can't figure out what's wrong..

[xooreo]

i got 2 ryukin goldfish about 3 months ago, and one died recently .. but the other one, which was fine, has begun to act strangely as well.
at first i thought it was constipation, but its fins have begun to get ragged, and a few of the scales appear to be missing .. one side of its belly is swollen and it has trouble balancing so sometimes it just lies on its side, breathing. it also can't get to the bottom of the tank - it's almost as if some invisible string just pulls it back up once it stops swimming.
please - if anyone has any suggestions to what it may be/if there's any way to treat it, i would appreciate it soooo much. my poor fish seems to be working so hard to survive .. i don't want it to go like this

 

[dogdoc]

Hi and welcome.

Need some more info to try and help you out.

If you can give us the tank size, pH, ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate levels. Water change frequency and amount. Your whole routine basically. Also what type of filters etc are running on the tank, and how long it has been up and running.

Guessing here, but it sounds as if you may have a couple of things going on. Fin rot, and swim bladder problems come right to mind.

Post the info above, and there are lots of folks here who can help.

 

[homebunnyj]

First, you need to get your water tested at your local fish store, if you don't have test kits at home. In the meantime, though, maybe these sites can shed some light on your fish's symptoms.
http://www.ask-the-vet.com/fish-diseases-gold-fish-disease.htm
http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/disease/clinicalsigns.htm
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/disease.html
IMHO-- which probably isn't worth much-- it sounds kinda like an internal bacterial infection. In a situation like that, I feed an antibacterial food. (Jungle makes one.) Also, if you have Maracyn and Maracyn-2, these are good antibiotics that you put in the water. One is for gram-negative bacteria and one is for gram-positive, so if I have no way of knowing which kind is the problem I treat for both.
This is all stuff you'll have to do tomorrow, if he makes it through the night. Tonight you could raise the tank temp a little, and do a water change-- maybe 50%. That way, if your water parameters are not too great, it will take some of the stress off him.
When you post up next, be sure to include whatever info you can that might relate to his condition-- tank size, tankmates, water parameters if you have them by then, tank maintenance, etc.
Good luck with your fishie.