What to Do for an Ailing Fish?

[Julles]

One of my larger calico fantails is not doing so great.  She's been hanging around just below the surface of the water, listless, not swimming and not eating.

Other than that, she seems healthy.  All the other fish are fine.  As I said in anothe post, my water is kinda brown and cloudy, and I did a 1/4 change today.

Anything I can do to help this goldfish?

[Esther]

One sick fish can be scarey because you don't know if it's that one's time to die or if it has an illness that the others can catch. So you might want to quarantine it to a container/aquarium by it self. I did that once and used salt in the water but now I don't remember how much or how often. Sorry. The fish did live but I don't remember either what was wrong with my fish.

[Sunbeam56]

Goldfish are weird fish. Most of the time, if its not a bacterial or pathogenic infestation - its an air bladder problem (which can be bacterial).
Lots of times, my goldfish have just been constipated. Try feeding the sick fish green peas. Defrosted frozen ones. Its like Ex-lax for goldfish.

[Julles]

Thank you both.

Oh, I remember that green pea trick from my bettas, who are subject to dropsy (constipation).

I think my 1/4 water change yesterday, along with rinsing out the filter media again, helped.  I didn't see her dead this morning, and I do believe I saw her swimming with the others - hard to be sure, 'cause I have another that's almost identical, and they're so fast.

Don't think she could have died and been eaten by a predator, because I keep a wire cover over the pond these days. 

[miguynmkoi]

Green Peas!  Good to know!  Thanks!