I have a pond next to my house with goldfish about 8" to 10" long. They are a few years old. Last summer I notice one with a belly that started to swell. I thought that it was going to have babies. By the end of summer, no babies and even now in February it's belly is VERY big. It has not affected it's ability to swim and acts normally as the others do. It just looks VERY PREGNANT. I was told that it might have liver disease or a tumor. What should I do with it? Will it infect the other fish in my pond? Should I separate it from the others. Water levels are what they should be, water is very clear. It is winter here, but they are all still very active.

Are the scales sticking out? If it is than it might have Dropsy(hard to cure if it's in the late stages) or does the goldfish have bumps like tumors, is it a female? Any breading stars on the gills(if it has'nt got any white stars on the gill plates or first fin ray of the pectorals then it's a female that might have Eggbound).

I Sharbear. I have a fantail with a bloated belly right now. I was asked to check it's belly to see if it was soft. I've no experience with this until now. Evidently this can be a sign of infection. So you may want to check that. I have started my fantail on medicated food.

There are no scales sticking out, it looks the same as the rest of the fish in my pond. It doesn't move any slower. I can't see anything that looks different on it's scales, no bumps like tumors. It is in a pond 10' x 10' and 3' deep next to my house. It is winter here and the pond has a heater in it to keep an opening in the ice. I can see the fish all winter. I know that I can't really do anything right now but keep an eye on it, but I am trying to be prepared for spring. What is eggbound? It has basically been "pregnant" since about last August.

Eggbound is when eggs inside get infected because the fish can't lay them.