here's a weird and somewhat gross question - a friend of mine has a goldfish who is suffering from a condition called "tail and fin rot". it's exactly the way it sounds - his tail has rotted off completely, and so have his fins for the most part.

a second fish of hers has already died of this, and "Gold" (or as i now call him, "Bob" ) is continuing to suffer from this. she has treated the water with antibiotics three times already, and has changed the water several times, but nothing seems to help.

he IS eating though, and can still swim around some, but when he's resting, he goes into a predictable nose-dive.

is it time to put Bob out of his misery, or does anybody know anything that can be done?

(no fish stick jokes, please - we've already made them all! )
[This message was edited Thu May 13 8:03:51 2004 by IAmTheTouch]

personally, i am not a big fan of keeping fish as pets. i think that all pet fish should be put out of their misery. i feel the same way about most birds.

if bob is still eating and moving around, he's probably doing okay. if his movement is greatly restricted or if it seems like he is in pain, then perhaps it's time to take action

IAmTheTouch said:

that i don't know. i would think no, and that only reptiles and seastars can do that, but i honestly have no idea.

I think she should maybe try a different brand of medication because from everything I've read she should be able to cure that disease and I don't think she should put it out of it's misery. I don't know a lot about the subject but I would think if she did some research with google or went into a qualified fish store they could help her.

My fish is also called Bob and I have a picture of him in my signature. I wish your friend the best of luck.

I was thinking that if worse comes to worst you should tell your friend that she may want to try a betta fish instead of a goldfish. Bettas have pretty much become the bowl fish of choice because they breathe air instead of breathing through their gills which means they are a heck of a lot easier to care for. Bettas on average live about 2 years as opposed to just a few months for goldfish. Plus they have a lot more personality.

lovemachine said:

cool - i didn't realize that. thanks!

Put it out of its misery. If the fish ain't getting better euthanize it. Or this fishy is just gonna have a slow miserable death, it's not fair to the fish to let it suffer.

It's a shame I'm a pretend doctor and not a pretend vet.

Anyway, how many fish sticks does it take to change a light bulb?

Four! One to hold the bulb and three to, er, never thought this one through.....

I too hate fish and birds as pets. They are meant to roam the vastness of the oceans and the skies and for them to be kooped up in a literal prison is plain awful and sad.

I say put the fish out of it's misery

The fin may have a chance to grow back if only the fin tissue was lost and the fin rays were not affected by the fungus, otherwise, they can't grow back.

Unless treatment works soon, I don't think he'll be around much longer since you said he is nose diving. Poor Bob. If she's not all that attached to Bob, I'd flush him.

A lot of times stress can cause fin rot, too... it's not always due to a fungus or their environment. Also, I don't know what other kinds of fish she has in with the Goldfish, but Goldfish are very dirty fish and really shouldn't be mixed in with other kinds.

awwwww..
Poor Bob...
I really don't like fishbowls for this reason. IMO, it's better to have an aquarium...the fishies are much happier and live much longer.

Well um, every fish I have ever had usually died after a couple of weeks. Came to the conclusion that I was giving them a death sentence by taking any home

the problem is that when you buy them they havent been as well looked after properly and they bring disease in to the tank with them from the shop.
ive found brackish water fish (green puffa fish) easyer to keep than gold fish the puffa fish are still healthy after 2 years but thats probibly because they didnt come from the pet shop

I once had a gold colored Oranda, those 'big-headed' goldfish from Japan...
I called him "dickhead" 'cause, well, that's what he looked like...

Dickhead was so stupid, I once had to rescuse him because he got
stuck in between the glass and filter pipe, his BIG head on one side, and
his little body on the other.
But, being Dickhead, he not only got stuck, but stuck upside down!

We also 'saved' a one-eyed albino catfish, cute as can be, but he used to
drive me crazy...he would swim at TOP SPEED along the edge of the aquarium
swimming in one direction the whole time.

Yeah, we've had some crazy fish...

Sorry I couldn't help you with your problem.

IAmTheTouch said:

If it isnt already dead try mixing the antibiotics with its flake food.Also take any live plants out of the water.Could also put fish in a different tank to help isolate the problem.And add a small pinch of salt to water.
[This message was edited Fri May 14 15:47:20 2004 by crazyhorse]

IAmTheTouch said:

http://www.bettasrus.com/

If you get a betta check out this page as they have some useful information on bettas, but on food they go overboard. They suggest live food but all the bettas I have had enjoy the pellets but they won't touch the flake food. I have found that with a weekly bowl change and not overfeeding the fish (rots the bowl if too much food falls to the bottom) they are a fun and easy pet. I have a picture of my fish in my signature.

.
[This message was edited Fri May 14 16:22:05 2004 by lovemachine]

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

i don't coop up my birds! they fly around the place freely when i'm gone. the only time they go in is at night and that's to prevent 'nightfright' injuries (when sirens go by, scare them) they have a little jungle gym of perches hanging from the ceiling, a wall of windows and big, fly-space cages with food and water where they can come and go from when they want to eat a variety of snacks.

i like to think they're having a good time in life, generally, but i do know what you mean. i wish i could repatriate them to the outside. maybe in florida. but they'd be at risk because they don't know how to fly in wind, about dogs/cats/ cars and humans. a crow would pick them off in a jiffy because they have no clue they're prey. so, i keep them inside. . .

planning on renovating a baby carriage into a giant, wheeled birdcage and take them strollin in the park one day.

i understand where you're coming from though.