Help! Does my Goldfish have Ich or Sand?

Happy new years! I need some help

I quarantined a couple of goldfish for about 2 weeks. Everything was fine. I added them to a 55 gallon tank with sand. They rolled around in the sand and the next day white spots were all over them. The day after? Even more. Thing is, its barely on the fins. Just on the body. And the goldfish that has been in the tank prior has none on their body. Just the two newly added goldfish. The old goldfish also doesnt rummage through the sand much. Only its bottom fins have some black and white sand on them from when it was feeding. But it doesnt roll around in the sand like the other two. I know fish get ich from being stressed. But they showed no ich for 2 weeks in the quarantine tank. IDK what would be more stressful about this one? The water quality is better in this tank.

I don't want to quarantine everyone again and treat them unless I am sure. Here are some pictures. Sorry if they are hard to see.
Please help if you can. Im so stressed about this.

 

Happy New Year

To my eye it is ick.

Two weeks in QT is not enough. You are much better off with four weeks or more. I just released 8 angels after almost 5 weeks.

 

Happy New Year

To my eye it is ick.

Two weeks in QT is not enough. You are much better off with four weeks or more. I just released 8 angels after almost 5 weeks.

I was REALLY hoping it was sand. But in that case, to be safe. I'll treat the entire display tank with salt and add a heater to it. It already has 1 tablespoon per 3 gallons. So I'll have to do the math to see how much more to add. I should be getting the ick medication by Wednesday. I'll hold out for a few more opinions. But better safe than sorry. Thank you and Happy New Year to you too! I appreciate your response so much

Happy New Year

To my eye it is ick.

Two weeks in QT is not enough. You are much better off with four weeks or more. I just released 8 angels after almost 5 weeks.

Though, one more thing. This is day two and there is a lot less of it? (On the head particularly) Isnt ich supposed to multiply?

 

i can't really tell. but sand should fall off easily. try netting him and see if its sand or tissue.

in an unheated tank, ich can take 3 weeks to show. i treat while in QT for the first 2 weeks with PraziPro in warm water. then observed for another week or 2.

 

Looks like velvet.

 

i can't really tell. but sand should fall off easily. try netting him and see if its sand or tissue.

in an unheated tank, ich can take 3 weeks to show. i treat while in QT for the first 2 weeks with PraziPro in warm water. then observed for another week or 2.

I've seen a few pieces come off. Here's a picture of day 2. And some came off? Is this consistent with ick or velvet? Its been exactly 3 weeks since I got them.

Looks like velvet.

Does velvet tend to disapparate? There seems to be less on the fish today.

 

velvet is like dust, ich is like sand/salt.

2-3 week is the life cycle of ich, depending on temp. if it is ich, then you'll need to treat the whole tank. b/c the white dots are where the ich lives, and they pop off and live in the tank for a few days then hatch hundreds of baby ich.

 

velvet is like dust, ich is like sand/salt.

2-3 week is the life cycle of ich, depending on temp. if it is ich, then you'll need to treat the whole tank. b/c the white dots are where the ich lives, and they pop off and live in the tank for a few days then hatch hundreds of baby ich.

I rose the temperature to 80F and the fish is freaking out and gasping for air ( Not at the top of the tank though). I removed the fish and it stopped gasping immediately. And all the sand came off. The majority was sand. But I see 2 ick spots. So I put it back and the gasping started again. Im a bit worried the treatment might be hurting it more.

 

what was the temp before? you have raise the temp slowly, like a few degrees each day.

are you using any anti parasite meds?

 

what was the temp before? you have raise the temp slowly, like a few degrees each day.

are you using any anti parasite meds?

It was 72. I raised it to 79 and they were gasping quite a bit. So I did a 33% water change, replaced the salt and it brought it down to 74. They are still gasping though

 

they probably don't like the salt, how much did you add?

a salt bath to treat illnesses is supposed to be done in a smaller quarantine tank, and only lasts 3-5 minutes with constant observation.

 

they probably don't like the salt, how much did you add?

a salt bath to treat illnesses is supposed to be done in a smaller quarantine tank, and only lasts 3-5 minutes with constant observation.

I have about 1tbsb per 2 gallons in my 55 gallon. So 27.5 tbsb. I was told to have it in there for over a week. They had no problems with the salt when I added it yesterday. It's only when the temp was raised did they act unusually.

 

if they're not able to tolerate the higher temp, i would leave the temp at 72 then. you'll need to extend the salt treatment to 3 weeks.

 

if they're not able to tolerate the higher temp, i would leave the temp at 72 then. you'll need to extend the salt treatment to 3 weeks.

Yeah, they definitely cant tolerate the heat. Though it might be because it went up in hours and not days? I received Ich X in the mail. Im thinking of treating the tank with that and just not replacing the salt with the daily 30% water changes? Since salt is not necessary with it.

 

you can use Ich X by itself. also, it says do not use sulfur based water conditioners (like Seachem Prime).

 

Yeah, they definitely cant tolerate the heat. Though it might be because it went up in hours and not days? I received Ich X in the mail. Im thinking of treating the tank with that and just not replacing the salt with the daily 30% water changes? Since salt is not necessary with it.

you can use Ich X by itself. also, it says do not use sulfur based water conditioners (like Seachem Prime).

Luckily I ran out of that stuff months ago and have yet to replace it. All I use is stress coat now. I will start treatment tomorrow. The fish with the 2 ich spots has been hanging on the bottom of the tank. Which worries me a bit. ;; ;;