FIN ROT IN GOLDFISH!!! (PLEASE HELP...FINS NOT HEALING AFTER 3 WEEKS)

[sanchay]

I am the guy with 2 shubunkin goldfishes and 2 giant danios

PLEASE READ IT FULLY

Recently (3 weeks back) one of my goldfish had its tail torn....I ignored this because that particular goldfish has an exceptionally large tail and manages to get it torn every month....but it heals within 2 days and this is happening for around 2 years...I have no sharp decors ( 3 pots , driftwood , 3 aquarium safe plastic plants that i have been using for an year and pebbles...note that the goldfish has this tail tearing issue even before i purchased the plastic plants)

but the last time the tail for that goldfish was torn (3 weeks back) it did not heal in 2 days and started to have a while layer being formed around the tail....I assumed that this is fin rot and moved that goldfish to a hospital tank(5 gallons) and checked the water conditions of the main tank...the water conditions were fine...(0,0,20ppm)....So i dissolved 1 tablespoon of epsom salt and used tetracycline (this helped me a lot in finrots before)....I did a water change everyday (60%) and added a table spoon of epsom salt after every waterchange....i added more tetracycline once in every 2 days.....by the end of the week the tail somewhat healed but the while colored layer was still there...so i decided to keep it in the hospital tank for an extra 3-4 days..

meanwhile in the main (after the 1st week) I noticed that tthe other goldfish started having torn fins (not so severe...tail not affected)....I was not sure about it initially so i decided to observe it for a day...the next day condition of the fins were worse...so i immediately moved that fish to the hospital tank too...same treatment but this time i tried erythromycin instead of tetracycline (i read that erythromycin too helps)...after a week i stopped the erythromycin...the first goldfish's tail seems to have almost healed while the 2nd one's fins are torn badly...but is not getting worse...(2 weeks gone)....during th e3rd week i did a water change every 2 days and added a tablespoon of epson salt 3 days once....

The issue now is that....the white layer in the first goldfish has not yet disappeared and the 2nd goldfish's tail has not healed even after a week and i am super confused right now

Both are not stressed in any ways....they just seem to be normal

i tried taking pics....only the rot of the first fish was visible in the pictures...the 2nd goldfishes's rot is not visible

this is the first goldfish 3 weeks back.....the tail is now healed...but white layer is there tho

the white layer is still not gone...

the rot in the other fish is not visible in pics...but it looks like as if something has took a giant gircular bite in each of its fins (not tail)

none of the DANIOS were aggressive to these guys

 

[Colin_T]

One of the images didn't work.

Using anti-biotics to treat fin rot is not the best way to go about it.

The white stuff on the tail is excess mucous produced by the fish to cover the damaged tissue.

Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) does not treat fin rot. It is used to draw fluid out of fish.

Rock salt, swimming pool salt, aquarium salt (is sodium chloride) and this can be used to treat fin rot. See below for instructions on salt.

------------------
The fact this continues to happen would suggest there is something in the tank that is catching and ripping the fins. It is either the driftwood, plastic pots, plastic plants or gravel.

I would remove the pots and driftwood and see if it helps. If it still happens then remove the plastic plants.

------------------
Make sure you have live plants in the tank for the goldfish to eat. They need a lot of plant matter in their diet to maintain a healthy immune system. If they don't get enough plant matter in their diet, they can be more prone to infections and minor wounds can take longer to heal.

Duckweed is a small floating plant that most goldfish love to eat. You can grow it outdoors in ponds or in aquariums. Just add some to the tank each week and let the fish help themselves to it.

Other plants that are good for them include Ambulia, Hygrophila polysperma and narrow Vallis.

You can give them small amounts of spinach, pumpkin, zucchini and some other fruits and veges. Just make sure they are free of chemicals and rinse them well before putting in the tank. You can put the veges in boiling water for a minute to soften them up and the fish might prefer that over fresh.

------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

 

[Artur]

You didn't say anything about your filtration system. Maybe your filter is catching your goldfish's fins? I once had this ridiculously powerful internal filter (35 watts) and it could grab a whole fish (if it was not bigger than 5cm (2inch)). Now the most powerful one I have is 27W (Aquael Turbo Filter 2000 but I have it with fish 20cm long and more)
So, what kind of filter/filters do you have there? Because you start with sentence "I'm the guy who..." but... I personally am here for such a short period of time that I don't know you, your story and your tank.

