Lollie

Quick recap from my other thread…
I fell heir to 2 goldfish and a dojo loach in a 1.5 gal tank, so I've been trying ever so hard to be patient while my new larger tank cycles for them.
Now I've got three very sick fish
A few days ago I noticed a bit of white on one of them and it seemed in a blink they were all covered, the dojo looked like he was peeling white dead skin… his surface looks better now, the two goldfish still have a lot of white fuzzy mainly in the area of their heads and all three are definitely not doing well.
Due to a very serious illness in the family during all this, I haven't had time to get on here to ask for advice until now but I did get in contact with a guy who owns a pet store a ways from here, he recommended pimafix and practically delivered it to my door. His thought is that it’s a fungus, it doesn't look like the pictures and description of ick to me, so he's probably right?
He said pimafix is safe for dojo's but I've learned to be wary of LFS advice so I wanted to check on here for thoughts on what this is and how to properly treat it.
Last night I gave them the first dose of pimafix after removing the carbon from the filter. They do look improved tonight, but far far from being well. The instructions say not to do a water change for a week but since this isn't a cycled tank either, even with using prime it seems to me I should continue with daily water changes?
I've attached a picture, its not very good quality but the best I could do with my cheapy camera I'm afraid.
Thanks in advance for any advice and suggestions… yet again!

Attached Images

sick fish.jpg (99.2 KB, 26 views)

Lucy

Hi Lolli, I'm sorry you fish aren't doing well. Unfortunatly, in such a small tank you won't see much improvement, IMO.
Have you tested the water? Are you using prime?
How are you cycling the larger tank? What size is it?
Your fish really need to be moved out of the 1.5.

Lollie

Hi Lucy... yeah, I know they definitely need a bigger tank, its only a 10 gal. but its a step up from what they're in now and the plan was to re-home the goldfish to a pond eventually. (once I learned thats where they'd be happiest) I have another thread from almost two months ago when I asked for advice about cycling, I started out with using fish food, then when the ammonia dropped I used ammonia to bring it up and it seemed to stall and the tests have remained consistent for weeks now...
which brings me to another part of this story... I noticed several days ago that it seemed the larger goldfish was picking on the loach a fair bit, soooo... I took an ornament out of the cycling tank and put it in the little one to give him a place to hide. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out what happened to cause them to get sick, my first thought was perhaps I had soap residue on my hands when I was tending the fish, then I thought of the coincidence that it happened right after I put the ornament in, when I looked closely in the larger tank, low and behold, there was fuzzy white stuff on some of the ornaments so I think I unknowingly transferred whatever it is in that tank over to the one the fish are in
I'm also thinking whatever this is may be what caused the cycle to stall and now I have to get that tank cleaned up before I can transfer the fish over to it.
Its bad enough when things "happen", but it makes me feel so much worse thinking I caused this by not thinking or realizing there was a problem in the other tank *sigh*

Oh, and to answer your other question, yes... I'm using prime and had been doing daily water changes... all had been well and happy until this problem.

cerianthus

It sems like more of allergic reactins to bad/wrong kind of water where fish generally produce more slimes to protect themselves. When not given/correct medium, that extra slime can promote/induce other infections!
Should test water and post. Maybe all you need to do is to correct the water conditions.

Hope things get better soon.

Lucy

I kept a tank cycled using food. Ewwww, I won't do that again. lol
I had to do a 100% water change and rinse the gravel in dechlorinated water. What a mess, I was lucky not to lose the cycle.

The fuzzy stuff on the ornament was probably moldy food. That's part of what happens when cycling with fish food.
I don't think you transferred anything to your fish this way.

Something to keep in mind, when fish are stressed from poor water quality, improper tank size, incompatible tank mates it lowers their resistance leaving them open to disease and illness.
I don't say this to make you feel bad, just so you'll understand why they're getting sick.

What are the readings for the 10g? Is it still stalled?
Unfortunatly, you may find that the 10g doesn't solve the problem. It's still too small of a tank.

Lollie

I just tested the water they're in now... nitrite is ever so slightly colored, not even enough to compare on the chart, nitrate is around 20 and ammonia is showing around .50... but this tank has been treated with prime and I feel is due for a water change (with prime of course), the instructions on pimafix say not to for a week but I don't like the sounds of that either.

And yeah, I do realize now that the 10g isn't big enough for them long term, they'll outgrow that fast too, but its the best I can do at this time and its definitely got to be an improvement over what they're in now :/ It was just the next step and then re-home them in a pond and I'll have to find someone somewhere to take the loach as well

I haven't tested the second tank for a while, i'll do that now out of curiosity tho.

Lucy

Do you have a craig's list there or a freecycle.rg?
You might be able to find a proper home for them there, although it might be hard being that they aren't well.
A 10 is better than a 1.5, for sure.
While you're looking to re-home the little guys on craig's lsit, search for aquariums, I bet you can get a good deal!

