I HAVE ONE WHITE GOLDFISH WHO NOW LOOKS LIKE A BLOW FISH-IS IT JUST FAT OR IS "SHE" SICK? I HAVE 6 IN TOTAL IN A 300 GALLON OUTDOOR POND.

Hi there, APC, and !

I am sorry that your fish isn't doing well - lets see if we can get things started.
The fish is really fat - when you look at him from the top, does he look like a pinecone? Scales sticking out means dropsy, and it isn't an easy thing to treat. There is a big box on top of this section - if you please could answer as many questions as possible. It might be a bit of a pain, but it gives us a good picture of your fish's environment, its housing and general maintenance. If you don't have test kits to get the water tested, you can bring a sample to your local fish store, and the'll do a testing for you. Just make sure they'll give you actual numbers of the test results, not just a general "this and that is okay" or "too high".

With fall being here and drop in temperatures, it might be very well possible that fish respond to temperature drops by getting dropsy. Some fish are more temperature sensitive than others. Again, that needs to be determined first, and is the same treatment than dropsy caused by bacterial issues. THe only difference is that a temperature induced dropsy goes away faster, and the survival rate is much better, especially if the fish is kept in more temperature controlled housing afterwards.

So, lets get things rolling by having a look at those questions...

I LIVE IN A RURAL AREA SO THERE IS NOT A LOCAL FISH STORE WITHIN A 50+ MILES RADIUS TO GET MY WATER TESTED. THE PH LEVEL WAS AROUND 7 ON SATURDAY. I SET MY POND UP IN JULY 2007 AND CHANGED THE WATER ON SATURDAY AS THE WATER HAD TURNED BLACK AND SINCE THE WEATHER IS GETTING COOLER, I FIGURE THE ALGAE WOULD STAY AWAY-WRONG-THE WATER IS ALREADY A LIGHT GREEN. I DO NOT CHANGE THE WATER JUST ADD AS IT EVAPORATES. THE FISH ARE ALL APPROXIMATELY 8" IN LENGTH AND I HAVE HAD THEM FOR 4 YEARS-I USUALLY TAKE THEM IN DURING WINTER AS PREVIOUSLY THE OTHER WOULD DIE WHEN SPRING WOULD THAW THE ICE AND WARM THE WATER. I NOW HAVE A NEW POND WITH A FILTER/SKIMMER SO I AM GOING TO TRY TO LEAVE THEM OUT THIS WINTER. I ADDED POND SALT TO THE WATER WHEN I STARTED THE POND, ONLY THAT ONE TIME AND WHEN I CHANGED THE WATER THIS TIME. I FEED MY FISH FLOATING PELLETS BOUGHT A nnnnnn. NO UNUSUAL BEHAVIOR FOR ANY OF THEM, EVEN THE WHITE ONE. THEY ALL SWIM AROUND, EAT WHEN I FEED THEM AND STAY ON THE BOTTOM WHEN IT IS COOLER OR WHEN YOU WALK UP AS THEY ARE NOT PEOPLE FRIENDLY.

Please do not use all capital letters to post here. It is one of the rules at kokos- no capital letter posting. It looks like you are shouting at people who are doing their best to help you.

It may be that your green water pond turned black because you did not change out water often enough. The black water is dangerous for fish and can bloat them with excess dissolved oxygen. You need to be changing out water not just topping up green water .

APC, any news on your fish?