Also, how big is the tank?
What kind of substrate do you have?
I'm asking because I know a story where a guy had gravel in his tank. Nitrates etc. were OK, but his fish kept on getting sick.
What was it then? The nitrates etc. were great in the water, away from the bottom/gravel. Closer you would get, worse it was. All his bottom dwellers fish died, and all others were struggling.
He then changed to fine sand and problem was solved.

So - maybe - your filtration catches the fish, torns their fins, maybe the filtration isn't good enough (goldfish are very messy), maybe your water condition isn't that good. And maybe you use not the right tools - what I mean by that - I only use JBLs water tests. Their "drop tests", not the "strips". I find other brands (Tetra, Tropical etc.) not exactly authoritative.

 

[sanchay]

One of the images didn't work.

Using anti-biotics to treat fin rot is not the best way to go about it.

The white stuff on the tail is excess mucous produced by the fish to cover the damaged tissue.

Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) does not treat fin rot. It is used to draw fluid out of fish.

Rock salt, swimming pool salt, aquarium salt (is sodium chloride) and this can be used to treat fin rot. See below for instructions on salt.

------------------
The fact this continues to happen would suggest there is something in the tank that is catching and ripping the fins. It is either the driftwood, plastic pots, plastic plants or gravel.

I would remove the pots and driftwood and see if it helps. If it still happens then remove the plastic plants.

------------------
Make sure you have live plants in the tank for the goldfish to eat. They need a lot of plant matter in their diet to maintain a healthy immune system. If they don't get enough plant matter in their diet, they can be more prone to infections and minor wounds can take longer to heal.

Duckweed is a small floating plant that most goldfish love to eat. You can grow it outdoors in ponds or in aquariums. Just add some to the tank each week and let the fish help themselves to it.

Other plants that are good for them include Ambulia, Hygrophila polysperma and narrow Vallis.

You can give them small amounts of spinach, pumpkin, zucchini and some other fruits and veges. Just make sure they are free of chemicals and rinse them well before putting in the tank. You can put the veges in boiling water for a minute to soften them up and the fish might prefer that over fresh.

------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

thank you for replying

i thought aquarium salt was a "default" thing...so i did not mention it....I added 2 tablespoon of aquarium salt initially in the 5 gallon(16 litres) tank and then added 1 tablespoon with every waterchange...i will increase the amount for sure

about the decors...yes i tried removing all the decors and it still managed to tear it tail.....One of my friend used my tank (the main one...18G) for a month to house his betta (this happened a year back after i got my plastic plants)(my shubunkin and the danios were kind with the betta and did not bother it...neither did the betta bother my buddies)

even though the betta did not tear its fins or tail this shubunkin did get its tail torn...

i basically moved almost all the live plants from my main tank to the hospital tank as my goldfish was super stressed initially due to a sudden change in the environment (the whole tank is now plant)(i have a fern...forgot its name and money plant...both my goldfish love to chew on the money plant)I doo give em peas and veggies atleast thrice a week

 

[sanchay]

You didn't say anything about your filtration system. Maybe your filter is catching your goldfish's fins? I once had this ridiculously powerful internal filter (35 watts) and it could grab a whole fish (if it was not bigger than 5cm (2inch)). Now the most powerful one I have is 27W (Aquael Turbo Filter 2000 but I have it with fish 20cm long and more)
So, what kind of filter/filters do you have there? Because you start with sentence "I'm the guy who..." but... I personally am here for such a short period of time that I don't know you, your story and your tank.

Also, how big is the tank?
What kind of substrate do you have?
I'm asking because I know a story where a guy had gravel in his tank. Nitrates etc. were OK, but his fish kept on getting sick.
What was it then? The nitrates etc. were great in the water, away from the bottom/gravel. Closer you would get, worse it was. All his bottom dwellers fish died, and all others were struggling.
He then changed to fine sand and problem was solved.

So - maybe - your filtration catches the fish, torns their fins, maybe the filtration isn't good enough (goldfish are very messy), maybe your water condition isn't that good. And maybe you use not the right tools - what I mean by that - I only use JBLs water tests. Their "drop tests", not the "strips". I find other brands (Tetra, Tropical etc.) not exactly authoritative.

