Please help! I think my fish may be sick but I'm new at this and not sure!

[Mayank]

It can be hard to tell. Ammonia should be 0, keep monitoring it daily but seems like we can rule that out as the cause.
Is it possible that their behavior could be caused by a predator. New fish often times carry disease with them and stress can cause those diseases to show. If the stress is not simply from water quality issues, what else is causing the stress?
Get a clear container, I use the disposable Ziplock/Glad type, filled with pond water large enough for one of the gold fish and net it. Try to be quick but gentle. Take some photos and post them.

OK, Will do. Thought of doing that earlier but didn't want to stress them even more

 

[Mayank]

Also, if ammonia is higher then what is the remedy to that?

 

[Mayank]

@IPA @poconojoe @WaterGardener @AlyssaFish
Thank you all for your guidance so far. I was able to take a couple of pictures of the black comet and also took one of the general setup so you guys can have more info. Not sure if the stuff on the black comet is just dust but it doesn't look very different than it has before. Also it does not look like those 7-8 spots on the golden comet which again may not be new and/ or we just weren't paying that much attention to their exact colors?

 

[Mayank]

Also I just saw one of the fantails and it had a dark red patch on the one side between it's belly and the tail that was not there before! Couldn't take a pic.

 

[AlyssaFish]

So, water chemistry doesn't seem to be an issue at the moment! That's good. That means their immune systems have a better fighting chance.

That black comet's body doesn't look right to me... It does look like it has a thick slime coat (which crud can get stuck to very easily) and is a sign of stress/disease. However, I am more concerned with the bloating. See how the way that the roundness starts right behind the gill plate? Common and comet goldfish usually have very gently tapered bodies that do not bulge out like that. It could be the early stages of dropsy. If the scales behind the gill plate (or any others, for that matter) start to rise up like a pinecone, and you still haven't found a cause for the disease, you'll want to treat with antibiotics right away. I usually start with Metroplex when treating dropsy.

Dark red patch on the fantail's side could be an ulcer (which would be another important symptom) or it could be a scrape from rubbing against something sharp (or even from being wounded by a predator).

If it were me, I would put that comet in a quarantine tank and do salt treatments help with the slime coat, and try to get a closer look at all the potential symptoms.

How's the water temperature been this month?

 

[Mayank]

So, water chemistry doesn't seem to be an issue at the moment! That's good. That means their immune systems have a better fighting chance.

That black comet's body doesn't look right to me... It does look like it has a thick slime coat (which crud can get stuck to very easily) and is a sign of stress/disease. However, I am more concerned with the bloating. See how the way that the roundness starts right behind the gill plate? Common and comet goldfish usually have very gently tapered bodies that do not bulge out like that. It could be the early stages of dropsy. If the scales behind the gill plate (or any others, for that matter) start to rise up like a pinecone, and you still haven't found a cause for the disease, you'll want to treat with antibiotics right away. I usually start with Metroplex when treating dropsy.

Dark red patch on the fantail's side could be an ulcer (which would be another important symptom) or it could be a scrape from rubbing against something sharp (or even from being wounded by a predator).

If it were me, I would put that comet in a quarantine tank and do salt treatments help with the slime coat, and try to get a closer look at all the potential symptoms.

How's the water temperature been this month?

Sorry for the late reply but yesterday was really hectic. We decided to take one of the fantails that seemed to be affected the most back to the place we bought it from. They tested the water and confirmed that there was no chemistry issue. At 1st he thought the damage was from spawning activities. But he offered to do a gill scrape and examine under the microscope. His microscope was connected to a screen So we could see what he was looking out. We saw ich and one fluke. We even saw the fluke move and it was creepy. Anyway that seemed to explain what was going on and he gave us a product that we may have to use more than once to eliminate the two parasites. It is called Minnfinn and we used it once yesterday and will repeat in a few days.

 

[AlyssaFish]

I've never heard of MinnFinn! Let me know how that goes! Salt is also a good treatment for ich, and praziquantel I mentioned earlier is good for flukes.

Please keep an eye on that bloating black comet, though. It's possible for parasites to create lesions that bacteria can get through and cause internal infection. Most likely everything will get better with your treatment, but just keep an eye on that little guy anyway!

I once had to use a skin scrape and microscope to discover a disease! My fish were being attacked by a ciliated parasitic protozoan of some sort. It was fascinating to look at!

 

[Mayank]

So, its been a couple of weeks. Ended up doing 7 MinnFinn treatments total (they said 3-5 but I didn't want to take any chances). Lost two out of three fantails and very surprisingly lost one of the mid-size koi
All the others seem to have recovered, they're eating again and few days ago went through a hectic spawning session
Anyway, they seem to be doing ok now. Don't see any ich on them and hoping they pull through. One issue is that I think the MinnFinn does kill the good bacteria and the water is green as can be again. I added good bacteria and really slowed down feeding to virtually zero. Just a few bits to see the fish come out to make sure they're OK. They look mad as they swim around looking at me like why aren't u feeding us? But I stay strong and tell them it's for their own good!
Water chemistry still great.
Did 10 % water change yesterday (using API tap water conditioner; I use more then I should but I understand it's harmless unless you use like a whole bunch more?). Updated photo is in the July POTM contest entries if anyone would like to check it out.

 

[AlyssaFish]

I'm sorry for your losses. I hope things continue to look up from here!

 

[Mayank]

I'm sorry for your losses. I hope things continue to look up from here!

Thank you so much. Today just for fun, I washed my hands, held a piece of food just under water level just to see what happens and after some swim-bys they circled closer until one of the comets went for it. Then the bigger koi came and gently took another "kibble" from my fingers. It was cool. Three others came and checked out my fingers too and a couple of the babbies came by also and looked at me like, yo, where's our food?
It was really cool because only last week we saw a youtube video where the dude said it takes three years for them to be comfy enough to be hand fed.

 

[Mmathis]

CONGRATULATIONS!

That “dude on YouTube” must not have had any positive interactions with his fish — that’s sad! Three years? Well, that’s why you shouldn’t believe everything you see on the internet!

 

[Lisak1]

It was really cool because only last week we saw a youtube video where the dude said it takes three years for them to be comfy enough to be hand fed.

Three years? That guy wasn't trying very hard! haha!

Glad to hear your fishy issues seem to be behind you!

 

[Mayank]

Three years? That guy wasn't trying very hard! haha!

Glad to hear your fishy issues seem to be behind you!

Thank you so much! But today I read about bottom drains being a must and am freaking out again
I only have a skimmer. What do you think?

 

[Mmathis]

Thank you so much! But today I read about bottom drains being a must and am freaking out again
I only have a skimmer. What do you think?

Bottom drains are an option, not a “must.”

 

[addy1]

But today I read about bottom drains being a must and am freaking out again

I have never had a bottom drain my ponds do fine. I do have a skimmer.