Hi Mel, thanks for your reply.

I have had the fish for 2 years and nothing new has been introduced to the
tank recently. The tank is round, 24cm in diameter and 17cm high. I replace
the water with tap water that has been left out overnight, once every 10 to
14 days on average.

I do not own a test kit but will see if my local pet store will test some
water for me, so I can post some results.

In your experience, if the problem can be diagnosed and treated, is a fish
able to recover from the symptoms I described below? The tail is now very
badly rotten although the breathing and balance problems do not appear to
have worsened

Thanks
dan...

"Mel" wrote in message
...
How long have you had the fish and have you introduced anything new to
the
tank at all? Also, what size is the tank and what is your maintenance
schedule with it?
The very first thing you should do is test for ammonia, nitrite, and
nitrates in the original tank and the bowl the fish is in now. (Incidently
a
bowl is not a good environment for a goldfish especially when he/she is
ill). If you don't have kits to test for this you can either buy them
which
is a good investement, or take a sample of your water to your lfs who will
test it for you. Take a pen and paper and get the exact results and write
them down, then post them here. Don't take what the employee says as
gospel
as their advise isn't always correct and they are more interested in
making
money than the welfare of the fish in most cases.
Mel.



"dan-tucker" wrote in message
...
Hi,

We own two goldfish and on Christmas Eve one of them seemed to fall
ill
overnight. The head became swollen, the gills red inside, the dorsal
fin
was
flat to the body and the tail was clamped. The fish has very
restricted
movement and often falls over onto it's side momentarily before
righting
itself again.

We immediately moved it to some fresh water in a separate bowl, to
which
there was a very slight improvement. We bought some swimbladder
treatment
which we have administered with some aquarium salt but this has not
helped
in the slightest. Now the tail is rotting and appears very ragged. The
fish
will still eat if food is held sufficiently close for it to take

Does anyone have any suggestions please as from looking at the
www.goldfishinfo.com diagnostic guide it appears to be showing
symptoms
of
Gill Flukes, Clamped Fins, Tail Rot and Swim Bladder problems. I'm not
sure
whether I am able to effectively treat the fish in it's current
condition.

The other goldfish has been absolutely fine

Thanks in advance for any help received

dan...