I'm sorry, but this is a long post. I will try to highlight the more important sections.
In tank they were in this morning (in ppm)

Ammonia Level: ?
Nitrite Level: 10
Nitrate level: about 20
Ph Level: 6.8 (neutral)
Ph Level out of the Tap: 6.8 (neutral)
Tank size: 10 gallon
How long has it been running: 3 weeks
[B]What kind of Filtration: Whisper Power Filter
How often do you change the water and how much: once every week to two weeks, but I just vacuum the gravel until the tank is about half full.
What kind of Water additives or conditioners: Stress Coat
Any Medications add to the tank:The only med I've added is QuICK Cure (for ick)
How many fish in the tank and size: 4: 3 about 1 1/2 inces 1 about 2 inches
Add any new fish to the tank: they are all new.. I've had them for about three days
What do you feed your fish: Wardley Goldfish Premium Flakes. Sometimes I'll give them Tetra baby shrimp sun dried treat or Tetra blood worms freeze dried treat
Any unusual findings/behavior: there is one red streak/scratch on each side of almost all fish. The one fish this isn't visible on, you can see a scratch on each side if you look at an angle, but you can't see any color. Also, I found a few black spots on the heads of two of my goldfish, but that could just be part of their coloration. There's some scales missing (usually in patches) on all of the fish. Two particular fish have see-through poop that's thread-like. They haven't been eating well and are slow in their movements until threatened and huddle in the bottom of the fish bowl. In the tank they were in the would stay in a tight group.



From what I've read, the red scratches can indicate septicemia. However, I don't know if the info I've found is true and it also wasn't very descriptive. The red scratches on either side of my goldfish are really long (from gills or just south to the back fin or just before it) and curve with their bodies. In the tank I had them in (before I moved them to the little fish bowl they now live in - hopefully only for tonight) the nitrite level was way too high (10 ppm) and they began to have labored breathing, opening and closing their mouths rapidly. They were slow in their movements and developed white spots on their fins, which I believed to be Ick. So I treated them with QuICK Cure. It didn't work, but after I put them in the nitrite-free water in their fish bowl, the white spots disappeared. Then I noticed the red scratches. They are still hovering down at the very bottom of the fish bowl, but not huddled together like they were in the tank. They aren't eating anything and I'm sure they're very stressed out.

Does anyone have any suggestion to what is going on and what I can do about it?

Welcome to the board, goodness you got lots happening.

I will try and help you out with water quality first. This is the MOST important thing to help get them well and stay that way. Your nitrite reading was way to high, and while that water was hurting them, they are still better off in the tank than a bowl.
Gf need 10 gals of water per fish. So right away we know you are overstocked which is going to lead to problems. My first suggestion is to get a bigger tank, at least 30 gals. This will be very important to do asap. If you can't you will need to still put them back in there and do 50-75% water change every 8 hours as needed to bring it down to under 0.5. This is important.
Next I notice the "black" on them, is probably ammonia burns with nitrites that high I am sure your ammonia is high or was. It is important to monitor all the levels once to twice a day while cycling your tank. Are you familar with this process???

As for the ich, I wouldn't worry about treating it right now. Focus on the water quality it will help better than any med out there. Yes septicimia could be coming on, but once again getting that water under control is the way to go.

Post back soon...........oh make sure when doing a water change to match the water temp to the what is in the tank.

Thanks LaurieP!

I've only read bits and pieces about cycling. I probably should look into that. I have my tank running right now and I've put a pinch of fish food in there to help the process along (I believe I've read somewhere to do that). I always match my water temp. within a single degree of what it was before. I also have the plastic bags that you would get fish in from the pet store or where ever so if I'm not able to adjust the temp. I can just float my guys in my tank until they get used to the new temp. Since nitrites are low and everything seems fine at the moment (except for water hardness), I'll get them back in the tank. Thanks again and I'll try to find a bigger tank asap!

NEW FIND:
After I put my fishes back into their tank, I sat and watched them for about twenty minutes. My only fantail is shaking its tail end but not going anywhere. Does this have any significance?

It seems like my fan tail could be constipated... but another NEW FIND.

I was trying to draw one of my goldfish so that it might be diagnosed more accurately as far as the red scratches go and I tapped on the glass very lightly to get him to perk up his fins. Well he shot out a long (about 3 inches) piece of clear, thread-like poop (i guess that's what it is) and now it's just floating around. I have no clue if this means anything, but I'm going to post anything abnormal I see.

Non related: why can I only edit the post that's most recent and as long as I've not navigated away from the page?

Pixie I am not sure on the editing, I guess it only gives you a certain time and then you can't any more.

I would say to read all of the cycling and get a clear understanding of it as best you can this is so important I can't stress it enough.

And yes you have read right on adding the food, HOWEVER, your tank is cycling and you don't need to speed it up only control it. So adding food that isn't eaten you will be adding more ammonia and that is BAD. You should be feeding really light right now so the fish aren't producing much waste and there is no food left over to cause a problem.
Are you all set to test everyday???

yes. I have a 5 in 1 test kit that tests nitrites, nitrates, pH, hardness, and alkalinity. Should I vacuum out the extra food and wastes that are in the tank right now to help reduce nitrates from spiking and then just only feed my fish a little at a time? Or should I just leave the vacuuming alone for now?
Also, my fantail is on the very bottom underneath one of the ornaments I have in the tank. Should I be concerned about this?
Thanks for all your help so far. I don't know if my fish could have made it.

at least not this far(continuance of statement above). Now all of my fish are hovering at the bottom behind plants, except for one and he's up at the very top of the tank, just hanging out.

Test Results:

that first night and the following morning was fine. Now the nitrites are up at the highest level and nitrates are between 0 and 20 ppm. It's basically the same readings from when I first posted, except for the water hardness and the pH

I hope your fish will be ok.I have 4 fish in a 10 gall. to,and one of mi e is really sick.Good luck!

Thanks Whirlwind. I hope your fish gets well! What's wrong with him/her? Right now I'm going to try to move my fishies into a 22.2 gal storage container that I just bought from WM until they get better or I get a bigger tank. Then I'm going to raise them in my friend's outdoor pond when they get big enough. I hope they make it that far.