Question
Darlene,
 I have had Goldfish plants now for a few years and they are wonderful. I resently moved from Up State New York to South Carolina and left my 2 goldfish plants with my daughter and they are doing great. About 4 months ago I went and got another goldfish plant. It was in a 4 inch pot so I moved it to my 6 inch pot. Hung it in the window and it gets all afternoon sun. It is blooming and it is growing like crazy. But lately like the last month or so I have noticed all the leaves on it have been getting sticky. Over the weekend I went to water it and the whole plant is now so sticky every bit of it. It's so bad it's now dripping off the leaves. It has gotten all over my window, the window sill and on my rug. I moved it outside on my porch and now it will get all morning sun and noticed that every leave has tiny tiny like the tip if a pin drops of this sticky stuff on them. It's so sticky that I could pull my goldfish up in a ponytail and it would stay that way. I have never had this happen before and need to know why it's doing this and what I can do to stop it so I can bring it back in the house.
                 Hope you can help..

                    Thanks Valerie

Answer
Valerie,

Your goldfish plant has aphids or scale which are insects. Aphids are tiny black specs on the plant. Scale is brown or green 1/4 inch or less spots usually on the back of the leaves. The sticky stuff is called honeydew and it is the scale or aphids excrement. If it is going to stay outside for the summer go to your garden center and ask for an insecticide that will treat aphids and scale and use it as the bottle directs. You will need to treat it weekly for at least 4 weeks to kill eggs that hatch. If you do't want to use chemicals you will need to mix 1 tableespoon of dish soap with a pint of water and a pint of rubbing alcohol. and spray the plant every other day making sure to get the fronts and backs of all leaves for 2 weeks, then spray twice a week for another month. These are difficult insects to eradicate but you will succeed if you are persistant. Good luck.

Darlene