Hi!
I have a 5-6 year old comet goldfish that has just started to get little yellow bumps all over his tail and top fin. His top fin had also turned really dark yellow. His fins have always been kind of a clearish yellow, but now they are really dark and have bumps all over them. It doesn't really look like Ich, because I have had a lot of fish that have had that. What could I put in the tank that wouldn't hurt the other 3 goldfish and 1 pleco that are also in there to try to treat this?? Do I need to isolate him to treat him? What do you think it could be? Please Help, I have had these fish for a long time and would hate to lose them now!!

P.S. They are in a 55 gallon aquarium if that info is needed at all.

How big are the bumps? They are raised above the skin? Can you post a photo? Goldfish can get small cysts but usually only get one or two and not a lot. If there are a lot, it may be a virus or parasite. Velvet causes minute yellow spots but your fish sound to have something larger. I'm really not sure what the yellow bumps might be at this time. As far as the change in color of the fins to more yellow, that might just be a color change, or it could be indicative of a problem. A photo would really help.

When you're not sure what the problem is, it's usually safe to add some aquarium salt at a tablespoon per 5 gallons. Salt helps with a number of things but not necessarily what is occuring here. I wish I were less exhausted so I could think of something useful to say. Thanks.

The bumps are about the size of 2 pinheads put together. That is the best way t hat I can describe it! And yes, they are raised above the skin. I might be able to post a picture if I can borrow a camera from my brother, but I have no idea how to upload them on to here! My fish seems to be doing just fine otherwise, he is eating and swimming and showing no signs of distress. His back tail has been ripped a lot and is frayed around the edges now too, so would that have anything to do with the bumps? Any other advice would be great!

Hi Laura,

Since Robyn is have trouble with her computer right now, I have always found the fish department at Petsmart pretty helpful. Can you get to one? (a Petsmart?)

I live a little over an hour away from any pet store. That is why I like to use this site for advice!!

Oh, OK.

I do know that if you treat her with Melafix and/or Pimafix you can treat the whole aquarium without hurting anyone. I do not think it treats parasites, just bacteria and fungus. You can order it online.

Ok thanks I will try Melafix.

I have some Parasite Clear fizz tabs that I have left over from when I treated my betta. Could I use that in the whole tank without harming the goldfish and pleco?

Thanks

Probably. But start with the Melafix and wait for Robyn for that question. She's pretty smart! :D

If the dots are that small, it might be velvet (yellow spot disease) which is a parasite like ick. The frayed fins may be unrelated. If you e-mail me photos, I can put them up here but probably not for another week. Alternatively, there are a ton of free photo web sites where you can post a photo. Once your photo is on-line, click on IMG when writing a message to enter the web site address of the photo so that it appears in the message.

The pleco might be sensitive to various parasite medications so keep an eye on him. If he starts flipping out or acting weird, do a 50% water change and add fresh carbon to the filter to remove the medication. Treatment with MelaFix and aquarium salt should be safe for all the fish but may not help if parasites are involved which we don't know for sure, yet anyway.

Do you recommend me putting him in a seperate 20 gallon plastic tote to isolate him from the others and then use Parasite Clear on him. I hate to seperate him because he gets really scared whenever I move him out of his tank. Could velvet have come on suddenly without doing anything different with the tank? None of the other fish are infected, can it spread? There are only about 15 bumps on his whole body. I guess I really want to make sure it is velvet before I treat him for it! Do you have a seperate email address that I can email you pictures to?

Thanks

I usually don't separate my fish when I treat them. If it's something contagious, the other fish may need to be treated as well. If the quarantine set up is going to be stressful for the fish, I wouldn't move him.

My e-mail is help at fishpondinfo dot com
I try to avoid writing it out normally to reduce SPAM.

I should be able to see the photos within a day of you sending them and give you my opinion; I just can't post them until the computer is fixed. My father's rebuilding it from the ground up but half the programs still won't load.

Velvet looks like gold dust sprinkled on the fish. Larger and fewer yellow dots might be a virus or little cysts or something.

If it is a virus, how would you treat it? Can that spread to other fish?

Unfortunately, viruses aren't really treatable aside from the usual good water quality, salt, and time. Luckily though, viruses are also rarely fatal. Sometimes they are contagious. I guessed virus but I'm not actually familiar with one that causes small yellow dots. Carp pox (a virus) causes black waxy splotches. I don't know that your fish problem is or isn't a virus any more than a parasite, cyst, tumor, bacteria, etc. It's just one possibility.

