I have three goldfish. There are in a 55 gallon tank that has been up and running fine for almost a year now. Just some gravel and wood decorations. I have a Penguin 330 Filer. Almost every week I will vacume the bottom and clean the filter system which in turn leads to about a 25% water change. Every other week I will change about 50%. This just kind of depends on how the wate is looking. There are no new fish in the tank. I feed them peas and flakes that have been soaked, but mostly peas.
Before these fish and tank I had the same set up with three similar fish for three years and never had a problem (Had to move across the country and give them up). As far as all the levels I had never really checked it before because my fish always did well and grew like wildfire so I kind of assumed everyting was doing pretty good. I started checking it about two months ago and it was always fine. I have used some algae destroyer the other day but I have used that for months with no ill effects.
For the past few days they have been acting odd. Two of my fish are lethargic just hanging on the bottom. The other one is up at the top (but not really gasping for air). Today I noticed that there is white cottony debris in the water. The fish look like they have a white coating that is peeling off. Like how your skin looks after a sunburn. The two at the bottom are still eating but the other isn't. I went to the LFS and purchsed some PIMAFIX (antifungal fish remedy) b/c it best described them. I just used this tonight but I would like to know if you guys think this is a fungus or what? I just noticed that my black moor has some scales that look like he has scraped the a tiny bit and frayed his fin but just a very small amount (hard to even notice) Any help would be appreciated. I feel so sad for them. -Shelly

I was just wondering if you knew whether or not yor tank was cycled? If you have not checked params lately and are cleaning out the filter all the time perhaps you have no good bacteria left and your cycle has crashed? You are a bit underfiltered I think with only a 330, but again you only have 3 fish. They must love all of that space!

What are you doing when you clean the filter? Are you cleaning it with tap water? How often do you change the catridge/floss? Do you ever clean the Bio-wheel? I am not a disease expert at all, just trying to determine if your good bacteria is being messed up from filter cleaning which could be causing water quality problems.

With your symptoms I am also wondering if you could be having ph fluctuations which can sometimes happen. When is the last time you tested your ph, and do you know how different it is from your tap water?

Thanks for answering and hopefully someone who can help with diagnosis will be along soon. Good luck, I hope your fish are 100% again soon.

Oh, and

Hi shellyjrose and from me also

The first thing I would do and quickly is check your ph (as Jen mentioned). It sounds like the classic symptoms of ph crash so i wouldn't add any chemicals to your water until you find out.

This causes the slime coat to 'peel' off the body as a low ph will be akin to an acid bath. Is there any way you can test it quickly and post back?

I'm really not for sure if it has been cycled to be perfectly honest. I had meant to learn about this years ago but to be quite honest they (past fish included) did so well I never thought anymore about it. I have been getting information here for years but I never posted b/c I didn't really have any advice to give.
I have to agree that maybe I have kept it too clean and got rid of to much of the "good stuff". A little later I will upgrade their filter. I just read tonight that it should be much bigger. I have used the kitchen sprayer to clean filer (plastic) parts but then I rinse them off with "treated water". I have been doing this for years. I replace the filers every 3 weeks to a month. I don't clean the biowheel.
I have't checked the ph in awhile and have never tested the tap ph (didn't really know to). I will test it tomorrow and check in b/c I really don't know how to fix it if it's off. I did have one experience almost as soon as I set up the tank last year. They got a case of fish lice. I pulled them off and threated the water but its been all good since then.
If my tank cycle is off how do I restore order? Thanks for your help and warm welcome. I sincerely appreciate it. It will kill me if anything happens to them.

No I cant. I wish I could but I am away from my supplies right now (in the process of moving) I'll probably have to get more supplies tomorrow (That would be quicker). Thanks for your help!

Actually I cant stand it. Even though its midnight and I have to work tomorrow I'm gonna run out to nooppee and get some stuff. I can't stand the thought of them suffering if there is something I can do tonight. Thanks everyone I will check in later.

