I read and did a lot of research about it and people say that the temp should be raised to 86 F and salt should be added until salinity is 0.3%... but I have a couple of questions... right now my tank is at 85-87 F, I haven't added any salt yet but my goldfish look horrible... they aren't gasping for air at the top as my tank is aerated very well but I can clearly see a lot of red veins in their fins. I don't know if they can handle the high temp for the entire treatment. Also, I have a couple of plants in my tank, will they die if I add the salt? and can I just use the salt I have in the kitchen? I'm pretty sure it has some iodine in it. I just have anacharis and anubias in the tank.
Goldfish with Ich... first time... questions
- Thread starter alphahydrox
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the red veins are a sign of hemorrhagic septicemia - basically a bacterial blood infection causing the fish's capillaries to become inflamed and visible. are these fish new?
table salt is fine, even with the iodine. mix the salt with tank water in a container until it dissolves, and then add the salted water to the tank. don't ever add dry salt directly to the water.
i don't know if the salt will damage those specific plants, but it won't hurt them to be put in a bucket with some sunlight for a couple weeks.
table salt is fine, even with the iodine. mix the salt with tank water in a container until it dissolves, and then add the salted water to the tank. don't ever add dry salt directly to the water.
i don't know if the salt will damage those specific plants, but it won't hurt them to be put in a bucket with some sunlight for a couple weeks.
well i had 3 goldfish in the beginning for more than 2 years and recently my parents got me 2 more goldfish... after the 3rd day or so, i noticed that all 5 goldfish had white dots everywhere... in the past i noticed that my goldfish especially the ones with white fins had small veins but all my parameters were good. but only now that the temp is so hot the fish are showing visible red veins in their fins...
and as for the plants... i don't think i can put them outside to sit in the sun because is winter right now where I live. but wouldn't the plants be infected by ich too even if i take it out of the tank?
and as for the plants... i don't think i can put them outside to sit in the sun because is winter right now where I live. but wouldn't the plants be infected by ich too even if i take it out of the tank?
as far as the plants - you don't have to put them outside, just somewhere that they can get a little bit of light every day. a clear plastic container on a windowsill would be fine, or even in a white bucket. without a host, ich will die on its own in about two weeks. while the plants may have some parasites lurking on them, after 2.5 weeks they will definitely be clean and safe to return to the tank.
if it is simply the heat affecting the fish, you can drop it down to upper 70's or low 80's. mid-high 80's is only suggested because it is the highest temp most fish can tolerate, and higher temps make the ich life cycle go faster. it is fine to do an ich treatment at a lower temp, just keep in mind that it will take longer at a lower temperature. slowly drop the temp and see if the fish improve as far as their veins go. if they remain red, then you're dealing with a bacterial infection on top of the ich.
have you tested your water for ammonia/nitrite since you added the new goldfish? what size tank and what size fish are you dealing with?
if it is simply the heat affecting the fish, you can drop it down to upper 70's or low 80's. mid-high 80's is only suggested because it is the highest temp most fish can tolerate, and higher temps make the ich life cycle go faster. it is fine to do an ich treatment at a lower temp, just keep in mind that it will take longer at a lower temperature. slowly drop the temp and see if the fish improve as far as their veins go. if they remain red, then you're dealing with a bacterial infection on top of the ich.
have you tested your water for ammonia/nitrite since you added the new goldfish? what size tank and what size fish are you dealing with?
if several fish are infected with ich, you will need to start your tank up all over again because basically it was overrun with disease. The plants don't carry the parasites themselves, as they like to feed on fish, but th plants may carry the "baby" from of the ich, before they go off looking for a host. Just be aware of that, once you cure your fish, you might want to get new plants. I agree with watugachicken, it would probably be better to remove the plants for a bit, but nothing happened to my anacharis and baby swordplant. but maybe that was because I used ick guard II, which is for small weak or scaleless fish. Anyhow, a medicine called TripleSulfa, or TriSulfa, can cure hemorragic septicemia, so try that. be sure to rinse the plants well if you decide to put them back in the tank.
One more thing...goldfish are pond fish by nature, so they prefer cooler temperatures. they aren't tropical fish. so maybe that high temp isn't all that good for them. also the anacharis decays if temps are too high because they are pond plants too.
WOW. that post was long. anyways I hope it helped!
ps. your parents bought you goldfish? that sounds like youre a kid...well I am, anyway..you can see my goldfish at tmy flickr site if you want (see signature)
One more thing...goldfish are pond fish by nature, so they prefer cooler temperatures. they aren't tropical fish. so maybe that high temp isn't all that good for them. also the anacharis decays if temps are too high because they are pond plants too.
WOW. that post was long. anyways I hope it helped!
ps. your parents bought you goldfish? that sounds like youre a kid...well I am, anyway..you can see my goldfish at tmy flickr site if you want (see signature)
ammonia nitrite = 0 since my anacharis absord it like crazy... i changed the temp to 80 instead of 86... hope to see some improvement... i added a teaspoon of salt... so far its been 2 teaspoon... so i keep adding a teaspoon of salt every hour until i reach 0.3% salinity?
i guess i can leave the anacharis there... those are hardy plants... and even if they die i have a couple laying around and it grows like weed
i guess i can leave the anacharis there... those are hardy plants... and even if they die i have a couple laying around and it grows like weed
Lupin
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Start tank from scratch? I would never recommend this. The parasites alone have stress the fish enough to be killed when you try to move them around. It will also not guarantee to remove the ich completely.
Cysts. And just for clarification, each cyst can carry thousand tomites and when it ruptures, it'll release them and they look for new host to thrive on.
With goldfish in warm temperature, I would expect them to gasp for oxygen and release more wastes than usual with their high metabolic rate resulted from warm temperature. In this situation, water parameters must be watched closely and do plenty of water changes.
Lupin
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Post nitrates as well.
How many teaspoons have you added so far?
What size is the tank? I think this has not been answered.