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I know nothing about goldfish and possibly the fish I have isn't even known as a goldfish. I am also possibly in the wrong forum but it seems to have a lot of info on goldfish. If I have I appologise but I am hoping somebody out there can either put my mind at rest and possibly save my other fish.

OK we don't have a pond but a tank (our son but parents maintain. ring any bells?) in which we house 3 goldfish and have done for over 3 years. Yes I have lost a couple in those three years one was jet black with bulging eyes who died within 2 weeks of being in the tank and another identical one who suffered the same fate (don't know why) but never bought any others and then my sons favourite who was a chocolate brown goldfish who died about 2 years ago after starting to swim upside down and kept rising to the surface. This I know is something to do with their bouancy bladder and is quite common so I am lead to believe. ANyhow the remaining 3 are 1 complete orange with wide tail and 2 white and orange with fan type tails. The 2 white and orange seem to go around together but steer clear of the orange one due to his size (bit of a glutton).

Anyhow we are cleaning the tank today and put the fish from one tank to another fresh clean water left 24 hours before transfer. Water is from the tap (shock horror) but our water system is filtered and has a Neutral pH is this correct lifestyle?

Well I notice that on one of the orange and white fish there is a what can only be described as a clear blister/sack on its bottom section of its tail about 1cm from its body. It doesn't seem to be causing any discomfort to the fish but then again I have only noticed it today but I am wondering if its something more serious and need to get it seperated from the others.

As I said I am a novice at this and there are probably many things I am doing incorrectly but if we loose another fish my son will be very gutted.

If need be I can email a picture of this fishes problem.

hi
could you tell me a bit more about the tank? how big, which filter and how often and how do you do water changes. how do you clean the filter out.
if you could get the pic that would be great too.
sounds like you have a comet and two fantails. the black ones would have been blackmoors.
comet goldfish need 20 gallons of water and the fantails 10 gallons each.
single tailed and fanct tailed fish shouldnt be kept together as the single tail will harrasss the others and out compete them for food.
filtration needs to be able to turn over the tank capacity 10x in an hour.
always rinse the filter media in old tank water or dechlorinated tap water.
never use water for filling a tank unless its been dechlorinated first.
when you place water back in the tank make sure the water is the same temperature as the tank water, you may need to buy a thermometer. fantails like their water to be slightly warmer than commons.
the bubble could be because the water that went in was too cold.
this is known as gas bubble disease and is caused by cold water high in nitrogen.
there are a few other diseases that cause bubbles to form, so a pic would be nice and is the bubble air or fluid filled at all?

sorry its taken so long for someone to post back to you.

As I said complete novice.

The tank is not that big and when we bought it it stated it was adequate for 5 goldfish. However we only have 3 in it now but used to have 4 and they got on quite well. As for tank capacity and pump output I wouldn't have a clue as it was one of these buy in a box aquarium.

Water change I'm sorry to say this but it used to be just as it had a yellow tinge to it and then it would be all fish out into our standby tank which was filled the night before and then completely cleaned with treated tap water. As I mentioned in my previous message the water out our taps is as pure or purer than the stuff thats supposed to have been filter through rocks for 1000's of years. It is free from all elements and is ph Neutral. However saying that after reading numerous threads on here it is now changed 50-50 every week with the pump filter being cleaned externally through running water.

The fish are also fed twice a day with basic fish food which floats on the surface for a few minutes until it meets the pump then it gradually sinks.

With regards to the fish in question the blister has gone and so has part of its tail. I am assuming fish tails are a bit like hair and that it regrows after being sort of cut off. I have also been keeping an eye on the other fish and they all seem to be OK. No marks, spots or loss of scales.

So if you still need a picutre of what it was then I can send one to you and also if you can correct any of the things I am doing wrong then that would be handy too as my son likes his fish but since our chinese takeaway has got a fish tank and stuck Nimo and Dorey in the tank he wants some of those as well and can't seem to understand that they don't mix or at least I don't think they do.

hi again

the fish in the restaurant are marine fish so no they wouldnt go well with goldfish.

pleased to see the fish seems to be doing better and the tail will regrow in time. cant really offer you much more in the way of advice that i have given, unless you can think of something specific. all i will say is invest in some test kits for nitrite, nitrate, ammonia and ph and you can see how often your fish will need water changes. in the meantime you should do 40% every 3 days to keep on top of everything. keeping the water as clean and fresh as possible is the best you can do and with a filter never do more than 50% at any one time.
any more questions then please ask, good luck with your fish