Velvet??

tanker · Aug 20, 2009

At work we have this 37gal tank. It is set up for goldfish-- heater set for 70 degrees. PH at 6.5 and cycled last year.

Every time we put a goldfish in (fancy Orandas) the fish get sick and dies within 1-2 weeks!!! Looks like velvet but not sure. I have never fought this problem before!! I have kept fish for over 50years W/O this kind of problem.

Starts of with loseing color (red parts getting lighter). Tails looks like been dusted with a fine white dust. Fish starts to float--4 days later ==gone!!!

It is not ick. There is no ammonia nor Nitrite. Snails are fine in tank for over six months.

I have done lots of WC==no help. Have left tank empty for 2-3 weeks==no help.

Thinking of taking all inverts out and triple-medicate with copper for 2-3 weeks and restarting.

Any ideas???

Lupin · Aug 20, 2009

Tanker, I moved this thread here so you can get much better responses from the goldfish enthusiasts.

Your situation is baffling me. Are you obtaining your orandas from the same source? How many goldfish have you tried so far that you claim everytime you get your goldfish, they die in the next few days?

Secondly, does the LFS maintain their tanks with same filtration system? What is their history regarding health issues? Prior to using the 37g for goldfish, what were the fish kept there before? Was there a spate of disease outbreaks before and if so, what issues did you encounter? How do you acclimate your fish?

What test kit do you use? How old is the test kit? Although unlikely, the test kit may be giving misleading results so I would watch out for that. Be sure that the vials are washed thoroughly after you used them so the results would not appear misleading.

Have you checked for any changes in the tapwater conditions? Perhaps, get an update from the water company to test the tapwater for possible contaminants.

I would not treat with copper first. Remember that once you use copper-based treatments, you cannot house any invertebrates in that tank anymore. Look for the cause of the issues first before doing any drastic to your tank.

Do you treat anything to your goldfish? If I were you, the first thing I would do is treat your new fish with praziquantel, obtainable as Prazipro in you petstores. Assuming the goldfish may have also come from ponds, there is always the likeliest chance they harbor flukes, external parasites and many other pathogens. Flukes are the most common problem with goldfish. You need to treat them with praziquantel to ensure secondary infections from fluke infestation is avoided.

It is easy to overlook flukes unfortunately and the only way to be sure of their existence is by skin and gill scrape. Observing the fish scratching the same area might also give you an idea but it is not always accurate as there are many parasites that cause their hosts to become listless or scratch around frantically and constantly.

Your snails can carry flukes themselves. So far, praziquantel has not been reported to have any ill effects to snails assuming we are talking about apple snails so you may consider treating both the snails and any new fish you can get with praziquantel altogether.

Praziquantel is a pretty mild treatment and should not interfere with the nitrogen cycle. It will not hurt to treat every new fish just to deworm them of possible internal parasites and even flukes.

tanker · Aug 21, 2009

Lupin:

The GF have come from at least 4 different sourses (at least 2 different petcos and 2 other LFS).

There have been at least 12 deaths (some small GF, some large).

The tank was one of my older tanks that was last used about 3 years ago (my daughters tank before leaving for school), just guppies, frogs, ect. Never been medicated.

Checked with LFS owner on their fish--no problems, the test kits are new--bought last year (Tetra kits).

The only medicine that I have tried was Rid-Ick. What ever is killing the fish kills them so fast that I have almost no time to medicate. EX: Buy fish, the usual acclimate, 1st 2-3 days kind of shy and scared, then looks happy and is eatting, 3-4 days later notice what looks like "white powder" on fins and fish losing color and starts to swin funny, 3+ more days=dead!!

Lupin · Aug 21, 2009

I'm really stumped here. I'll try to find another tack and see more possibilities. Here are my new thoughts.

Regarding the test kits, have you tried using other brands of test kits to make sure the results are accurate? Have you used API liquid test kit previously? I'd give that a try and test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If the results are not misleading or false, then we can cross out the suspected wrong water parameters as the possible culprit and move to other possible variables.

Does your temperature remain consistent at 70 degrees only? Perhaps try elevating this to 74-76 degrees Fahrenheit. Fancy goldfish prefer their temperature a little warmer even though they are still categorized as temperate/coldwater. The pond types such as comets, of course are more tolerant to that temperature than most fancy types.

Could you please contact the four petstores and ask them which source they are using? How long did they keep your goldfish with them? This will enable us to trace if they are using the same wholesaler.

I forgot to ask about the food. Which foods do you use? Are they still within the date before expiration? Most foods tend to deteriorate quickly and will deteriorate faster if you keep reopening the containers especially when they are exposed to light and air and not used everything up within at least four months. Bad food can cause digestive problems.

There are still some questions in my first post that were not answered particularly the stores' filtration system and maintenance. Answering all the questions would help us immensely pin down the actual cause of your fish's deaths.

I wish Flaringshutter and Kashta would chime in since I am a bit stumped here.

tanker · Aug 21, 2009

Will try some new test kits,have never used API-- Will look into. Doesn't ammonia/ Nitrite cause fish to "gasp" for air at surface??

THe temp is really set to about 71. 150W heater "should" keep temp stable at night (but not 100% sure--it is a warehouse).

The food too is brand new--well 5 months old really--"Nutrifin" GF pellets.

Talked to Petco and they are unsure of their sourse of GF--"From headquarters"--but claims that they are not having any problems. Will check with other LFS tomorrow.


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Velvet??

tanker

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Lupin

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tanker

Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!

Lupin

Registered Member

tanker

Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!