Fin Rot in goldfish?

Hi all,

My lovely goldfish has some fraying on his tail and I'm worried I've got fin rot. He's got a tank mate (another fan tail goldfish) who seems to be doing fine. Fish in question is eating and swimming just fine, not acting sick.

Water conditions- so I admit, I've been slacking. I've been doing water changes every other week. I know, I know, goldfish need weekly water changes. I'm guilty. I do check water conditions, though and nitrate never goes above 10, nitrite and ammonia are 0. Tank is a 29 gallon.

The question is this- I have no QT, will the treatment for fin rot hurt the fish that looks healthy? What treatment, other than more frequent water changes (I promise I'll do better!) Works well?

Sorry about the poop in the photos... it happens.

 

Hi all,

My lovely goldfish has some fraying on his tail and I'm worried I've got fin rot. He's got a tank mate (another fan tail goldfish) who seems to be doing fine. Fish in question is eating and swimming just fine, not acting sick.

Water conditions- so I admit, I've been slacking. I've been doing water changes every other week. I know, I know, goldfish need weekly water changes. I'm guilty. I do check water conditions, though and nitrate never goes above 10, nitrite and ammonia are 0. Tank is a 29 gallon.

The question is this- I have no QT, will the treatment for fin rot hurt the fish that looks healthy? What treatment, other than more frequent water changes (I promise I'll do better!) Works well?

Sorry about the poop in the photos... it happens.

Could you fill this sheet out Please? Fish Emergency Template | Freshwater Fish Disease and Fish Health Forum | 376562 This would get rid of any questions.

 

Could you fill this sheet out? Fish Emergency Template | Freshwater Fish Disease and Fish Health Forum | 376562 This would get rid of any questions.

Tank

What is the water volume of the tank? 29 gallon
How long has the tank been running?~2.5 years
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 68°
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 2 fan tail goldfish

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Every 2 weeks
How much of the water do you change? ~50%
What do you use to treat your water? Aqua safe
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Vacuum

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes
What do you use to test the water? API master kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.

Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:5
pH:8.2

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish?1x day
How much do you feed your fish? A pinch
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Omega one
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods?no

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 2 years
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? Couple of days ago
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Deteriorating fins
Have you started any treatment for the illness? No
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? No changes in behavior.

Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now) just noticed little dude's tail fins are fraying at the ends, his behavior and eating are good. Other fish in the tank is healthy.

 

Tank

What is the water volume of the tank? 29 gallon
How long has the tank been running?~2.5 years
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 68°
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 2 fan tail goldfish

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Every 2 weeks
How much of the water do you change? ~50%
What do you use to treat your water? Aqua safe
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Vacuum

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes
What do you use to test the water? API master kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.

Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:5
pH:8.2

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish?1x day
How much do you feed your fish? A pinch
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Omega one
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods?no

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 2 years
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? Couple of days ago
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Deteriorating fins
Have you started any treatment for the illness? No
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? No changes in behavior.

Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now) just noticed little dude's tail fins are fraying at the ends, his behavior and eating are good. Other fish in the tank is healthy.

For now, just to be on the safe side, I would do 30% water changes every other day(or every other 3 days), if this is fin rot(which it might be), the water changes will help. Good luck!

 

Thank you for the help. How long should I keep up the every other day schedule and what else could it be?

 

Thank you for the help. How long should I keep up the every other day schedule and what else could it be?

You just need to make sure the water is consistently in top shape.
It's finrot or potentially nipped fins from the tankmate, or perhaps your goldfish just accidentally bumped something. Do you have any sharp decor?

 

You just need to make sure the water is consistently in top shape.
It's finrot or potentially nipped fins from the tankmate, or perhaps your goldfish just accidentally bumped something. Do you have any sharp decor?

No sharp decor- anything that had edges of any sort got covered in silicone before going into the aquarium. I've never seen them nip at each other, generally they're best buds. I'll keep up the every other day water changes for a while. Thank you!

Also, another thought- I have an aqua clear 70 gallon filter- I've been running it for over a year now and I've never changed the sponge. When I was reading about the filter I read not to change it because it gets rid of the BB. I rinse the sponge in tank water when I do my water changes. Would changing out the sponge help with the fin rot?

 

Also, another thought- I have an aqua clear 70 gallon filter- I've been running it for over a year now and I've never changed the sponge. When I was reading about the filter I read not to change it because it gets rid of the BB. I rinse the sponge in tank water when I do my water changes. Would changing out the sponge help with the fin rot?

NO, it will get rid off good BB.
You may want to add a 0.3% (aquarium) salt concentration. (Make sure to dissolve completely in tank water before adding!) That is the recommended dose for finrot. And finrot is contagious, if you can quarantine tank or bucket ect. that will be helpful! If you have a spare filter or even airstone+daily water change it will prevent spread, and lessen the amount of treatment you need to use.

 

NO, it will get rid off good BB.
You may want to add a 0.3% (aquarium) salt concentration. (Make sure to dissolve completely in tank water before adding!) That is the recommended dose for finrot. And finrot is contagious, if you can quarantine tank or bucket ect. that will be helpful! If you have a spare filter or even airstone+daily water change it will prevent spread, and lessen the amount of treatment you need to use.

Ok, I just wanted to make sure! I don't have a QT, I do have a 5 gallon bucket, but how does that work without cycling? I know I would change the water daily but he's a 2.5- 3 inch goldfish, Im sure I'll get ammonia buildup, 5 gallons is small for him... and that can't help the healing.

 

Ok, I just wanted to make sure! I don't have a QT, I do have a 5 gallon bucket, but how does that work without cycling? I know I would change the water daily but he's a 2.5- 3 inch goldfish, Im sure I'll get ammonia buildup, 5 gallons is small for him... and that can't help the healing.