Lollie

I just checked the cycling tank, its still the same as it has been for more than a month now ammonia 1, nitrate 110 and nitrite .3... it's been in the process for two months or more now so I'm at a loss as to what to do next.
I think we have craigs list for this area and also kijiji, I've thought about looking for larger tanks for sure, but thought I should take it one step at a time and this step sure isn't going so well

Lucy

Wow, thats a heck of a nitrate reading. That might be why you're stalled. what are you using to test?
Since there's no fish in the tank, here's what I would do. Some may disagree.
I'd do a 100% water change...or 90% might be easier.
That'll take your readings to close to 0 accross the board. (depending if you do 100 or 90%)
Add enough ammonia to bring your reading up to 4ppm....no higher.
Test 24 hours after that, see what the bacteria is able to process.

I apologize for taking this thread in a different direction than your original question
but as you said, the 10g will be a big improvement for them.

Once you get one tank cycled, it's a cinch to get another cycled quickly.

Lollie

I'm willing to try just about anything at this point Lucy and I'm definitely open to any suggestions to help get this tank cycled, I'll give it a shot While I'm emptying the tank, do you think I should I rinse the charcoal filter in the water before I discard it to get rid of the fishfood debris that I'm sure has built up there?

Lucy

Rinse it in used tank water. Carbon expires, you don't really need it. It's more of a personal preference, some use, some don't. I don't know you you have a pouch or a cartridge, can you empty the carbon out?
If it's a catridge, cut a slit and dump as much out as you can, if it's a pouch open it and dumpt the cabon. It'll be messy since it's wet.
Just don't throw the whole cartridge out, a lot of the bacteria is living there.

Lollie

It's a cartridge, great idea to save it without the carbon in it... I've never been sure what purpose the carbon is supposed to serve?

As I feared, I just lost the largest goldfish since my last post... I was holding onto hope that she'd make a comeback

Lucy

I'm sorry you lost your goldy. That really stinks.
Carbon is useful if you need to filter out meds.
Some members say it helps keep their water clearer. It's meant to filter out some dissolved organic material. Personally, I've never noticed a difference, plus I'm really bad about forgetting to change it.

Lollie

Ok, that makes sense...
hopefully these two guys will keep on hanging in there long enough to get into the new tank... thanks for your help and replies Lucy, much appreciated

joy1125

Lollie, I'm a bit confused, so correct me if I'm wrong. You have both fish in the 1.5 gallon, and are trying to cycle the 10 gallon. Yet the 1.5 gallon is showing ammonia and nitrite, and the cycling 10 gallon is also showing ammonia, nitrite and high nitrAte.

if that is the case, since both tanks are not cycled, why not just do a very large (90 percent) or even a complete 100percent water change on the 10 gallon, condition with Prime, and put the two fish in there?

You will have to do daily water changes on the 10 gallon (with Prime), but the fish will have a much better chance of surviving in the 10gallon, over the 1.5.

Do you see what I mean? Your 1.5 gallon really isn't "cycled" if it's showing ammonia and nitrite. So why not go ahead and put them in the 10 ?

also, the tank needs aeration. Do you have a pump going with an airstone?
You must keep the surface moving.

if you decide to put them into the 10 gallon (which is what I would definitely do), please be sure to get the water temp and pH the same as what they are presently in, so the fish won't be shocked. Do a very large water change to get the ammonia, nitrite and nitrates down to nontoxic levels, and replace with conditioned water.

are you using API liquid water testers?

Lollie

Hi Joy, yes... you are correct!
I had asked the question about possibly moving them over in my other thread a few days ago but didn't get a clear enough answer to feel comfortable doing that. I have both a filter and airstone in the small tank and have the same in the larger tank. I'll work on changing the water asap and move them over, following all your directions
I have API for testing ammonia but was unable to get API test kits locally for nitrate and nitrite so I'm using nutrafin for them, they're liquid tests that look to be the same set up as the API kits.
Thanks for the advice!

AlyeskaGirl

That's what I would do too. Plus the daily water changes will be good for the fish to help recover. Clean water is the key. Good luck!

joy1125

I'm glad to hear you're gonna transfer them over, I truly feel the fish will be much better off in the 10. I hope they pull through for you, you were so kind as to take them in !

Just make sure the ph and temp are the same! Even seemingly slight ph differences (especially going from a higher ph tank to a lower ) can shock and kill your fish. So if you're not sure, slowly acclimate them to the new water.

Keep doing the daily large water changes, and test the water twice a day. I recommend changing the water in the morning after feeding, then at night, at 12 hr intervals at the most.

The Prime will keep things safe, and still feed the beneficial bacteria.... so don't worry, the 10g will keep progressing.

Good luck Lollie! Hope the fish pull through for you !

Lollie

So sorry to have to report that I lost the other two fish over the weekend *sigh*
I'm going to empty the tanks, clean them (open for suggestions on the best way to do that please) and probably eventually try again... I so enjoyed the fishies for the little while that I had them

A big thanks to everyone that helped me out along the way though, when/if I have another go at fish keeping I'll be much much more prepared and informed and will know the best place to go for advice and help again