Regular Member Goldfish7 Posted August 9, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2008 I noticed that one of my fish has a few spots on its tail. I checked my other fish and they do not have any spots. The spots look like ick but I think I caught it at the begining before it spread. What is the best way to get rid of ick? My tank is 55 gal. with 4 goldfish, 2 dojo loaches and 6 cory cats. pH was 6.4 the last time I tested it. Nitrite is 0ppm. Ammonia is 0ppm. Nitrate is around 10-20ppm. I don't know what would work best to get rid of ick. I have only had to deal with it 2-3 times in the past 10 years. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member vickielm Posted August 9, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2008 (edited) A .3% solution of salt is the best cure for ich and won't mess with your cycle. NOT table salt...it must be aquarium salt, kosher salt or rock salt that has NO caking ingredients. You must slowly raise the water temp to 80F to speed the life cycle of the ich and continue to treat with salt until you have not seen any ich on your fish for 72 hours. You must do daily vacs of the substrate to remove all of the ich larvae that will hatch during the cycle. Now...are you sure it is ich? And if so, there probably is some reason why it is attacking your fish. Ich is a parasite that is almost always present in tanks, but doesn't usually attack the fish until their immune system is down for some reason. What kind of goldfish do you have, fancies or commons? Fancies, such as fantails etc, require 10 gallons of water apiece to thrive and be healthy. Commons require 20 gallons each as they are slim-bodied and fast swimmers who need a lot of room. When you add 4 goldfish of either type to 8 other fish in a 55 gallon you have a situation where you are overstocked. There is a box at the top of the page. If you could copy and paste it and answer as many questions as you can, we'd be able to help you much better. There are tons of knowledgeable people here who can answer all of your questions, but we need as much info as you can give us. Looking forward to hearing from you soon! Edited August 9, 2008 by vickielm 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jyoti411 Posted August 9, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2008 (edited) I agree with Vickielm...post all the answers in the box above....everyone here will be able to help in a better way..also the kind of fish you have in your 55 gallon along with the water parameters and temperature and water change routine, etc....I have just treated my 2 goldfish for ICH....the most effective and trusted way is to use the salt-heat-darkness method..trust me it works...Also post some pictures of the spots...that will give everyone a better idea...don't use any meds out of anxiety...read the following post on the salt method..It would be a good idea to read what kind of salt and note it down so that when you go to the pet store you can get the apt salt without the harmful contents in it...http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=60876 Remember no meds..unless someone asks you too..I freaked out too...but the salt works...Sue and Imogen told me to trust the salt.....and it really does..just some positive attitude and water changes... Oh by the way...if you are positive it is ICH...go ahead and replace 50-70% of the water right away by syphoning your gravel...that gets out the free swimming tormites from the water right away...use temperature matched conditioned water... I also agree with Vick..you are overstocked...also I am always of the opinion that cory cats are tropical and not a good mix with coldwater fish like goldies... Edited August 9, 2008 by SunshineGurl 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member vickielm Posted August 9, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2008 (edited) Thats right SunshineGurl, and the thing about corys is that they don't get bigger than the goldies, and they are easily mistaken for food. We've all heard the horror stories about ottos getting stuck in the goldfish's mouth, and I think corys would probably be the same. Possibly without the spiny scales though. I remember when you were panicking and they kept telling you to "trust the salt", LOL. And of course, it worked. Edited August 9, 2008 by vickielm 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jyoti411 Posted August 10, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 10, 2008 Thats right SunshineGurl, and the thing about corys is that they don't get bigger than the goldies, and they are easily mistaken for food. We've all heard the horror stories about ottos getting stuck in the goldfish's mouth, and I think corys would probably be the same. Possibly without the spiny scales though. Ooooohh...I never thought about that...ur right they are mistaken for food..wow..another reason to not house them together... I remember when you were panicking and they kept telling you to "trust the salt", LOL. And of course, it worked. LOl...yeah I totally freaked out...Yeah the positive energy here and the salt really worked...Thank you...you guys are all awesome... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Goldfish7 Posted August 10, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 10, 2008 [*]Test Results for the Following: Ammonia Level? 0ppm Nitrite Level? 0ppm Nitrate level? 15ppm Ph Level, (If possible,KH and GH and chloramines)? pH is 6.4 Ph Level (KH/GH) out of the Tap? Unknown Brand of test-kit used? (strips or drops?)API drops [*]Tank size (How many Gals) and How long has it been running? 55 gal. Running for 3 years. [*]What is the name and size of the filter/s? Rena Filstar(I do not know the size) and AquaClear 30. [*]How often do you change the water and how much? 2 times/week at 20% each. [*]How many fish in the tank and their size? 2 orandas (One 4 inch and One 3 inch), Pearl Scale goldfish- 2 inches, Black Moor-2 inches. [*]What kind of water additives or conditioners? API water conditioner. [*]Any medications added to the tank? no [*]Add any new fish to the tank? no [*]What do you feed your fish? Gel food and fresh veggies [*]Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt", bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? White spots on the smaller orandas tall. [*]Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating,ect..? no As for the cory cats in the tank, they will be moved to my other 55 gal. tank when I get the water of better quality. Thanks for your help everyone. