Sea Monkeys On My Fish?!?

[Guest robert parker]

Hi all,

One of my four fish passed away yesterday (I seperated him from the others when I noticed he was unwell) and I noticed that a couple of almost see-through (with black dots) little creatures came away from his rear fins and started swimming around his body.

This made me inspect the other fish and I noticed that one of my other fish also has one of these little creatures on his rear fin. So I have seperated him from the others and am now treating him for parasites, but that is just a guess diagnosis on my part....

So what are these little mites?

All i can say is that they look like either baby shrimps or sea monkeys!!

[Trinket 108]

Hi robert and welcome,

Could you answer the Q's in the box above your post so you can get advise from a Mod/helper? That's the rule here .

One other Q- can you see these creatures with your eye or are you using a magnifying lens?

[Guest robert parker]

The ones i can answer are:

Tank size (How many Gals) and How long has it been running?

16 Litres of water and we've had the tank for about 3 years

What is the name and size of the filter/s?

Unknown

How often do you change the water and how much?

Change the water every other week and all of it

How many fish in the tank and their size?

Did have 4, now only have 3, 1 has been seperated...... average size

Any medications added to the tank?

The one with green spots on it has been given parasite treatment and the other two have nothing

Add any new fish to the tank?

About 3 weeks ago we added 3 new fish

What do you feed your fish?

Pellets and flakes

Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt",

bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus?

Only the green living things on their fins which we thought was fungus

Any unusual behavior like staying

at the bottom, not eating, ect..?

He was at first but since the living thing as come off, he's been normal

[Guest robert parker]

you can see the creatures with your eyes, no magnifing glass needed, they are quite big!

[awrieger 0]

That sounds like adult fish lice. Pick them off by hand if possible, then use an anti-parasite treatment. No need to quarantine the one fish you found with a louse as you'll have to treat the whole tank anyway repeatedly in case there are eggs or larvae as well.

The fish get sick and die when the lice break the skin and internal infection sets in.

[Guest robert parker]

Can i mix disease treatment with parasite treatment? and ive been told im not allowed to use a filter when im using treatment....... is this correct?

[Guest robert parker]

Can i mix disease treatment with parasite treatment? and ive been told im not allowed to use a filter when im using treatment....... is this correct?

[Guest robert parker]

Can i mix disease treatment with parasite treatment? and ive been told im not allowed to use a filter when im using treatment....... is this correct?

[Guest robert parker]

Can i mix disease treatment with parasite treatment? and ive been told im not allowed to use a filter when im using treatment....... is this correct?

[Guest robert parker]

Can i mix disease treatment with parasite treatment? and ive been told im not allowed to use a filter when im using treatment....... is this correct?

[awrieger 0]

Follow the instructions on the label. If it says switch your filter off, it may be because the treatment will kill the beneficial bacteria in your filter. Or they may say remove any carbon instead so as not to remove the treatment from the water too quickly.

If it doesn't specifically say don't mix treatments, err on the side of caution and don't do it. Chemicals in one product can possibly react with chemicals in another product in ways their manufacturers didn't intend.

[Shamu23 8]

Hey, they probably are fish lice. It probably tells you turn of your filter because the carbon will absorb the medication. Your tank seems a bit small for so many fish. At least ten gallons for 1 goldfish.

[Devs 2]

Hi Robert,sorry that you lost a fish.

As mentioned,these fish lice need to be removed with Tweezers very carefully,as they have these hooks on the end that enter the fish ,so you want to be as careful as you can when removing them.

What actual meds are you using to treat the fish?

I just want to add that 13 litres is less than 3 gallons,and that no goldfish should be in a tank that small ,let alone 4 ,3,and even with getting rid of the fish lice,you'll continue to have real problems trying to keep them all healthy, as changing out water once a week will have them swimming in toxins.

Where are you located?Is it possible to get a bigger tank,or a Rubbermaid?I'm sorry,but that is an issue that really needs to be changed quickly.

[Guest robert parker]

The tank is actually 16 litres. On another fish forum it says that a fish needs 4 litres each and not 12........

We are treating the fish with a parasite treatment (interpet) and it seems to be doing the trick, although now it looks like he has a cloudy eye??

[Devs 2]

Okay,so now you have just around 3 1/2 gallons,which is barely decent for a betta.

We recommend 10 gals,per fish as a starting size.Sometimes if your goldfish are very small,you can get away with keeping them in a ten gal. for a while,but that's only if you are monitering and testing params,and doing weekly water changes to keep up with the ammonia and waste that these fish are so good at producing.

I'm glad to hear that the lice problem is doing better,just be aware that as babies,you may not even be able to see them yet,so unless you use meds,you'll want to keep a close eye out for anymore that show up.Gravel vacs are also a good idea.

