Goldfish in bad condition! Need help urgently!!!

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Occult

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Jan 18, 2003
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Since my friend had trouble getting her account activated, I'm posting on her behalf.

A few days ago she bought an algae eater for her tank. Two days later she finds the algae eater sick. After that all the fish develop ick and she begins treating them for it(I should also mention that the fish had red eyes). Things only got worse from that point on, and 2 more fish has died. With the fish left the scales were peeling, tail was rotting, clamed fins, white patches and red eyes. Now there is one last fish left and she is desperatly trying to save it. Any suggestions at this point would be greatly appreciated.

btw I should also mention that the fish has been moved to another tank with a mix of the old tank water and some new water.
 

yashinfan

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Jun 13, 2003
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Wow, the chances of this fish surviving is not great. Keep treating the ick for at least two weeks after you see the last signs of it. What medicine are you using to treat it, by the way? As for the fin shriviling, that sounds like a fungus. There's something out there called "Fungus Eliminator" that gets rid of a whole bunch of general things that goldfish do get. You can try treating it for a couple of weeks and if it doesn't get any worse than it'll probably survive and eventually recover.
 

anonapersona

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Mar 7, 2003
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Never put algae eaters with goldfish

Algae eaters will attach to the goldfish, sucking off their slime coat. After that damage is done, the goldfish are open to bacteria and parasites.

You'd need to treat for both.
 

avoxo

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Jan 25, 2003
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Hello Occult, sorry to hear that your friend is having problems. A combination of two things is causing this. One is the new tank, just using the old tank water is not enough, the tank is not fully cycled which would then cause the fish to be stressed out, in turn making them more susceptible to diseases. Two is not quarantining the new fish, just throwing a new fish into the tank is asking for a problem to happen.

The fish have multiple symptoms to different diseases, you could try medicated food to start then depending on what treatment you are using to take care of the ick. If it is a salt treatment then get a broad range medication (try to get one that will not mess with the cycle), if it is not then follow the directions on the package from the ick meds than get the other medication going. Wish your friend luck.
 

JH

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Sep 11, 1998
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I agree with everyone else. I just want to add one thing about the pleco. Like already said it is a bad idea to keep plecos with goldfish. Small plecos will usually mind their own business (not always). Once they get larger they will start atacking the sides of your fish. I had a pleco that started attacking 2 of my Angelfish. Needless to say both of the angels died as a result. And they were a breeding pair too. :( That was back before I knew the "true" temperment of plecos. I will never again make that mistake.

Please tell your friend not to make the same mistake that I did.
 

yashinfan

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Jun 13, 2003
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My boyfriend has a 35 gallon tank with 3 types of goldfish (common, london shebunkin, and fancytail) and a pleco. There doesn't seem to be much aggression between them except that the common goldfish (who I might add is REALLY VERY large) pushes the pleco around if he comes between him and his food. Other than that they've been in good health for the past 3 yrs of being tankmates.
 
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