Most goldfish disease is a result of poor water quality although there is some genetic problems that may seem like a disease to a fish owner. Many are bacterial infections like goldfish fungus and can be avoided with proper tank maintenance and water changes.
Of the diseases that affect your goldfish, one is actually a genetic disorder in the deep bodied fish like moors, veiltails and orandas which causes them to have digestive or swim bladder problems. This can be minimized if you keep these types of fish in a tank separate from other fish and never feed them surface food which will cause them to gulp air. The symptoms of this problem is that either your goldfish will always float to the top and have a hard time swimming to the bottom – or he will stay on the bottom and have a hard time swimming up.
s, Their Symptoms, And Treatment
Symptom – White salt like grains on fish
This is Ich or Ichtyopthirius, the most common fish disease. It’s actually a parasite that attaches to the goldfish and feeds off him. It then drops off into the gravel bed, lays eggs and makes more parasites. If not cared for this can take over your tank and kill your fish.
Treatment – water changes can help get rid of free swimming parasites, there are many products at the store that can treat this disease. Read more about ich for more detailed treatment procedures.
Symptom – Excessive coating of slime, sores, scratching against rocks or decorations.
This is Body Flukes These parasites are actually quite common and have an anchor that they use to attach themselves to the goldfish. The fish tries to rid itself of the parasite by rubbing against stuff in your tank. Sometimes flukes can cause bacterial disease to start at their entry sites. Infestation can be exacerbated by poor water quality and overcrowing your tank. Gill Flukes attach to the gills and cause your goldfish to look like he is gasping for air.
Treatment – Commercial treatments found in your pet store along with adding salt to the tank (some fish like tetras, cordydoras and other scaleless fish cannot tolerate salt so use it carefully).
Symptom – Goldfish rubbing against everything, red sores on fish
This is Fish Lice, a parasite that can grow up to ¼ inch and reproduces very rapidly. They are flat and round and can swim from fish to fish.
Treatment – Fish lice are somewhat difficult to treat and may involve manual removal of the parasite from your goldfish! They lay eggs in the bottom of the tank so the tank needs to be treated as well. Recommendation is to seek advice from your fish store owner.
Symptom – Whitish edge on fins, tattered or rough edged fins.
This is Fin Rot which happens on goldfish after an injury to the fins. This disease is a bacterial infection which usually will happen if the fish has a weakened immune system from tank overcrowding or poor water quality. Treatment – This is one of the most curable (and preventable of the goldfish diseases. However, if left untreated it can kill all your fish! Treat with a water change, antibiotics and aquarium salt.
Symptom – White cottony gunk on your goldfish.
This is Goldfish Fungus, a bacterial infection that is a common indicator that your fish is weak to begin with. Treatment – Water change, treat with medicine commonly found in pet store.
Symptom – Fish has a large belly that look swollen – scales around the belly may be sticking out..
This is Dropsy which goldfish seem to be more susceptible to than other fish and can be caused by several things. Treatment – Consult with your vet or pet shop owner, depending on the type of dropsy, you may need to isolate the infected fish so the disease does not spread.