I have a regular carnival goldfish. We've had her for 10 years. A while ago she started getting very large on her bottom. Now she looks like she has swallowed a golf ball. For the past 2 days she has been laying on the bottom of the tank upside down. She sometimes tries to right herself but can not. I believe she is dying. If this is the case is there a way to euthanize her? She's been hanging on for 2 days now and we are afraid she is suffering. Please help.

Sorry to hear about your fish. Maybe she has swim bladder problems. What do you feed your fish? Peas are excellent for cleaning out a fish. And it's always a good idea to soak your food for a minute or so in some tank water before feeding your fish. It gets all the air out and the fish can digest the food alot easier.

If you feel like it's best to put your friend out of his misery, look on the left side of your screen (You might need to scroll down) and there's a section called Research Tips. Click on there and it tells of ways to do it.

Good Luck!

She could have dropsy. Are her scales lifted at all, making her look like a pinecone?
Dropsy is hard to cure, but it is possible. Get a good antibiotic medication to add to the water (ask your lfs to recommend one for dropsy - I'm in the Uk so dont know what is available) and if she is still eating buy some Medigold from goldifishconnection.com. Fingers crossed for her.
If you really do feel that euthanasia is best then the clove oil method is by far the kindest way to go about it.

Thank you for your suggestions. We don't want to lose her. She is part of the family. I know it's silly to feel this way about a goldfish but we do. My daughter is 12 and the fish has been around almost as long as her. Her scales are falling off where she is rubbing herself along the bottom of the tank. She looks as is she has cateracts but has looked like that for a long time now. Even though she dosen't see well she still knows when we are around. We have always fed her just regular dry flake food. We just put something called Maracyn-Two in the tank and I'm heating her water a little. We stopped feeding her and hopefully if she is still around in 3 days we will feed her peas as suggested. Thanks again for your responses. I will keep you posted.

Yes, please keep us posted. I know it's hard watching your fish suffer. I currently have an chocolate oranda fighting dropsy. I've been treating him for 4 days and I dont' see any signs of him getting better. But every time he sees me, he's trys his best to come over to the front of the tank to greet me. You get attached to your fish. And he's lucky you're trying to help him. Some people wouldn't even do anything.

Best of Luck!

Yes, it is so hard watching goldfish suffer, and I think all of us here get very attached to our fish! I wonder if your fish is "eggbound"--I have heard of that on this board and maybe someone will comment on that.

I found this board right after my 8 year old common goldfish died and I was having all sorts of problems with some baby redcaps due to my lack of knowledge about tank cycling. I have learned so much and now test my water weekly and do partial changes, etc. I have some very healthy goldies that have really grown since I got them in July.

This board has wonderful people with a ton of knowledge and I welcome you!!!

Well, unfortunately SaraFish didn't make it thru the night. We miss her already but we are glad she is not suffering anymore. We were lucky to have her for the 10 years she was here. It's nice to know there are other people out there that share our love for animals even those as small as a fish. Thank you for all your help and compassion and if we ever get another fish will will be sure to come back and post it here. Thanks again.