I need help!!!

[jsteph24]

I know this is a saltwater message board, but I have a question about freshwater fish diseases. My wife and son have a 30g freshwater tank with goldfish. I noticed today that the goldfish have patches of "something" on their fins. At first I thought it was Ich, but now I am not sure. The black goldfish has patches of white, but the lighter goldfish have pathes of greenish/brown/white on their fins. Can someone help? :help:

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by jsteph24
I know this is a saltwater message board, but I have a question about freshwater fish diseases. My wife and son have a 30g freshwater tank with goldfish. I noticed today that the goldfish have patches of "something" on their fins. At first I thought it was Ich, but now I am not sure. The black goldfish has patches of white, but the lighter goldfish have pathes of greenish/brown/white on their fins. Can someone help? :help:
It could be a bacterial infection. Do you have a picture? What are the water readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? What is the temperature in the tank?

 

[jsteph24]

I wish I could post a picture but I can't, my little boy had my camera the other day and took the memory card out of it, and we still can not find it!!! reading are 0 and the temp is between 68 and 70. There are only goldfish in it, so I can get away with the lower temp. About two weeks ago my heater malfunctioned in that tank and when I came home from work, the temp read as high as it could, I am guessing it was about 89-90. I unplugged the heater and opened the windows to my room, and the next morning it was down to normal. All the fish survived, but could that have made the water more susceptible to bacteria growth due to the uncreased temp? just a thought, I am not sure what is wrong with them, they are still eating like pigs though.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by jsteph24
I wish I could post a picture but I can't, my little boy had my camera the other day and took the memory card out of it, and we still can not find it!!! reading are 0 and the temp is between 68 and 70. There are only goldfish in it, so I can get away with the lower temp. About two weeks ago my heater malfunctioned in that tank and when I came home from work, the temp read as high as it could, I am guessing it was about 89-90. I unplugged the heater and opened the windows to my room, and the next morning it was down to normal. All the fish survived, but could that have made the water more susceptible to bacteria growth due to the uncreased temp? just a thought, I am not sure what is wrong with them, they are still eating like pigs though.
Yes, the increase in temp probably had something to do with it. It also would have stressed the fish which will lower their immune system making them susceptible to infection. Pick up some Maracyn 2 for Freshwater fish. They will be just fine.

 

[jsteph24]

ok, so I took another look at the fish today and noticed that the spots were a whitish turning green color. I caught one of the fish with a net and one of the "spots" fell off. I picked it up and it was alive! It is flat and you could see its legs, but it moved on my finger by sucking. What the heck is this thing? I have one snail and live plants in the tank, could that have anything to do with it? other than that, the fish are fine, eating and swimming like normal.

 

[jsteph24]

bump

 

[sepulatian]

Sorry, I was trying to look up what it is. It sounds to me like a parasite than can be introduced into the tank via live plants. Skin Flukes is what I am leaning toward. They can be treated with a formalin bath or a copper based treatment. They are live bearers so the treatment usually consists of one or two formalin baths or a week in copper treatment. Don't put either chemical directly into the tank. Do the bath in a bucket or set up a small tank to put your fish in for copper treatment.

 

[jsteph24]

thanks for the advice! Should I do something with the live plants? If all the fish have the parasites on them, can I do the treatment in the tank, or do you still reccommend doing this in a bucket? thanks again, sorry if I seemed impatient!

 

[jsteph24]

would it be a good idea to take the plants out all together? I heard they are good for the tank, and the fish really like them, not sure what to do! Is there a treatment I can do for the plants? How do these things occur? is there anything I can do to prevent it?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by jsteph24
would it be a good idea to take the plants out all together? I heard they are good for the tank, and the fish really like them, not sure what to do! Is there a treatment I can do for the plants? How do these things occur? is there anything I can do to prevent it?
Don't worry about being impatient, this is your fish's health we are talking about! You can keep the plants in. What kind of lights do you have? Live plants are photosynthetic just like any other plant. They need strong light. Do not add medication to the tank. You can set up a rubbermaid tub (new or a very clean one that has never had chemicals in it) to house these fish while you treat them. It does not have to be a whole new aquarium. They will be in there a week.

 

[jsteph24]

they are the standard lights that came with the tank, from what I have read I think I need to upgrade! What kind would you reccommend for a FW tank?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by jsteph24
they are the standard lights that came with the tank, from what I have read I think I need to upgrade! What kind would you reccommend for a FW tank?
Power compacts. Look online. LFS's often sell them WAY overpriced. Just measure your tank. You will need to know the lenth of your tank to order.

 

[jsteph24]

thanks for all your help, I will let you know how things are going or if anything else strange happens. Can sw fish get parasites from coral, or is that just a plant thing?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by jsteph24
thanks for all your help, I will let you know how things are going or if anything else strange happens. Can sw fish get parasites from coral, or is that just a plant thing?
Yes SW fish can. Be very cautious with what you introduce to your SW tank. If disease enters a SW tank then all fish need to be removed to treat, it is a huge hassel. Do you have a quarantine tank set up yet? Do yourself a HUGE favor and get one if you don't have one already. Quarantine everything. Fish, inverts, rock, corals, whatever you add after you have fish in there. If you have no fish now, then add whatever you want besides fish. Ich can only host fish. Ich is a parasite and, contrary to other oppinions you may hear, has to be introduced into a system. If you add new rocks, corals, ect without any fish present yet, wait 3-4 weks before adding fish.

 

[mechanec63089]

what is a good way of getting rid of ich for sw. i have kick ich. sorry about budding in but i saw you were talking about ich so i jumped in sorry
mike

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by mechanec63089
what is a good way of getting rid of ich for sw. i have kick ich. sorry about budding in but i saw you were talking about ich so i jumped in sorry
mike
Kick ich, or any other reefsafe med will not kill ich. Ich is an invert just like your other inverts. Please start a new thread and we will walk you through the proper treatment.

 

[jsteph24]

One more question, I have one FW snail, can I add him to the treatment or leave him alone?

 

[jsteph24]

I am using a formalin base product, do I have to add new water everyday, or just continue to add the stuff like it says for a week? Just wondering, don't want to overkill with this stuff.

 

[jsteph24]

ok, just re-read the entire thread, the fish are in a formalin bath, how long shoud I keep them in it? the bottle really did not say, it just said to continue the treatments over until the problem was gone.

 

[sepulatian]

Formalin baths are done for 45 minutes. If you go up to the Common Treatments FAQ Beth has directions for how to propely do a formalin bath and how often to do it. Don't treat the snail! What is the name of the medicaton you bought?