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jyoti411 Posted August 10, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 10, 2008 (edited) Ok...as I get it...the goldfish with ich are currently with the cory cats and loaches right???..if so dont move anything to a tank with other fish..as that might spread ich to the new tank as well...right now...let them stay where they are...Ok..so now we have the stats...water parameters are pretty stable...I think you have caught ich at an early stage...Do you have the suggested aquarium salt??..as suggested here.. http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=60876 Try and get the salts at the earliest and also a heater for 55 gal... And hold on dont add any salt...I think your pH is low...I would not take any action until someone more experienced or a moderator helps you with this....I guess I remeber low pH can cause problems when dealing with salts...So wait up.. Also as I had suggested..have you done a 50% or more water change on your tank??..If not start with that....this can be done in the meantime.... If everything is sorted out with the water parameters..the following is the procedure suggested to me...and as per the posting Imogen has for salts... when adding the new water during water change add 55 teaspoons of the salt in a separate bucket...this will bring the salt level to 0.1% as per the salt usage link above....Also bring the temperature of the tank to 74 and then every few hours increase the temperature by 2 degrees bringing it to 80 over a period of 12 hours...Dissolve the salt in a separate bucket and not in the tank directly..this is very important cos goldfish tend to eat the salt grains, which is bad for them (this reason I found on some other site...you can consider this as my opinion and not anyone on this forum...although the dissolving part is what is always advised) After the water change and salt addition...test your water parameters and post the results too...Also after 12 hours you can syphon the gravel and change a small portion of water (count how many gallon)..so that the cysts and eggs are syphoned out..everyday a total of 50% water change is a must when dealing with Ich...after 12 hours when adding salt..you will add 55 teaspoons + salt that got out with the water change..so for example if you get 25 gallons out...then 25+55...this will bring it to 0.2% salt concentration...and after 12 hours again 55 teaspoons to get the salt concentration to 0.3%...any water change you do needs that much salt going back in to maintain the salt concentration...don't worry about the filter...but keep an eye on the water parameters..if needed keep a log..actually its a good idea to keep a log... Edited August 10, 2008 by SunshineGurl 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member vickielm Posted August 10, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 10, 2008 Are dojo loaches scaleless fish? I don't know much about them, but if they have no scales they will not do well with the salt. Thanks for answering the questions. You are ok with the goldfish, but you still have 6 corys and 2 loaches in the tank that have to be accounted for. I realize you plan to move them, but as of right now they are there, and as SunshineGurl just said, moving them to the other 55 right now will just spread the ich to the other tank. After you get the ich cured, moving the other 8 fish will be a definitely great idea. And you also won't have to do wcs twice a week. One large wc a week will do the job, so it will be less work for you. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Trinket Posted August 10, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 10, 2008 Definitely sort out that pH. That is probably what caused the ich. A 100% water change before adding the first round of salt will help a lot to bring it up I expect. What is the pH from your tap? If its above 7 you need to look at why your pH is dropping in the tank. pH can plunge with ammonia surges or high nitrates or even in high temps. The salt will cure the ich but you must correct the remaining problem of the low pH. Buff-it-up is by all accounts a very good commercial pH stabiliser. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Goldfish7 Posted August 10, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 10, 2008 I was not going to move the fish yet. I am going to after I get the ich cleared, but thanks for the warning. I haven't checked the pH in my tap water yet but I will do that as soon as possible. Loaches are scaleless fish. I added a little aquarium salt yesterday but not the full dose because of the dojos. So far I see fewer spots on the fish and none of the others have spots. After I get the tap water tested for pH I will go from there. Thank you all for your help. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted August 10, 2008 Admin Share Posted August 10, 2008 Just to let you know. Dojo's can take salt in there tank, just need to do it slowly ....I have had Dojo's in all my goldfish tanks and have added salt to them. Just nice and slow 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jyoti411 Posted August 11, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 11, 2008 Hey..how are the fishies doing??..hows the pH???did you start the salt method??..please let us know... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Goldfish7 Posted August 15, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 15, 2008 The goldfish are doing fine. I did put salt in the water and it seemed to help. I haven't tested the pH yet but I did do a large water change. I tested the tap water and it is 7.6. Sorry I haven't been on here lately. Thank you all for your help. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Ranchugirl Posted August 16, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 16, 2008 That is great that the fish are doing so much better. Are you still treating them with salt then? I would suggest leaving the salt in at least 6 days after all the signs of ich are gone. Ich is a little tricky - you think you got them all, and remove the salt too early. While all the adult parasites are gone, there is still the tiny matter of their offspring, and those are in an encapsuled form, so the salt won't affect them. If you remove the salt too early, and the offspring hatches, there won't be any salt in the tank that will take care of them after they leave their encapsuled stage. So, keep the water in for another week to cover all your bases. