My goldfish has red splotchy spots and excessive slime coat.?

Question

My goldfish has developed red spots. There was one on his tail for about a week which I monitored, but as of yesterday he has a lot of them. They are sploches, not streaks.

Also he has one cloudy eye but I think that's his slime coat being more excessive. I bought both anti-fungal and anti-bacterial medicines, but I really cant seem to diagnose this correctly (so I havent used any medicines.) I do put a little salt in the tank (not even the recommended amount) and I use Aqua Clear and Easy Balance. help!

Upon better inspection the slimecoat issue seems to have fixed itself - both eyes and the head are good and clear (I find with goldfish in the tank, sometimes a partial water change will fix the slimecoat problems...)

Anyway - the remaining problem is the spots. He's eating and swimming fine.

Thanks again!

Answer 1

You are right, it could be from several causes and it can be very difficult to diagnose properly It could be either a parasite or a bacterial problem and unfortunately it's practically impossible to tell which without skin scrapings and a lab with decent lab techs that know what to look for in the slides. I would suggest you treat for both with the knowledge that one of the treatments should take care of the situation. No fungus would be directly responsible for what you are seeing, but could infect the areas as an opportunistic infection, so watch carefully for that but don;t treat for fungus unless you see it.

Salt would only be effective against a few of the parasites that could cause this and basically none of the bacteria, so I wouldn't suggest using a salt treatment in this particular case. Salt is a highly effective cure for a number of fungus and parasite problems and is recommended by most knowledgeable breeders and vets, but only for certain aliments. Not to worry though, a little salt in your tank will not harm a thing, it may even keep that fungus mentioned earlier at bay.

If I can help further please feel free to email me.

ADDITION: Given that this is a fairly new tank and that a water change improved thinks dramatically and quickly, I'll revise my diagnosis to say it's very probable you have an ammonia problem in the tank. I will still say to watch for the possibility of a fungus infection, but watch the ammonia levels and do water changes as needed to keep them lowered. An ammonia test kit would be a wise investment.

MM

Answer 2

As MM pointed out, and your name strongly implies that this is a new aquarium. The first sign a goldfish tends to give for ammonia poisoning is red raised spots. These are the beginnings of ammonia burns. The natural defense of the goldfish is the increase in it's slime coat. I assume you saw a reduction in the slime coat when you did a water change, this would be an even better indication that the red spots are the beginnings of ammonia burns.

Please check the ammonia level in your tank to be sure, but I suspect you will find it elevated and that it will probably stay elevated. Are you using tap water? If so, what are you treating it with? Basically my question is that a larger percentage of water supplies are now treated with chloramine instead of chlorine. When the chlorine part of chloramine is neutralized, the ammonia in the chloramine is released into the water. Only a few water treatments on the market are dealing with the ammonia release properly. You might need to purchase a separate treatment for ammonia to use at the same time.

Also, Easy Balance should not be used without extra aeration (check instructions on the bottle). It can jeopardize some of the oxygen in the water and recommends that it be replaced.
Less oxygen = more stress.
More stress = fish more susceptible to environmental problems.

Assuming the ammonia level is elevated, I would recommend daily water changes of about 10 - 20 % until the level is reduced and the reddness is gone.

I expect you take care of this before it progresses but here are the things to beware of. The next stage of an amonia burn is a blister. When the blister is gone, the next stage is fin rot.

Assuming the goldfish heals after such an ordeal, the healing stage, if it gets that bad, is the color black. When the black disapears, the original goldfish color returns.

Answer 3

BGo and see your Dr. you should have allergy testing. If it really bothers you there are some things you can do in the meantime, benadryl spray for skin allergies, take a Benadryl pill at night, NOT DURING THE DAT, it will make you drowsy. Or try claritin, it's not fast acting but if taken 24 HS apart will start relieving itching. You can also use cortisone cream it quells the skins reactions it's a sort of steroid.

Answer 4

The sickness seems rather serious. They may be tumours, or slime-that is, the disease, so get the medicine for slime. It is probably stressed, a main cause of disease. The fish is probably going to die. You could try OceanFree medicine-they have a type for slime, ick (white spot) and velvet. My cory got slime or fungus but it died even after medication...

Answer 5

Well I would ask the vet to see what could be the matter although vets can not take in goldfish, but just ask if they know the matter with yur goldfish. Also see what the pet store can do. Hope he gets better though.

Answer 6

i am having the same problem w my little brother