Did you get the pictures that I emailed to you? I know that they aren't very good but you can see the yellow spots on his back tail. Let me know what you think!

Nevermind, I just got your email!

Laura,
What is the verdict? Are your fish ok?

Robyn said that the bumps are most likely little cysts that are nothing to worry about. She also said that the dark yellow fin on top might have fin rot or it might just have been damaged. Do you know if melafix treats fin rot just in case that is what it is??

Thanks

The MelaFix and also aquarium salt will help with any fin damage. It's hard to say if it's actual fin and tail rot due to bacteria or a result of physical damage. My father has a make shift computer system up, enough that I should be able to post your photos on here tonight when I get home. He ordered a new computer.

[SIZE=7]Hi Laura,

I had a black moor with severe fin rot or damage with many missing scales. I followed Robyn;s advice with the Melafix and salt. I got my tank up to .12 percent salt. I kept it there for 3 months, My fish is fully healed.
However remember to take out the filter during treatment and test the water often because meds will make the ammonia go sky high!

Here are the two photos that Laura sent me:

Thanks for all of your advice. This website is the best!!

Anyway, my fish's bumps aren't getting any worse, so they are probably small cysts. But now I have been noticing that his back tail is starting to get really ragged looking. It is torn and frayed along the whole thing on the inside curve of the tail (the U shaped part on the comet goldfish). Any idea what this might be from?? I don't think that he would suddenly be getting hurt on the aquarium ornaments because they have been there for a long time. This is the only fish in the tank that is having any problems, so I don't know what is up with him!!

Raggety fins can be from physical damage such as getting stuck in a filter intake or being beaten up by males during spawning, or it can be due to fin and tail rot. The fins may become infected for whatever reason - physical damage or poor water quality. Keep the tank clean. Aquarium salt and MelaFix should help with healing the fins.

Ok thanks for the advice. The fins are really raggety, so I hope that they will get better soon!! I have changed about 20% of the water for 3 days in a row now, so I don't know if that is helping. I have also been adding aquarium salt and melafix. It looks like the fins have stopped tearing, but I'm not sure. The edges are starting to turn red so I don't know if that is bad or if that means they are healing? Also, the top dorsal fin has a big red streak going through it. The other 3 comets and the pleco are still ok though. Fin rot can't be spread to the other fish can it?

Thanks again for all the advice!!

Laura

The red streaking is from the veins. It's sometimes called septicemia but doesn't have to be caused by bacteria. It can be just from stress. Once the fins start to heal, they often turn black at the edges. If the fin rot is caused by bacteria, those bacteria can spread. They normally only harm the fish if they're already weak for some other reason. The bacteria that cause fin rot should be diluted out with water changes and tank cleanings.

I have been doing frequent water changes and adding aquarium salt and melafix, but my goldfish with the fin rot does not seem to be getting any better. One of his little fins on the side has gotten down to just the "veins" of the fin, and the rest of the fin is completely gone. The fin on the top has a big "V" chunk missing out of it, and his back tail is getting more and more red on it. But his back tail doesn't really seam to be getting any more ragged, it is just getting more red. Is there anything elso that I can try to treat him? Do you think that if he is this bad he will get better? I hope he gets better soon!!

Thanks,
Laura

I'm sorry he's not better. Have you tried actual antibiotics yet? If not, those may help. I suggest Maracyn I and II by Mardel. One is erythromycin, and one is minocycline. One treats gram positive and one gram negative bacteria. It can be hard to guess which one the fish has so you can use both.

I hope he gets better too!

Can I add those antibiotics into the tank with the other 3 goldfish and pleco or do I need to quarantine him when I use the antibiotics on him?

I've used both of those at the same time many times with many fish including my plecos. I've never had any ill effects on the tank or fish from using either antibiotic. Those two antibiotics also do not harm the good bacteria.

Right now I have him in a seperate 8 gallon container and I am treating him. Do you think that I should put him back in the tank with the other 4 healthy fish and continue the treatment with those two antibiotics?

Thanks!!

Nevermind about the last message. I don't have enough of those antibiotics to use in my 55 gallon aquarium anyway.

I have three more questions:

Can I use melafix and aquarium salt at the same time that I am using the Maracyn I and II?

Can I do water changes or will that ruin the effects of the antibiotics?

My fish doesn't really eat the food that I am giving him right now because I think that he is kind of stressed in the 8 gallon container by himself, so a lot of the food is just sitting on the bottom and making the water dirty.

