body ulcers unless there is a water parameter problem ... over crowding, high organics in water, ammonia/nitrite ... etc. First thing to do is provide clean water. You need to check water parameters & correct any deficiencies <this usu. mean more water changes!>.

If the fish is big enough to handle, you can clean out the ulcer with a q-tip dipped in 1/2 strength hydrogen peroxide. Don't get any into gills!!! Then cover ulcer with a dab of betadine ointment. You may add a bit of salt (0.05%) to promote healing. However, clean water is key. You must solve water problem before treating fish.

More detailed instructions:
Goldfish and Aquarium Board Article-How to: Clean an Ulcer or Fin Rot

 

[Everlasting]

I've got 29 Gallon w/ community fish. Using a Marineland Penguin 200B Power Bio-Wheel Filter with 2 cartridges. Have a heater, Tahitian Moon Sand Substrate, silk plants and a large piece of drift wood.

My ammonia, nitrate, and nitrate levels are all testing fine. My pH is slightly off and is testing around 6.8. I do weekly water changes although I've been trying to do it twice a week due to this drop pH I've been having.

The goldfish is about two inches long. Any ideas about what is wrong with the swordtail and the white fuzzy stuff near his tail? He's very clamped and despite the fact I have female swords outnumbering my male swords, my other two male swordtails really pick on him. Could it be due to stress?

 

[jsoong]

How many fish do you have in that tank?

If possible, isolate the fish in hospital tanks to prevent spread of disease.

White fuzzy stuff <and the clamped fins> is indicative of an infection of some sort. People call this "fungus" but usu. is a bacterial infection, prob. columnaris or aeromonas. Stress & reduced immunity can certainly bring on diseases. Once it set in, you will prob need to treat with meds. Kanamycin (Kanaplex) or Erythromycin (Maracyn II) is what I would try first. Antibiotics can wipe out your biofilter, I strongly suggest using it in a hospital setup. <That is for the sword ... for the goldfish, I would just treat topically, unless the ulcer is really big/deep, then I would use Kanamycin.>

Goldfish & tropicals tend not to mix well. The main problem is food incompatability. It is possible that there is a nutritional deficiency if the goldfish is eating mostly tropical flakes.

If you are also having problem with pH drops, that may also indicate a lot of decaying stuff in your tank. In additional to upping your water changes, you would want to do a really through gravel vac to reduce the amount of MULM in the tank. High organic content in water is breeding ground for bacteria & might account for what you are seeing.

 

[Everlasting]

I've got 15 fish in there at my last count, i've removed the goldfish to the only extra bowl i've got at the moment. He doesn't seem impressed to be stuffed into a 1 gallon bowl mind you. But there is getting to be some red around the sore on his back.

I never had any intention of leaving the 2 goldfish in the tank, I put them in directly after my tank cycled just to test everything and add some beneficial bacteria because I knew they were hardy. I planned on removing them to a separate tank afterwards but there were some misfortunes with it and it's not usable now. So they stayed in the tank.

I vaccum it on a weekly basis, and the 300+ malaysian trumpet snails which are currently infesting my tank do a rather good job at ensuring there is NOTHING decaying in my tank lol. They are very unsightly but there certainly isnt much leftover on top of the substrate.

The swordtail isn't looking nearly as clamped today but the white is still there, although it hasn't spread or gotten any larger. It hasn't goten any smaller either on that note though. As I've removed the goldfish the only extra bowl I've got I dont have antoher spot to pull the swordtail to as well, I'll have to try and fidn something tomorrow.

 

[jsoong]

You don't have to use a tank/bowl for your hospital setup. I use a new 20 gal Rubbermaid tub as my hospital set up. Costs less than $10. Throw in an airstone & it is good for a few days before pwc.

With a 1 gal, you are going to have to do daily water changes to just keep things under control. And deteriorating water in small setup is not good for a sick fish.