ladyg110

Hello everyone,
I'm a new member here, and I stumbled on this site while I was looking for a way to treat my sick Goldfish, I'm wondering if any of you can help as it seems that I cant find any information on the internet about what is wrong.
I noticed about 2 weeks ago that my goldfish has developed a 'hole' around his anus, it is about the size of the tip of my little finger. He is quite a big fish, and the rest of my fish don't seem to have any symptoms. At first I thought it might have been there before and I hadn't noticed (it wasn't sore looking at all then) So I kept a close eye on him, and after a few days it started to turn red - so I treated the tank with FinRot and Fungus treatment. This didn't really have any effect.
Then I noticed the other fish were chasing him and biting the area, so I bought a sheet of plastic and separated him from the other fish, and treated him again with FinRot and Fungus treatment.
He has been on his own for a week now, and his anus is still very red. I have also noticed that his 'poop' isn't the same as it used to be sometimes it is pure white and looks like string and sometimes it is a browny reddy colour but it is very very thick. He seems a little 'quieter' now, but I think this may be because he feels under the weather?
He doesn't have any other symptoms at all, he isn't breathing heavily or too fast, he is still eating.
Does anyone know what this could be, how I can treat it, or what I should do?
Thank you
Ashley
P.S he is in a tropical tank - I don't know if this is relevant... he has lived happily in this tank for over 18 months though.

Butterfly

Goldfish are considered cold water fish needing temps between 68 and 70F so they aren't really suitable for tropical tanks.
Since goldfish are such heavy waste producers they need large regular water changes to keep them healthy. When they are sick an extra water change is a good thing to do.
Please post your water test readings- Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates.
CArol

ladyg110

Hello
Thank you for your reply.
I know that Goldfish are cold water fish - the only reason this fish ended up in my tank is because my sisters tank broke in half, and all her fish would have died otherwise and I was advised not to put the fish back into cold water, since the shock of returning back to a cold tank would kill it.
I think the fish is going to die, im actually very upset about it. My sister is bringing over a fish sedation mixture this afternoon, as the fish is so ill now.
Thank you for your reply anyway.
Ashley

Neville

hi ashley, welcome to fishlore, i'm neville, sorry to hear about your fish. Please, don't get upset, every member on this forum has lost a fish, every aquarist has to loose a fish sooner or later. there is nothing u can do about it, u have tried your best. what is your tank size? how many fish do u have?
we will try our best to help u. do u have a hospital tank? u can set up a hospital tank and treat the fish in it with medicines or salt water. frequent water changes will be helpful.