You poor thing You sound just like me

When you get back, post back with your ph reading - and then if you can, take a ph reading from your tap water and we can take it from there

I hope you are able to get some kits...I wish we had a Wally World near here for emergencies.

I just happened to see this post in another section and it explains some of the cycling stuff pretty well, so I thought I would post it here so you can read it when you have time:

http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=48568

Here is the page from the site on cycling too...it confused the heck out of me at first but once I got it things were great: http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/cycle.html

Also, I wanted to add that when you get a new filter be sure to look for the actual gallons per hour it filters rather than the tank size it is rated for, usually those ratings are for tropical fish that are WAY less messy. You may already know that, but just in case. You could actually get another one like the one you have (although I think they are called Penguin 350's now) and that would be great, even a bit extra. Or a Penguin 200 would work too. Not sure if you know this but if you live near a Petsmart, go to the their online site and print out the pages for the things you want to buy and they will match their own online prices. You can save like $10-$15 on a filter that way!

You sound like you are a great fish mom to run out at night to buy supplies. I wish you and your fish the best! you are in great hands with Jen w.!

I just got back. All they had was the Jungle Quick Dip sticks. The PH looks to be a 7.2 not in the acidic range color wise. Tap water is the same. Everything looks pretty good. Good thing nooppee didn't have anything to help th ph level except forJungle Correct ph. Ammonia level is also ideal. What would you guys do now?

Gotta go to bed now but they look like they might be feeling better. Their dorsal fins are lying flat though. I tested the water again to make sure but it looks okay except that the alkalinity might be a bit on the high side.
The LFS told me to take the carbon out of the filter when I put the PIMAFIX in. Should I put some new ones back in? If the fish seem to be better tomorrow whould you guys use the PIMAFIX again?
Thanks for all your help and would appreciate any insight on where I should go from here. I also promise to learn about cycling and always test my levels from here on out. I will keep you guys updated.

Well thank goodness it's not your ph

Is there any way you can take a pic?

Try the Pimafix for 24 hours and see how they go but if you can post a pic, it will help to see what you're seeing

Well they seem to be feeling better . They had pretty good appetites. Larry hadn't really ate in a day or so and he started eating a little. In fact they look pretty good except for the black moor, Tennessee. He still looks pretty sad. He has some scales that are messed up and his fin is a little torn. I guess he looks worse too b/c the white "film" shows up more on him and makes him look pitiful. I took some picture but you can't really tell anything from them (actually some of them look like they are in perfect health)
I went to the store and got the MELAFIX to go w/ the PIMAFIX since the bottle suggested it together. The PIMAFIX seems to be working pretty good so I thought I'd give it a go. I will probabally change about 25% of the water tomorrow before I put more meds in b/c I'm concerned that too much in there could be irritating to
them. If you guys have any suggestions on what to do with the tank after I complete the meds (salt and such) to help the w/ stress and healing I would be glad to hear them b/c I never really dealt w/ them being sick. Thanks again for all your help and I'll let you know if they make a full recovery.

Well I would just run with the meds and once you've completed the course, check what symptoms if any remain. The best thing to aid in improved health is excellent water so try to keep an eye on your parameters incase the meds cause a bump in your cycle and see how they fare

Also, just keep an eye on the slime coat - in many cases a thickened slimecoat (if not due to issues with water quality) can mean parasites ie. costia or trichodina and these can be erradicated with salt...

So post back with updates and hopefully the news will be good

Well I'm not worried about them anymore. They are back to normal (either eating or looking for food! )
The Pimafix and Melafix together worked like a charm (of course I have also been feeding the some antibacterial food). I'm going to use it as long as the bottle instructed. I just wanted to thank you guys for your help (especially you Jen W ). I will have to post some pics later. I'm just so happy that they are okay!

Oooh, I know that feeling of relief - there's nothing quite like it is there?

I'm so pleased they're doing well and look forward to seeing some pics of your guys