Going by your tank size and the maintainence of your tank,and the fish having Parasites,I'd be likely to say that this is the reason for the cloudy eye.It could be an injury from being kept in a too small of tank with too many fish/it could be the beginnings of ammonia burn,or it indeed could be the Parasite problem

Was this other fish forum specifically speaking of Goldies,or for tropical fish? .

[Guest robert parker]

The other fish forum was speaking of goldfish and i even have a goldfish handbook and it says 4.5 Litres per fish.

I am looking into getting a gravel vacuum as they seem like a good idea and i have ordered a test kit to keep an eye on the condition of the water..... maybe a new tank is needed too, im being told contradicting things though so im awfully confused!!

anything else i may need?

[Guest robert parker]

He hasnt eaten all day and just sits on the bottom of the tank.... is this normal?? could he be lonely? Im scared to add him with the other 2 fish as i will have to use the treatment in that which means turning of the filter and the two in there hate that!!!

[Devs 2]

It's a real shame,but there is alot of conflicting advice out there.You just kind of have to keep an open mind, research alot,listen alot to people's and your own experiences,see an overall big pic, and go by that.

A lot of trials and errors for sure,but you gain knowledge through each of those.

Anyway,it sounds as if you've seperated the ill one,so what have you placed him in?Chances are tha he's not lonely ,but feeling a bit ill.Was he the one that you found the lice on?

Okay,tell me exactly what you've done,any meds you've used,up until this point.One thing that you really need to do before starting is a big water change using treated and matched temp water.Do you have a conditioner for making water safe for the fish?

[Guest robert parker]

the seperated fish is in another tank. i cleaned the tank out before i put new water in and treated the tap water with tap safe. then i added the parasite treatment (anti crustacean parasite). we had tried to pull the green thing off before but once he had been in the treatment for a few hours, it was easier to pull off. I have not changed the water since we put the treatment in (is this bad???) i only did it yesterday!!

Then he seemed fine but now he has a cloudy eye and sits at the bottom of the tank and doesnt eat, he's never been overally energetic but i still dont like it! I dont really know what else to do?

[Devs 2]

What size tank is he in?Do you have an airstone or filter on /in this tank?What are the temps?

What kind of goldfish is he?Take a look at him and see if you can find any red spots on belly/fins/anal area etc. Any dark spots or swelling around the gill area?Have you seen him pooing at all,and if so,what has it looked like?What is the name brand of the med as I want to check what ingredients are in it.How big is this fish? The cloudy eye was probably happening even before you moved him. Sometimes fish that are dealing with Parasites have a lower immune system and therefore end up getting a secondary bacterial infection from the original parasite problem.Being that the water quality was poor,without actual symptoms other than what you said,it's hard to determine sometimes.The fact that he is now not accepting food allows me to think a bacterial problem has enetered the pic.

[Guest robert parker]

tank is about 12 litres there is no filter or air stone, however the tank does not have a lid on and he does not appear to be gasping or air. Im not allowed to use a filter with this treatment so have refrained from using anything.

He is a velvet black one with sticky out eyes (i dont know the name)

does not appear to be any swelling or spots of any colour.

The med is called anti-crustacean parasite, made by interpet...... it doesnt have the ingredients on. The fish is about 2-3 inches long.

how do i treat a bacterial problem as well as a parasite problem and give him enough oxygen without using a filter/air pump..... it seems i can only treat him for one thing at a time!!

Do you think i should be treating the other two for anything.....

I did a complete water change when the 1st one died and after i seperated the black one........ through away all gravel and replaced with new and throughly cleaned everything..... i dont want these two becoming unwell!

[Guest robert parker]

looks like the other two are scratching themselves on the gravel and the glass. seem to be darting around a lot aswell..... possible microscopic parasites? how do i treat these as the treatment i have can only be used for visible parasites!

[Trinket 108]

Devs is right robert. Keeping fish in a small space is a time bomb waiting to explode. Everyone here recommends 10 gallons per adult fish. It sounds now like the tank is infested with parasites which will kill the fish fast without action and meds. You need to get hold of an all round parasite medication and treat them in their tank with 100% temp matched, treated water ASAP. You don't need the filter to medicate but you will need an airstone as meds absorb oxygen and fish need more when they are stressed and sick.

Have you got rid of all the green lice parasites that can be seen ?

[Shamu23 8]

Fist of all you need to get a bigger tank. I made that mistake already, my fish was in a 5 gallon and he had 4 diseases and a broken jaw. Now he's in a 46 gallon with 0 diseases but he still cant open his mouth. At least 10 gallons per fish is correct any smaller can kill them.

[Guest robert parker]

i have just got a new fish tank, holds 48 litres...... the pet shop said this should be more than enough!