Blood in fin of fantail goldfish - HELP

[ethompson9]

Hi there,

I have a fantail goldfish just over 6 months old. Recently he got what I believed to be finrot, so I treated him with erythromyocin for a week, performing the necessary water changes. I also replaced the filter and biowheel in my five gallon tank after the treatment.

Now, about a week after the treatment, there is a white section of his tailfin with streaks of blood. At first this section was just white, but now its growing in size and there are more and more streak lines. Also I've noticed several spots on the side of the body (same as the section of the tail with problems) and the spots are sort of bloody and cloudy but hard to see.

Fish is eating normally and pooping brown and a normal amount. Eating habits are normal.

I'd love it if someone could help me diagnose poor Phillip here! I've attached a couple pictures. Hope to hear something soon!

 

[achase]

Your goldfish's problem might be because it's tank size is unsuitable for a goldfish. I'm not sure what type of goldfish that is......I think it's a veiltail goldfish.
How often do you do water changes? What are you current water parameters (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate)?
With a small tank which is overstocked you need to be doing daily water changes (or every other day at the least).
Especially with goldfish because they are such huge waste producers.

Your goldfish could be suffering from Ammonia poisoning....one of the symptoms is red streaking on the fins.
Also I'm pretty sure that you tank is properly going through a mini-cycle because you replaced the filter and biowheel
(usually you try to keep them as they have the good bacteria that eats ammonia in/on them).
My suggestion would be to continue doing daily or every other day water changes and start looking for a larger tank.
I would recommend 15 - 30 gallons (based on past goldfish research) but others might suggest something different (smaller or larger).

I'm sorry that Phillip is not doing well and hopefully we can get back on the healthy track!

 

[ethompson9]

Thanks so much for your quick reply!

Phillip is a fantail goldfish and the tank is 5 gallons. I change the water about once-twice a week. I just tested all of the chemical levels and they are normal (ammonia, nitrate, chlorine, pH).

Today I noticed that the spots on his side are a lot worse and are much more red. Also he's been gasping more frequently, however I'm pretty sure oxygen levels are normal (don't know how to test for that).

He's still swimming around the tank fine and his fins aren't clamped at all. I've never seen anything like this, and I really hope I can figure it out before its too late. My dad thinks he's having aneurisms, but I'm not sure - it might be a bacterial infection?

Let me know what you think - and thanks so much for the advice!!!

 

[OrangeCones]

I just tested all of the chemical levels and they are normal (ammonia, nitrate, chlorine, pH).

How did you test the water? What are the actual levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (not just 'normal')?

What you are describing sounds like ammonia and nitrite poisioning. Ammonia poisoning often has the bloody streaks in the fins and other body tissue, and nitrite poisoning often causes gasping for air that you state. No matter the amount of oxygen in the water, the nitrite is being absorbed instead of oxygen, and the fish can suffocate. The blood will look brown as it circulates in the body from the nitrite instead of red from absorbing oxygen. Look up 'brown blood disease' to understand what high nitrite levels will do to a fish.

 

[ethompson9]

I tested the water with a kit - collected water and added an indicator solution and compared the color resulting with a color chart included in the kit. The pH is 7.2, ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels are all zero.

With ammonia poisoning, are bloody streaks consistant throughout the entire tail? Phillip only has blood in one spot on the right side of his tail. Also, the bloody spots are only on the right side of his body. Is that normal??

I appreciate all the help - thank you so much!!

Poor Phillip

 

[OrangeCones]

How often and how much water are you changing in the 5 gallon tank? A goldfish produces a lot of waste.

No, the bloody streaks do not need to be uniformly distributed along the tail or body.

 

[ethompson9]

I change the water twice a week. Any other things you can think of disease wise other than it being the water quality?

 

[achase]

Doing water changes twice a week is good.....but your tank is seriously overstocked.
Which means that your water quality goes bad quick and with a goldfish (big waste producers) it goes bad even quicker.
I can't really think of any other diseases with your described symptoms which don't ultimately relate back to water quality.

 

[OrangeCones]

The pH is 7.2, ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels are all zero.

Test the water right before your next water change. Make sure to re-read the directions on the ammonia test (should have two bottles). Re-read the instructions on the nitrate too, being sure to shake the bottles a LOT.

A fish in a 5 gallon tank, guppy or goldfish, will produce SOME waste that is measurable, and since your biofilter has not established since you show 0 nitrates, something in the testing is amiss.