Loaches Online Forum

Hi,

I have a fantail goldfish who seems to be injured. I noticed a pea-sized red spot on his left side last night, as well as some red streaks on his tail fin on the same side as the red spot.

Can anyone tell me what this might be, and also how it possibly can be treated?

This goldfish swims alone in a lightly decorated 10 gallon tank. Hes about 3 inches long, and has shown no unusual behavior before or since I noticed the spot.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

hmmm i had this with the goldfish i adopted from my cousin... i dosed it with a bit of melafix and pimafix and it cleared up after a while

Red streaks in the tail, fins or body of the fish is most suggestive of bacterial infection that has gone inside the body of the fish. I would treat with antibiotics that will enter the fish even if dosed in the water, or antibiotic food.

Melafix and Pimafix are a great way to treat external problems such as minor injuries. They do not enter the body of the fish, though.

Along with whatever medication you choose to use do some extra water changes. Many diseases are worse and some meds are less effective when the organic matter load in the tank is high.
Do some very thorough gravel vacs to be sure the tank is extra clean.

Goldfish are highly tolerant of salt. You might add some salt (Sodium chloride) to the water at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons every day for 3 days. This will result in a dose of 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons. When you do water changes maintain this level of salt.
Read the label very thoroughly on the medicine to be sure it is OK in fresh water tanks with a bit of salt added. Most are fine, but there may be some meds that cannot be used with salt, or that already have some salt, so you do not want to add more.

When it is time to remove the salt do it slowly. Do several water changes with 1/2 the amount of salt, then several more with 1/4 the amount, over several weeks or a month the salt level will come down slowly so the fish can readjust to fresh water.