Red Spots + Clamped Fins

[Iggy]

Nana, my smallest comet goldfish is showing the signs of illiness.

She is a common comet goldfish, about 1 1/2" long, who has been with us for about two months now.

She has always been the runt of the tank, not growing as fast as the other fish, but still eating and active.

This morning, I noticed her top and bottom fins were clamped down, and on one side of her body, she has a couple red sore spots, like a bite marks. No other signs, still active and eating, but she seems to be hanging around the top 2" of the tank.

I am not sure what this is. Red sores can be internal issues surfacing, or external parasites.

For now, she is still in the community tank until I can move her this afternoon to a quarantine tank.

I added full dose of Melafix (to hopefully slow down any infections) and added a bit of marine salt. I will not add any medication till I have her quarantined and diagnosed better.

My water conditions are as follows:

0pmm Ammonia
0ppm Nitrite
5-10pmm Nitrate
ph 7.8 (Same as always)

I tested the water before my last water change and again now, so it has not changed at all.

My largest goldfish is only 3 1/2" long, and they are not crowded at all. I have not seen any of the goldfish bite each other yet.

Something is wrong with her, can anyone help me diagnose this before it gets worse?

[Iggy]

Update!

Well, Nana is still with us. She has a couple more red body patches but she is still active.

I went out to get a 5.5 gal quaratine tank and all my local stores were out. I have a 10 gal tank, but it is not available right now, so I bought a slightly smaller 3.5gal tank for now. I know, goldfish are 10gal per fish.... please don't bother to tell me that. Nana is only sightly bigger than a feeder goldfish, so she has a LOT of room in a 3.5gal.

The 3.5 will end up as Rigel (the betta) tank after Nana recovers, so it will not be a waste. I will have my 10gal back shortly, so I will use it as my quarantine tank as my fish get bigger.

I have an airstone in with Nana, my power fiters are both too big (tall) to fit the height of the tank. I am treating her with Kanacyn, which seems to be the best match for her symptoms. I just treated her 5mins before writing this post, so I don't know if its doing the trick just yet.

I should know more in the morning. I really want her to pull through.

[Iggy]

Update!

Well, either I am on the right track or no one feels like posting on this forum?

I found a 5gal tank at a garage sale for $3 (just tank), so I moved Nana to it and returned the 3.5gal to the store.

She is on her 2nd treatment with Kanacyn and she is still actively swimming and eating. Her red spots are less visible, but she still has clamped fins.

[Lotus]

I'm glad to hear she seems to be getting better

I guess no one was able to diagnose this, or had had anything similar.

[Iggy]

Nana died today.

She never got over the initial infection. I spread to her dorsal fin, and her flesh began to rot away. I treated her with Jungle Antifugus and Anti-biotic but the infection was too strong.

She struggled the past two days. Next time this happens to a fish of mine I will do the humaine thing and end it quickly.

It appeared to be an internal infection, and she never really grew in two months and the symptoms seemed to come from the inside.

[goldfish125girl]

Is the pleco in the goldfish tank? They are well known for sucking on the slime coat of godlfish and leaving red marks especailly when they are not feeling well and do move much. The other possible solution is skin ulcers. This is best treated with a medicated food such as medigold. I know you know about the 10 gallon rule, but you might want to consider upgrading. Those comets grow fast and if they are stunted early on it really effects the health of them. I have two guys who are 12" and two others who are 14". Plus a 1 year old from my last batch of fry that hit 8" in one year. I would look into a bigger tank if they are not growing rapidly.

[Iggy]

Thanks goldfish girl. I am constantly on the prowl for a bigger tank for my golds, and I have my eye on a 70gal tank my neighbor is not using. My other goldfish are growing really well (Sol is 3 1/2" long tip to tail), just Nana never seemed to grow from day one. My 17gal is a 'long' variety, with more width than height (like a shallow 33gal size), and I only plan on having them in that one till Christmas. I will have a 55gal tank as my present if I don't find a bargain 60+gal tank before then.

Yes, Petey the Pl*co is in there with them. I am certain he is not they cause of the red marks. Nana was still able to swim very well and Petey does not show any of that behaviour, it is not all that common. I have not seen any Medigold medication at my store but I will keep my eye out and pick some up if I can find it locally.

Also, out of my original 6 comets I puchased 3 months ago, only 1 has survived (Capella). All my other comet goldfish (Sol, Seapick, Atria) were replacements for ones that died within a few days of receiving them. They all had seemingly uncurable diseases, so I think they got exposed to something toxic when they were together at the fish store before I brought them home. My tanks are all cycled, regularly cleaned, airated and well filtered.