fin rot

[libra]

I have a coldwater tank with three gold fish. One of them developed fin rot overnight. I have been looking at other threads and this is what I'ave done so far: 40% water change, and added salt, raised the temp to about 82 degrees. I also added some malachite green and added another airstone.
Do I need to change the water everytime I add salt, or not. The other thread advised to do this process for three days. Any other suggestions?

[ewok]

i'm sort of confused.........

why raise the temperature?

i think i would leave them pretty cold. there is 2 forms of "fin rot" that i know of. one concerns bad water quality and the other is bacterial. if this is bacterial, raising the temp is only going to make it worse. it sounds more like you're treating for "ich" actually.

do some extra water changes and try "melafix"........ that's all. but if it's bacterial you might need something stronger.

you didn't mention what size tank, and how large the fish are would probably be a plus. if it's overstocked it's almost definately a water quality issue. more water changes and cleaning............ (and melafix, of course.)

side note: the salt won't evaporate, don't add any *unless* you are doing water changes, but in this instance all you might need is a trace amount.

good luck

[Roland]

I would try a salt bath while you work out what your primary problem with the fish.

A freshwater fishes internal concentration of salt is higher than the surrounding water. Your fish has an open wound, so this internal concentration will 'want' out (by diffusion).

Giving a salt bath will alleviate the effects ofsalt loss from this. I suggest 5 minutes at 0.22ppm of salt.

[aquariumfishguy]

Yes, when reading the origional post it did seem like they was treating for Ich which is totally different than fin rot. Fin rot doesn't require a temperature raise...and IMO, medications are not needed. For people who breed fish to sell (or keep), fin rot can occur often with these fish...this doesn't mean they run out to get medications.

Fin rot is often thought of as a "newbies disease" because it tends to come up with poor water quality, either from a currently cycling tank or because of irregular water changes. The bottom line is, keep the temp at about 72-75 degrees F., but DO change the water every 7 or so days. Clean water will often times rid the fish of fin rot.

Also, what size tank are these 3 goldfish in?

[libra]

It's a 29G, with dual filtration. The tank has been established for almost two years but I did recently introduce a third gold fish (fantail type). It actually looks like the new one has ich and one of the other ones is suffering from fin rot.

[aquariumfishguy]

Well for 3 fish, you should ideally have 40-50 gallons.