My daughter won a comet goldfish from the carnival 8 days ago. He started sitting on the bottom of the tank yesterday. He has white spots on him now. I have put salt in the water and change the water every day or two...taking 20% to 50 % of the water out. He is in a 10 gallon tank, was half way full until the white spots showed up and he started laying/sitting on the bottom alot. Friend told me to replace half the water and fill tank completely up. We put salt in this morning and i changed 20% of the water tonight. When i put the salt in he perks up and swims around about 20 mins before he goes back to the bottom. Is there anything else I can do for him? He eats fine....always looks hungry when he moves around, I feed him fish flakes, was feeding him once a day until today and fed him twice. Any suggestions would help! Thanks!

Amy~[COLOR=purple]

First, how new is this tank? Is it cycled? What kind of salt are you using?

Sounds to me like ich. Pretty common ailment but hard to get rid of. There are a million meds on the market for it, but you should know the main cause is poor water quality. Ich is found in most tank water but does not cause a problem except in bad water. So, it probably came in with your fish. What kind of filter do you use? Did you know that common straight bodied goldies get a foot long at least and need minimum 20 gallons for proper development? A goldie that is well cared for can live for twenty years!!! Is this your first goldie? If it isn't, I'm sorry if I'm telling you a bunch of stuff you already know. Good Luck!!!

This is my first goldie. Im not sure what kind of filer/bubbler i use....i went with a friend that has like 40 goldies and she picked it out....I set the tank up 7 days ago...my friend gave me antibotic food (no idea what it is) I put stress coat in it when i change the water every day or two....I use Melafix antibacteral remedy and something else that my friend threw some in a jar for me to use., aquarium salt. I had fish about 10 years ago and i didnt have a clue to what i was doing and they all died. So I gave up until now....my 6 year old daughter loves this fish and I dont want it to die

Amy~

Well, I got a fish a few years ago, Still have her, and her babies, she had ich. I used Quik Cure by Aquarium Products. But I am very stingy with meds cause they can kill off your bacteria. Make sure you use aquarium salt, and do frequent partial water changes, but if you have a vacuum, don't vaccuum the rocks until the tank is cycled. To get the gunk out just stir the gravel to get it floating then suck it out. There are several posts on cycling your tank, read them. Don't use unnecessary meds. Don't over feed. It is better to underfeed than overfeed, it rots and gives you an ammonia spike. Also, try to find out what kind of filter you have. Does it hang on the back, or is it all the way in the tank? Or maybe it's just an air pump? THere should be a name brand on it somewhere. Ask your friend to check your Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates, and pH. That can give you an idea of how far cycled the tank is.

I got up this morning and he has red streaks on him now....still sitting at the bottom until i start to clean the tank or feed him....hes quick to move when i feed him. Help!!!!

Hi Amy and welcome.

First, can you answer the questions in the red box at the top of the page. This info will help us to help you.
Getting the water tested is the first thing to do. If you don't have any tests, maybe your friend does, or any local fish store will do it if you take in a sample to them. If you do this make sure to get the numbers so we can know what they are.
Water quality is the best thing to help a sick fish, so doing that asap will get things going.
Water changes will help him but it won't cure what he has. But keep doing them.

Post back soon