My tank is a prebuilt tank which has a filter in it by default (i assume that is a 20w filter....its not powerful enough to push the fish away or suck it....i have seen molly fries chill around the filter inlet without getting sucked it...but at the same time is powerful enough to keep my tank clean(have seen sunken fish food getting sucked from the other end of the tank into the inlet)...I too have a 4w powerfilter in the main tank serving dual purposes (extra filtration+aeration....and a cycled filter incase i need to use the hospital tank asap)

The tank is a 18 gallon cubical tank with 2 giant danios and 2 shubunkins

The gravel....its not sand or soil...its just normal gravel

While doing the tests i take some water from the bottom and take some water from the top...mix em and check the values.....I use an API test kit...I am really not sure if gravel is the actual issue here coz this is the first time my shubunkins have got sick (one is 2.5 years old and the other is 2 years old)...I will still check the water conditions in the bottom of the tank and will let you know

The filter is powerful enough...but not that powerful to get a fish sucked in or get

this is the filter...sorry for the hazy picture...my phone's cam has water inside it

this is the substrate....they might look sharp...but trust me they are not sharp

this is how the main tank looks (taken 1.5 months back when both the shubunkins were fine)

 

[Colin_T]

One of the shubunkins (fish on left) looks really skinny. What are you feeding them and how often do you feed them?
If the fish are malnourished, they won't have the energy reserves to heal themselves if they get injured.

The plant floating in the tank is a garden plants. The fish won't eat that.

 

[GaryE]

Small tank, giant Danios. They have been known to 'mistake' overgrown fins for decaying plants, and to then develop a taste for them. They are infinitely faster than shubunkins, so it's easy for them. And in a crowded tank like that, with no swimming room and none of the water movement they like, they will be bored.

As Colin T noticed, one of those fish is really thin.

Over the counter antibiotics are banned where I am. I would never use them for fin damage anyway. Water changes, cleanliness, a good diet and space are better preventatives. Those very young shubunkins are going to outgrow that tank fast, and if the problem isn't bored Danios, it could be a 'natural unnatural' result of growth, tank size and waste production from the fish. Keeping larger fish in smaller tanks tends to catch up to you.

 

[sanchay]

One of the shubunkins (fish on left) looks really skinny. What are you feeding them and how often do you feed them?
If the fish are malnourished, they won't have the energy reserves to heal themselves if they get injured.

The plant floating in the tank is a garden plants. The fish won't eat that.

I have no idea why he is thin…but that goldfish is thin from the beginning

This is my feeding pattern for a week—7 days

5 days pellet food (morning….around 3-4 per fish)(Monday to Friday)(the brand is optimum…something like that…all the LFS here only have taiyo or optimum….a very rare sight to see flakes in any LFS)
1 day peas(Saturday)
1 day fasting(Sunday)
3 days in the 5 days(Monday,Wednesday and Friday)..I give them fruits(both the danios and the goldfish seem to love bananas and papaya..both are homegrown…so no fear of chemicals),zucchini(shop),spinach(blanched and home grown)….both the danios and the goldfish don’t seem to like blood worms(the danios chew it and then spit it out…and never go near it…the gold fishes don’t even bother to have a look)…but the danios eat mosquitoe larvae that I grow at home…i guess these gold fishes are vegans here

Yes that is a garden plant…but my gold fishes chew em…until one can only see the fibres…I am not able to find duckweed in any LFS or nurseries around my area though

 

[sanchay]

Small tank, giant Danios. They have been known to 'mistake' overgrown fins for decaying plants, and to then develop a taste for them. They are infinitely faster than shubunkins, so it's easy for them. And in a crowded tank like that, with no swimming room and none of the water movement they like, they will be bored.

As Colin T noticed, one of those fish is really thin.

Over the counter antibiotics are banned where I am. I would never use them for fin damage anyway. Water changes, cleanliness, a good diet and space are better preventatives. Those very young shubunkins are going to outgrow that tank fast, and if the problem isn't bored Danios, it could be a 'natural unnatural' result of growth, tank size and waste production from the fish. Keeping larger fish in smaller tanks tends to catch up to you.

This is what I have commonly heard from this forum….an overstocked tank…and that is the reason I started with “I am the dude with a pair of shubunkins and danios”

You are talking bout the danios chewing on my shubunkins tail right?

Trust me…both the danios are really sweet and don’t bother the gold fishes….the gold fishes stay at the lower half of the tank while the danios stay at the upper half..but sometimes they share their places with each other..

