I'm quite a novice to goldfish and in the past (ie a kid) I have just had them in a bowl with no filter etc and they 've seemed to cope quite well and lived for years. 6 months ago I bought a "proper" tank with a filter and do my partial water changes/clean filter etc.

Returning from a weekend away, last night one of my 2 goldfish is in a real state. He's got a large white patch on one side behind his gill that looks like it's eating him away and he has really cloudy white eyes with red bits around the edge. I've put him in a separate tank but he's struggling to breath ie gasping at the top with bubbles blocking his mouth. His mouth also seems to be restricted by a white growth tissue. His fins are clamped by his side and they do appear to have some damage to them.

I've treated his water with some fungal and fin rot fluid from my pet shop and he has survived the night but I don't think he's got much longer - although he's not tilting like my oter goldfish before they died.

Can anyone suggest anything I can do for him - it's horrible to see him like this. Also I have a comet in the tank that sick fish came from so should I treat that with something too?

It could be bacterial especially by sounds of whats around his mouth.I'd try an antibacterial med.Melafix and possibly pimafix together with it.Hope your fish recovers.

I'm very sorry about ur fish.

In order for us to narrow down the cause of ur fish's diseases, can u pls answer the questions at the white box above as best as you can pls?

Ammonia Level? Not Known
Nitrite Level? Not Known
Nitrate level? Not Known
Ph Level, (If possible,KH and GH and chloramines)? Not Known
Ph Level out of the Tap? Not Known
Tank size (How many Gals) and How long has it been running? 10 litres & 6 months
What is the name and size of the filter/s? NOt known
How often do you change the water and how much? 20% once a week
How many fish in the tank and their size? 2 small/medium goldfish
What kind of water additives or conditioners? declorinater duringwater changes
Any medications added to the tank? No
Add any new fish to the tank? No
What do you feed your fish? Nutrafin
Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt",
bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? No
Any unusual behavior like staying No
at the bottom, not eating, ect..?

I can see a problem right away. The tank is just waaaay to small for 2 goldfish, however tiny they are. The absolute minimum water volume for one goldfish is 10 gallons, which is about 38 litres.

The small tank, even with a filter, is never gonna cope with the wasteload of 2 goldfish. More than likely the cause of ur fish's suffering is prolonged exposure to bad water quality and in the end their immune system just failed and the bacterias and diseases took immediate advantage.

My suggestion now is to do an immediate HUGE 75% water change. U might want to put non-iodised salt (aquarium salt, epsom salt, or rock salt, but not table salt) 1 teaspoon per gallon of water.

In the near future, I strongly advise to buy a test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ammonia (the test tubes one) and a much, much bigger tank with a filter than can pump 10x of the tank volume per hour.

Keep us updated

Many thanks for your advice - I feel so guilty now! Good ol' Ebay told me I could put 2 fish in it.

Will do as you advise as soon as I get home. Thanks again.

No problem

Let us know how things go

Just thought I'd give you an update on sick fish.

He seems to be making an unexpected recovery and is swimming around his isolation tank quite actively - he even flipped the surface a bit the other day.

He is no longer gasping at the surface - he is using his gills and pectoral fins much more comfortably. He does still have a white fungal looking patch on his left side behind his gill and his eyes are still quite cloudy but it doesn't seem to be bothering as much anymore.

The only thing that is still bothering me is that he is not eating or showing an interest in food. I'm hoping that he will start this again soon.

I'm treating his water with a fungal/fin rot solution and some salt. Doing 50% water changes every day/other day.

How long does it usually take for a fungal infection to clear? Is there anything I'm doing wrong or not doing? It's so nice to see him fight back - I'd hate for him to deteriorate again.

Thx
A Slightly Happier Georgie Fish