Will the antibiotics just kill the bacteria that is causing fin rot and then he has to re-grow the tissue on his fins? I am really worried about the little fin on the front right side becase it is just veins or whatever they are and there is no fin left. That same fin on the other side is already missing because it got ripped off in an accident he was in a while back. I can see the other fins starting to do that on his other smaller fins too.

I sure hope he gets better!!

Yes, you can use aquarium salt, MelaFix, Maracyn I, and Maracyn II all at the same time. I have done that a few times.

You can do water changes but that will reduce the antibiotic levels so you'd have to add more to equal what you removed.

To remove the sunken food, try using some tubing. You can use air line tubing but that's kind of thin. I use tubing that came off one of the inexpensive gravity gravel cleaners (removed the end tube so it's just the clear tube). Fill the tube with water and hold both ends. Put one end by the food and the other end in a bucket below the tank level. Release the ends, and the food will flow into the bucket. That way you're only doing a very small water change.

For the fins where the support structures (rays) are still there, the fin tissue can eventually regrow. Where the supports are gone, they probably won't regrow, at least not normally. A fish can live with partial fins but can't live with bacteria continuing to attack.

I hope he gets better too!

If I give him the whole 5 day treatment with the Maracyn I and II and melafix, will the bacteria be gone for sure so that I can put him back in the main aquarium and then just continue with the melafix? I just don't want to keep him in that small container for any longer than I have to. He has been on the antibiotics for about three days now and he isn't really looking any different. Hopefully something is working in there!!

Thanks soooo much!!

Antibiotics don't come with a guarantee that they'll kill the bacteria that needs to be killed. Some bacteria are resistent to certain antibiotics, or the dose isn't strong or long enough to get it all. You won't know for sure. If all the bad bacteria are killed, the fish will still look damaged as the fins need to heal. Regrowth takes a long time.

When I got home from work today I noticed that my goldfish now has a small hole in the middle of his tail. Does this mean that the antibiotics aren't working? He is looking pretty rough!! He still swims normally and everything, but his fins are all REALLY bad. Anything else that I can try or what should I do???

Let me know if there are any other antibiotics or anything that you think might work because I am going to Petsmart later this afternoon. It is about an hour away from where I live so I don't get there very often!!

Thanks,
Laura

Sorry to add so many posts at one time, but do you think that I should get a 10 gallon aquarium to put my fish in? I would then leave him in there for a month or so to let him heal if he gets better and then put him back in with the other fish. He is about 6-8 inches long, do you think 10 gallons is enough just for a month? Let me know!! Thanks

What antibiotics have you used? MelaFix, Maracyn I, and Maracyn II? Those are the ones I suggested. If they don't seem to be working, you might try tetracycline or one of the sulfa drugs. Penicillin absolutely kills the good filter bacteria since I used it once, and almost the entire tank died from the resulting ammonia spike. I'm not sure which antibiotics are safe in that regard.

A microbiologist would be needed to determine which antibiotic is most effective against the specific bacteria that the fish has. Labs do that but it costs money, and they require a live (until they "sample" it) or dead "specimen" that they keep. That certainly doesn't help! So, we just have to try different antibiotics in hope that one will help more than the other.

A 10 gallon tank is not ideal for the goldfish but can work short term. You may need to do 50% water changes every 3 days or so. Monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels a few times a week too. A 20 gallon would be better but costs at least three times more normally (just for the tank) than the 10 gallon.

The hole in the fin doesn't necessarily mean it's worse. Cells that are already damaged may rot and fall out which is part of healing. It's hard to tell if the hole is just from cells that were already dead or new damage.

I got the 10 gallon aquarium today at the pet shop because I didn't have the money for the 20 gallon. I put my fish in it and he seems much happier than when he was in the 8 gallon tub. I also got some Trisulfa so hopefully that will help.

Trisulfa is normally sulfamethazine, sulfathiazole, and sulfacetamide. I've tested for those three sulfa drugs before in fish medications sent to us by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. I hope they work better than the erythromycin and minocycline have.

The water in the aquarium seems to get really cloudy and you can see white swirls in the water if the light is on. Does the Trisulfa make the water cloudy?I hope that his fins have stopped rotting. It is kind of hard to tell. There is still no signs really that they are starting to heal though. When will I know if the fins have stopped rotting? How long after they start rotting do they usually start to heal? Do most fish live through fin rot? I am really hoping that he will start healing soon. But one positive thing is that he actually ate this morning. I haven't seen him eat in about 6 days, so this is good!!