I have seen the danios chasing each other…but never seen a danio nipping or chasing the goldfish


I have seen these Shubunkins growing over 12 inches in length…but I think by the time these outgrow the tank(2.5 years back the shubunkin on the right was an inch long…now he is around 3 inches long)I would most probably get a job after completing college…and I will give em a larger tank


As of now I gotta manage all 4 of em in the same tank…

The tank does not look really crowded…people in my family ask me to add more fish as it looks empty…but I take the advise from yall and I am not adding any more fish…


About the water currents….I really don’t think my danios are bored…they love to play with the water currents from the filter…then they interact with me(I make a loop in my finger and they go through it…they allow me to pat them…I refrain from patting them tho as it might damage the mucus layer)

I thought of upgrading my 5G tank into a 10g tank for the shubunkins alone and add 1 more danio to the 18g tank as those are schooling fishes…but I am no longer finding these danios in any LFS (searched around like 8 shops and none of em have these giant danios…not even the shop where I bought these…they tell that they don’t get these fish anymore)

Check my previous answer which I replied for Colin for the food

 

[sanchay]

Al

One of the images didn't work.

Using anti-biotics to treat fin rot is not the best way to go about it.

The white stuff on the tail is excess mucous produced by the fish to cover the damaged tissue.

Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) does not treat fin rot. It is used to draw fluid out of fish.

Rock salt, swimming pool salt, aquarium salt (is sodium chloride) and this can be used to treat fin rot. See below for instructions on salt.

------------------
The fact this continues to happen would suggest there is something in the tank that is catching and ripping the fins. It is either the driftwood, plastic pots, plastic plants or gravel.

I would remove the pots and driftwood and see if it helps. If it still happens then remove the plastic plants.

------------------
Make sure you have live plants in the tank for the goldfish to eat. They need a lot of plant matter in their diet to maintain a healthy immune system. If they don't get enough plant matter in their diet, they can be more prone to infections and minor wounds can take longer to heal.

Duckweed is a small floating plant that most goldfish love to eat. You can grow it outdoors in ponds or in aquariums. Just add some to the tank each week and let the fish help themselves to it.

Other plants that are good for them include Ambulia, Hygrophila polysperma and narrow Vallis.

You can give them small amounts of spinach, pumpkin, zucchini and some other fruits and veges. Just make sure they are free of chemicals and rinse them well before putting in the tank. You can put the veges in boiling water for a minute to soften them up and the fish might prefer that over fresh.

------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

Also….I added more salt yesterday…and the first shubunkin with the white layer on the tail…the excess mucus has reduced….but the other Shubunkins fins have not healed tho…it’s still the same…but did not get worse

 

[sanchay]

You didn't say anything about your filtration system. Maybe your filter is catching your goldfish's fins? I once had this ridiculously powerful internal filter (35 watts) and it could grab a whole fish (if it was not bigger than 5cm (2inch)). Now the most powerful one I have is 27W (Aquael Turbo Filter 2000 but I have it with fish 20cm long and more)
So, what kind of filter/filters do you have there? Because you start with sentence "I'm the guy who..." but... I personally am here for such a short period of time that I don't know you, your story and your tank.

Also, how big is the tank?
What kind of substrate do you have?
I'm asking because I know a story where a guy had gravel in his tank. Nitrates etc. were OK, but his fish kept on getting sick.
What was it then? The nitrates etc. were great in the water, away from the bottom/gravel. Closer you would get, worse it was. All his bottom dwellers fish died, and all others were struggling.
He then changed to fine sand and problem was solved.

So - maybe - your filtration catches the fish, torns their fins, maybe the filtration isn't good enough (goldfish are very messy), maybe your water condition isn't that good. And maybe you use not the right tools - what I mean by that - I only use JBLs water tests. Their "drop tests", not the "strips". I find other brands (Tetra, Tropical etc.) not exactly authoritative.

I checked the water from the bottom of the tank….

It is 0,0,25

The upper half was 0,0,20

Slightly higher…but I guess it’s safe?

P.s this was taken during a power cut for 3 hours where neither the filter nor the light was running for 3 hours and the tank only has the danios….the last water change was done 6 days back

 

[Colin_T]

The fish aren't struggling for space at this stage so that is not an issue.

If the fish has been skinny for a long time, it probably has intestinal worms. See section 3 of the following link for treating intestinal worms in fish. I would start with Flubendazole if you can get it, otherwise look for Praziquantel. See if the fish gains weight after that. You can also feed them more food for the next month while they are being treated for worms. You can add raw or cooked prawn, daphnia, brineshrimp, mosquitos or their larvae, small flies, aphids and most non toxic insects that have been caught by hand and have not been exposed to chemicals.

What to do if your fish has Stringy White Poop.

Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons. 1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at the surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be...

www.fishforums.net

 

[sanchay]

The fish aren't struggling for space at this stage so that is not an issue.

If the fish has been skinny for a long time, it probably has intestinal worms. See section 3 of the following link for treating intestinal worms in fish. I would start with Flubendazole if you can get it, otherwise look for Praziquantel. See if the fish gains weight after that. You can also feed them more food for the next month while they are being treated for worms. You can add raw or cooked prawn, daphnia, brineshrimp, mosquitos or their larvae, small flies, aphids and most non toxic insects that have been caught by hand and have not been exposed to chemicals.

What to do if your fish has Stringy White Poop.

Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons. 1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at the surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be...

www.fishforums.net

is there any other method to treat intestinal worms?

the fish does not seem to have stringy poop or white colored poop

I am 99% sure that all the LFS around my house wont have those medicines (fishkeeping here is just put random fish in a tank and feed them food...if a fish dies get a new one....fish are super cheap here......a betta only costs a dollar...a pair of mollies only cost 50 cents...these shubunkins costed me less than that...but I am not like the other ppl...I love my guys)

I checked in amazon too....Nothing similar to what you have told is sold

also i thought i was not supposed to feed them mosquitoes....i used to do that...stopped it recently

 

[Colin_T]

Mosquitoes and mozzie larvae are fine for fish as long as they are free of chemicals. I fed them to all my fish all the time.

Fish can have worms and not have stringy white poop. But for a fish to be skinny for a long time, it either has intestinal worms or gill flukes (or both). The deworming medication usually treats gill flukes too.

Praziquantel is available from most pet shops or stock feeders and is sold as a tapeworm treatment for dogs and cats. You can crush up the tablets and mix it with frozen food and feed it to the fish. Or add it to the tank. The dose rate for the tank is 100mg of Praziquantel for every 20 litres of water. Do a big water change and gravel clean 48 hours later. Retreat each week for 3 weeks.

Stock feeders also sell Levamisole and might sell Flubendazole.

Flubendazole with treat all sorts of worms and gill flukes so you only need to use that medication and you won't need Praziquantel and Levamisole.

 

[sanchay]

Mosquitoes and mozzie larvae are fine for fish as long as they are free of chemicals. I fed them to all my fish all the time.

Fish can have worms and not have stringy white poop. But for a fish to be skinny for a long time, it either has intestinal worms or gill flukes (or both). The deworming medication usually treats gill flukes too.

Praziquantel is available from most pet shops or stock feeders and is sold as a tapeworm treatment for dogs and cats. You can crush up the tablets and mix it with frozen food and feed it to the fish. Or add it to the tank. The dose rate for the tank is 100mg of Praziquantel for every 20 litres of water. Do a big water change and gravel clean 48 hours later. Retreat each week for 3 weeks.

Stock feeders also sell Levamisole and might sell Flubendazole.

Flubendazole with treat all sorts of worms and gill flukes so you only need to use that medication and you won't need Praziquantel and Levamisole.

I checked the nearest LFS a out there (2 of em) none of em have any idea of the medicine and a pet shop(they dont have it in stock and told it wont come in stock for a month coz of covid) none of em have any idea of the medicine

Or could it be the fracture that it suffered when i bought it? (the fish looks fat from the top...compared to the first shubunkin after a close observation....his head is large though....maybe that could be the illusion?)

My grandfather got me the 2nd shubunkin and it had a broken tail.(the rear part of the body was kinda crooked and the goldfish never swum..I did not have the heart to neither kill (i did not know how to euthanize a fish then) it nor just leave it alone like that....I was also a newbie in fish keeping then...so i just straightened the tail gently(i was pretty sure that it is not scoliosis back then) and used a small piece of ice cream stick as a splint and had him in my tank (i could have probably killed him)
He was always at the bottom but ate his food that i fed him by putting my hands in the water....after 3 weeks i removed the ice cream stick...and he started to swim(not so well initially...but he swims quite good now)....this might probably sound absurd...but this is what happened....he has not grown in size though...even after 2 years...and this is how he looked for the whole of 2 years i had him....the first shubunkin grew in size though

if it was any kind of parasite or gill flukes wont he be dead by now considering the malnutrition?

and wouldn't it have spread to the other fishes too?

i will try searching in more shops for that medicine though...If i find them i will use them...but is there any other alternative though?

I really dont mind going to 4 more shops in search of this medicine....but if its not available there should be an alternative right?