Fluke burden ? was Dying (?) fish

soup wrote:
Looking on the 'net (very dangerous trying to diagnose things on the
'net) but the description seems to follow exactly the fishes behaviour
ie lying on the bottom but swimming OK when disturbed as to a fluke
burden am thinking off getting fluke tabs tomorrow does this sound about
right to the members of this group?
Yes I know the tank is far too small for two goldfish (5 GL) but
realistically there is no chance of getting a bigger tank. I tried to
tell the wife that two was too many (indeed it is to small for one
goldfish) but she would not listen.

I would recommend against using medications of any kind. They just
stress the fish more and can lead to death, in my experience. Ok, if the
fish's living circumstances were great and you had real evidence of a
particular parasite or other pathogen then ok, you might treat with
exactly the right stuff. Dr Solo's (Ingrid's) site is good for goldfish
information.

Just do partial (~30%) water changes every couple of days - perhaps
daily at first, to get your water back into shape. Keep the filter clean
but only use tank water to clean it and re-use the media (retains good
bacteria).

And get a bigger aquarium. A bare 20 gallon aquarium (long type is
better) may only cost $20 or $30 US, and hopefully you can re-use your
existing filter. Add some cheap, live "bunch" plants if there's
daylight. If you need a top to keep the cat out that'll cost a bit more
but there are home-made solutions.

Good luck! Fish actually are fun , especially with live plants and snails.
Steve