Any spare filtration, or air pump ect. will help. Even if uncycled, if you have any spare media you can use that. Feeding less will help as well. You want to stomp out any infection before you need to treat all your fish. Plus, fish tend to pick on sick ones, just escalating the problem. If you have any floating plants that provides shelter and helps filter the water as well, hornwort is perfect for qt setups. Remember, it's temporary.

 

Any spare filtration, or air pump ect. will help. Even if uncycled, if you have any spare media you can use that. Feeding less will help as well. You want to stomp out any infection before you need to treat all your fish. Plus, fish tend to pick on sick ones, just escalating the problem. If you have any floating plants that provides shelter and helps filter the water as well, hornwort is perfect for qt setups. Remember, it's temporary.

Ok, well.... I think petco has their dollar per gallon sale on, I can probably pick up a 10 gallon tank, and I have the aqueon filter that came with my tank (you know... somewhere in the basement...) it's just that nothing is cycled. As for plants, I've got nothing... my goldies are little piggies with fins and even ate the moss balls I stuck in their tank. I don't want him eating too much plant matter cause of the ammonia thing. I might just buy some cheap plastic plants that I can throw away when he's done with treatment. He's not a big hider. Or sleeper, for that matter.

Major question is how do I know when it's better? His fins are mostly white so I can't see the white areas of fin rot and little dude isn't acting sick (side note; therefore my other fish is leaving him alone). He doesn't have any red spots or anything either. I definitely don't want to keep him in there long, a 10 gallon uncycled tank gives me all sorts of water quality anxiety.

 

Ok, well.... I think petco has their dollar per gallon sale on, I can probably pick up a 10 gallon tank, and I have the aqueon filter that came with my tank (you know... somewhere in the basement...) it's just that nothing is cycled. As for plants, I've got nothing... my goldies are little piggies with fins and even ate the moss balls I stuck in their tank. I don't want him eating too much plant matter cause of the ammonia thing. I might just buy some cheap plastic plants that I can throw away when he's done with treatment. He's not a big hider. Or sleeper, for that matter.

Major question is how do I know when it's better? His fins are mostly white so I can't see the white areas of fin rot and little dude isn't acting sick (side note; therefore my other fish is leaving him alone). He doesn't have any red spots or anything either. I definitely don't want to keep him in there long, a 10 gallon uncycled tank gives me all sorts of water quality anxiety.

Do you have ANY spare media? Even a porous decoration that perhaps contains some BB? Anything is better than nothing. Plants help filter the water, they take even ammonia, anacharis is super hardy, even my big tough comets can't eat it. It's pretty cheap too. Fake plants don't do that. They won't die, but they also won't boost your water quality.

Well, it's definitely going to be hard to say. IME one of the most important things to do is catch it early. I've had cases resolved in a week. Once the fins have stopped rotting and seem to be making some progress is when I stop. I definitely feel you. It's doable though, keep testing, keep water changing.

You can do treatment in the 29 gal, but you'll be using more salt, and it will stress your other fish and any inverts (if you have them) should probably be moved. It will certainly be a good preventative measure though as it will be very unlikely the other fish catches it.

 

Do you have ANY spare media? Even a porous decoration that perhaps contains some BB? Anything is better than nothing. Plants help filter the water, they take even ammonia, anacharis is super hardy, even my big tough comets can't eat it. It's pretty cheap too. Fake plants don't do that. They won't die, but they also won't boost your water quality.

Well, it's definitely going to be hard to say. IME one of the most important things to do is catch it early. I've had cases resolved in a week. Once the fins have stopped rotting and seem to be making some progress is when I stop. I definitely feel you. It's doable though, keep testing, keep water changing.

You can do treatment in the 29 gal, but you'll be using more salt, and it will stress your other fish and any inverts (if you have them) should probably be moved. It will certainly be a good preventative measure though as it will be very unlikely the other fish catches it.

Umm... I've got some substrate gravel,so plastic plants and a glass mushroom? I've got a hiding cave in my main tank, too but the other fish sleeps in there.

I have no inverts. I tried a nerite snail once... it didn't end well for the snail. Believe it or not my fish ate it. I'm not 100% sure how they achieved that, but they're determined.

I may try the water changes and salt in the main aquarium and see how they do. I like the idea of protecting my other fish as well. He's just a little guy. If either fish seems stressed I'll start up the QT. Or if it seems I need to use some sort of medicine other than salt.

 

So I ended up getting the QT and I've moved my sick guy in there. I took the biomax out of my aqua clear in my main tank and put it in the QT to give the filter in the QT a chance to seed. I will check ammonia levels in the morning.

I also put 2 tablespoons of aquarium salt in the QT. Will do daily 30% water changes and see how he does.

I'm thinking give him 2 weeks in the QT? Unless he gets worse?

 

So I ended up getting the QT and I've moved my sick guy in there. I took the biomax out of my aqua clear in my main tank and put it in the QT to give the filter in the QT a chance to seed. I will check ammonia levels in the morning.

I also put 2 tablespoons of aquarium salt in the QT. Will do daily 30% water changes and see how he does.

I'm thinking give him 2 weeks in the QT? Unless he gets worse?

That sounds like a good plan. Honestly you might not even need two weeks! As I've said, finrot, when caught early, can be easy to treat.
Edit: Don't forget to replace some salt after water changes!

 

A week later and no improvement in his fins. I've actually been doing 50% water changes because it's easier to dose the salt that way. His fins are still looking pretty bad, should I be considering medicine at this point? My LFS (where some people are better than others) suggested fin and body cure, I bought some but I haven't used it yet. Any thoughts? Could it do more harm than good?

Also is the tbsp/5 gallons enough salt? I've read articles that suggest starting with tbsp/3 gallons for fish disease?