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Goldfish7 Posted August 17, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 17, 2008 That is great that the fish are doing so much better. Are you still treating them with salt then? I would suggest leaving the salt in at least 6 days after all the signs of ich are gone. Ich is a little tricky - you think you got them all, and remove the salt too early. While all the adult parasites are gone, there is still the tiny matter of their offspring, and those are in an encapsuled form, so the salt won't affect them. If you remove the salt too early, and the offspring hatches, there won't be any salt in the tank that will take care of them after they leave their encapsuled stage. So, keep the water in for another week to cover all your bases. I just did a 50% water change today because my pH had droped and is now 6.0. I will have to add some more salt, but now that I now my dojos can handle it better then I thougt I won't be hesitant to use it. Thanks again for all of your help. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Trinket Posted August 17, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 17, 2008 Good luck keeping at the salt but do watch that pH. pH at 6 is very dangerous. You need to get it brought back up to above 7 with a commercial buffer like Buff-It-Up. asap. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Goldfish7 Posted August 17, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 17, 2008 Good luck keeping at the salt but do watch that pH. pH at 6 is very dangerous. You need to get it brought back up to above 7 with a commercial buffer like Buff-It-Up. asap. I am debating if I should buy the Buff-It-Up from GFC or buy something else from the petstore. I know Buff-It-Up will work but I do not know anything about the other brands in stores. Thanks for the help. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted August 18, 2008 Admin Share Posted August 18, 2008 I have tried other things to bring my PH and KH up before I used Buff it up and I can say that nothing works better than it 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Goldfish7 Posted August 18, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 18, 2008 I have tried other things to bring my PH and KH up before I used Buff it up and I can say that nothing works better than it Thanks for letting me know. I bought pH Up from the petstore today to increase the pH until I can order the Buff-It-Up. So far it works and has went to 6.4 in 4 hours. I will continue to test the water everyday to make sure it is stablizing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted August 20, 2008 Admin Share Posted August 20, 2008 Yes please do..the problems with other ph uppers is that they dont deal with the KH problem. With out high levels oh KH the ph will fall. So keep a close eye on this till you get the buff it up 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Goldfish7 Posted August 21, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 21, 2008 I have been testing my pH 2 times a day and it seems to be holding well. It is up to 6.8-7.0 at the moment. I am just waiting for the tropical storm Fay to pass to insure I will get the package in one piece before I order it. I have heard crushed coral will help keep the pH at 7.5 but I am not sure if I should try it after I get the pH up a little more. What would you suggest? Thanks again for your help. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jyoti411 Posted August 21, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 21, 2008 As a temporary fix..you could use baking soda to buff up the pH...you could try some in a bucket of water..and then maybe the tank...tht does help...have been reading it in different threads for the past 2-3 days...umm I guess I would just start with 1/2 teaspoon in the bucket and see how it goes..and accordingly an equally small amount in the tank as well..but you could wait until someone confirms...I have just read, never tried it myself.. ...so please don't try this in the tank until confirmed.. ..hope evrything goes fine... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Goldfish7 Posted August 21, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 21, 2008 As a temporary fix..you could use baking soda to buff up the pH...you could try some in a bucket of water..and then maybe the tank...tht does help...have been reading it in different threads for the past 2-3 days...umm I guess I would just start with 1/2 teaspoon in the bucket and see how it goes..and accordingly an equally small amount in the tank as well..but you could wait until someone confirms...I have just read, never tried it myself.. ...so please don't try this in the tank until confirmed.. ..hope evrything goes fine... Thanks for the suggestion. I have read that as well but I would not feel right putting baking soda in my tank or anywhere near my fish. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jyoti411 Posted August 21, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 21, 2008 As a temporary fix..you could use baking soda to buff up the pH...you could try some in a bucket of water..and then maybe the tank...tht does help...have been reading it in different threads for the past 2-3 days...umm I guess I would just start with 1/2 teaspoon in the bucket and see how it goes..and accordingly an equally small amount in the tank as well..but you could wait until someone confirms...I have just read, never tried it myself.. ...so please don't try this in the tank until confirmed.. ..hope evrything goes fine... Thanks for the suggestion. I have read that as well but I would not feel right putting baking soda in my tank or anywhere near my fish. point taken.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Ranchugirl Posted September 11, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted September 11, 2008 How is it going with the Ich, Goldfish7? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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