Goldfish illness that won’t go away

hi, these pictures show my goldfish. he has a number of white spots etc on the fins and head that have been present for quite a while now. more recently he has become more lethargic and erratic in his movements. whatever the issue seems not to be contagious within the fish in the tank (another telescope eye goldfish and a number of danio). I have used a number of store bought treatments e.g. melafix, ‘love fish’ healthy goldfish and have used API stress coat as another fish had an accident with some tank decor now removed) any ideas how to move forward would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

hi, these pictures show my goldfish. he has a number of white spots etc on the fins and head that have been present for quite a while now. more recently he has become more lethargic and erratic in his movements. whatever the issue seems not to be contagious within the fish in the tank (another telescope eye goldfish and a number of danio). I have used a number of store bought treatments e.g. melafix, ‘love fish’ healthy goldfish and have used API stress coat as another fish had an accident with some tank decor now removed) any ideas how to move forward would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I am not sure what those markings are, but I can tell you with confidence that Melafix and stress coat will not help at all. StressCoat, if you mean the API product, is just a water conditioner, it’s not medicine.

Melafix makes a lot of claims without any evidence to back them up. Personally, I think it’s very expensive stuff that smells good but has no practical value.

The Love Fish product isn’t letting anybody know what’s in it, which I always find very disturbing. It might be a PaH house brand perhaps? It says it detoxifies ammonia & adds tonic salt. Tonic salt would be ordinary salt, which the fish simply don’t need except in certain circumstances and a very expensive way to get it too.

I have some severe doubts when it comes to any/all products that claim to detox ammonia, since this claim flies in the face of how NH3 and NH4 relate to each other in water. I’m working on some experiments to see if any of the ammonia detox claims are true because I think they’re just marketing bafflegab.

How often do you change the water and how much of it each time? What species are the danios in the tank with the goldfish and what’s the temperature of the water?

 

I am not sure what those markings are, but I can tell you with confidence that Melafix and stress coat will not help at all. StressCoat, if you mean the API product, is just a water conditioner, it’s not medicine.

Melafix makes a lot of claims without any evidence to back them up. Personally, I think it’s very expensive stuff that smells good but has no practical value.

The Love Fish product isn’t letting anybody know what’s in it, which I always find very disturbing. It might be a PaH house brand perhaps? It says it detoxifies ammonia & adds tonic salt. Tonic salt would be ordinary salt, which the fish simply don’t need except in certain circumstances and a very expensive way to get it too.

I have some severe doubts when it comes to any/all products that claim to detox ammonia, since this claim flies in the face of how NH3 and NH4 relate to each other in water. I’m working on some experiments to see if any of the ammonia detox claims are true because I think they’re just marketing bafflegab.

How often do you change the water and how much of it each time? What species are the danios in the tank with the goldfish and what’s the temperature of the water?

That’s interesting to hear about the things I’ve been adding, i should know better than to trust pah considering how unsuitable i know most of their product are that are aimed towards rodents.

i do a 1/3 water change once weekly and have zebra and long fin leopard danio (6 in total). The tank is not heated/chilled so would be UK room temperature.

 

That’s interesting to hear about the things I’ve been adding, i should know better than to trust pah considering how unsuitable i know most of their product are that are aimed towards rodents.

i do a 1/3 water change once weekly and have zebra and long fin leopard danio (6 in total). The tank is not heated/chilled so would be UK room temperature.

Got it. The danios are all the same species, just different patterns and it may be a benefit to change half the water once a week.

I have seen one or two other goldfish with markings like yours has but I do not know how they did.

People rarely bother to let forums know how things turn out so I can’t say if they did well or died or somewhere in between, sorry to say.

How big is the tank? Do you know about how big he was when you got him and how long you have had this fish?

 

Got it. The danios are all the same species, just different patterns and it may be a benefit to change half the water once a week.

I have seen one or two other goldfish with markings like yours has but I do not know how they did.

People rarely bother to let forums know how things turn out so I can’t say if they did well or died or somewhere in between, sorry to say.

How big is the tank? Do you know about how big he was when you got him and how long you have had this fish?

Thanks! I’ll try taking out some additional water next time I do a water change.

I’ve had the fish since May 2019 and he was a couple of inches. The tank is approximately 145 litres.





(The image shows the fish when originally bought)

 

Thanks! I’ll try taking out some additional water next time I do a water change.

I’ve had the fish since May 2019 and he was a couple of inches. The tank is approximately 145 litres.

View attachment 886448


(The image shows the fish when originally bought)

Ok. So that’s around 36 gallons ( Grew up with gallons, hard to think in litres) and how long is the fish now, give or take - not including the tail?

 

It’s difficult to decide but i‘d day only about 3.5 inches or so which seems quite small thinking about how long I’ve had him? This could possibly due to poor care when i first got him. I’m not saying i’m perfect but I’ve improved from the small, overcrowded, rarely cleaned, 1 small feed of flakes a day.

 

I just thought i‘d write a little update before i go back to school. I’ve been taking out 1/2 the water when cleaning and I’ve also upped the amount of food i’m feeding + giving a wider variety including more frozen (defrosted) foods. The fish, despite the markings being the same/similar, seems to be much more active again so i‘m happy with the improvement.

 

I just thought i‘d write a little update before i go back to school. I’ve been taking out 1/2 the water when cleaning and I’ve also upped the amount of food i’m feeding + giving a wider variety including more frozen (defrosted) foods. The fish, despite the markings being the same/similar, seems to be much more active again so i‘m happy with the improvement.

Thanks for letting us know and I’m very happy he‘s doing better. That’s always great to hear.