my goldfish are DYING

[sheandaru]

Here's my story:

DH brought home five new fishies a couple weekends ago. They were ok at first, but then they started bottom-sitting. sooo after water-testing and water-changes, I finally just LOOKED at the fish to discover they had ich!

We treated, but now they have fin/tail rot. Now we're treating that!

We have three fish left, but I'm afraid they'll just die anyway. One of them is hiding in the corner again, but it doesn't have anymore ich or noticable tail rot.

I need encouragement! Has anyone survived ich outbreaks?

[Losgann]

no advice but my ds just tried to cook my goldfish. He decided he wanted to clean out their pool and put them in a cupfull of HOT chlorinated water.

I did fish cpr and they are okay for now. It was touch and go for a while there though!

I hope you get them well soon!

[greenmagick]

I have 5 tropical fish aquariums and have only lost one fish to ich (my very first batch of fish). I have had a couple outbreaks, but have never had a problem keeping it controlled. Are the goldfish in a tank or pond? What size? Do you trust the place where you got your goldfish? I do know that goldfish are very messy and require more maintenance in keeping their environment clean and that stress usually makes them more susceptible to ich.

[livinzoo]

How big is the tank? How big are the fish? Fish get sick when they get stressed out. High levels of ammonia and/or nitrite will do it.

Test for pH, ammonia and nitrIte (nitrAte is also important but not as deadly). If your pH is at or below 7.0 than your ammonia will not be as toxic. Add Aquarium salt or rock salt (don't use table salt because it has iodine in it) to prevent nitrite poisoning (brown blood disease). You can add up to one teaspoon per gallon. Salt can also help with parasites and bacterial infections. It would also be beneficial to do water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite low and add beneficial bacteria.

Good luck with the fish.

[sheandaru]

It's a 20 gallon tank and the fish are small. As far as levels, before the ich, my ph was 7.0 & ammonia, nitrite, & nitrate were all normal. I'm pretty sure that the outbreak occurred because dh dumped the fish in as well as the water from the pet store.

We're doing water changes every night lately because we had to take the carbon filter out.

[greenmagick]

you do know that 20 gallons is too small for full grown goldfish right? They are probably stressed which lets ich set in.

[sheandaru]

They're very small goldfish.

[EdlynsMom]

All species of goldfish will get about a foot long, in time. THey are related to Koi, I believe, and like Koi, do best in ponds or large tanks. (15 gallons per goldfish).

Fin rot is best treated with plenty of water changes, do as many as you can.
If you really want, you can add some Melafix, its fairly harmless and can help with fin rot. But fresh water will be fine. Goldfish are VERY messy fish, so you will probably need to keep doing daily water changes to keep up with their poop output. They will be stunted in a small tank, and will not live very long. Do you know anyone with a pond who could take the fish? Remember also that goldfish are coldwater fish. Never mix them with tropicals.

Did you use meds for the ich treatment? If so, put the carbon back in to remove that stuff - ich can be treated very successfully with a small addition of salt. You can use table salt, sea salt, iodine or no iodine, whatever. Work your way gradually up to 2 tsp per gallon of water. It wont hurt your fish if you do it gradually. Much better than chemicals! But, dont use salt on a regular basis - its not necessary and that could hurt your fish. (FYI- if you have a fish that needs brackish water, or a saltwater fish, you need marine salt, nothing else will work..)

Carbon in aquariums is great for removing chemicals like this, or discoleration from driftwood, but otherwise is a waste of money. Many fishkeepers dont use carbon at all, just do regular weekly water changes.

Do they have hiding spotslike plants, ornaments? That will help them feel more comfortable. When you introduce a new fish, you want to do a gradual intro of your water into their bag, so as not to shock them. Whenever you add a new fish to an established tank, its a good idea to quaranitne the new fish in a seperate tank for a couple weeks, so you dont introduce disease to the other guys...

Here is a good aquarium forum:
www.aquariacentral.com
There are sometimes problems with spammmers and trolls, but generally folks there are friendly and informative. Good luck!

[sheandaru]

We did use meds. & Melafix. Plus water changes!
We've just had such bad luck with this batch of fish. The local pet shop stopped carrying our brand of filter cartridges, so we had to order some (expected to arrive at the end of the week). Now we're doing water changes every day simply to keep the poo at bay. I'm not really expecting the last two fish to make it. The smallest of the two left has been picking on all the other sick fish, so it may be the only survivor of this fish tank catastrophe.

They have a nice big rock to hide behind & a little forest of plants to hide in.

I think I'm resigned to a re-cycling of the tank & brand new fish in a few months. sigh.

[EdlynsMom]

Yeah, the fish may have been too ill to begin with. keep up with the water changes, you never know.
one thing to remember also, is that you dont need to replace your filter cartriges until they are falling apart. You can rinse them out in a dish of tank water and reinsert them.
When you do water changes, are you using a siphon of some kind? They are great for getting all that poop off the bottom.
Good for you for fishless cycling! (that is what you meant, right?) What are your plans for future fish?

[sheandaru]

Yeah, we use a gravel vacuum, so it really gets the poop out.

& yeah again for fishless cycling.

As far as future fish go, I'm not sure. We originally chose goldfish for feng shui reasons (I read somewhere to keep 8 gold & one black). I've killed so many, though, that I think it's time to choose a different kind of fish altogether.

[EdlynsMom]

I agree, and especially b/c goldies need much more room than a 20 gallon.
Check out some tropical fish!