About to treat my goldies for fin rot...

[NekoOo]

So my Goldies have a bit of fin rot, and after struggling to find medicine I finally found some tetra brand fungus guard that treats fin rot and other bacteria and fungus. They are pre measured dissolvable tablets and the directions state that one tablet treats 10gallons.

My question is, will my pleco be hurt by this treatment? The last time I used fin/mouth rot treatment, it healed my Goldies but killed my pleco (he was very young, maybe a little over an inch in length). My current pleco is about 3 or 4 inches and as far as I can tell has no fin rot. I don't have a qt either so if I have to remove him to treat the others he'll end up in a giant plastic jar.

Does anyone have good/bad experiences with this medicine? I love my pleco dearly and it would break my soul if he died. I want to be sure he'll be okay whatever course of action I take.

 

[NekoOo]

Here is a picture of the medicine box.

 

[Bubbles0oO]

If you can move him to a different tank he should be fine. But i wouldnt use the treatment. I would just keep up on the water changes. Finrot is a result of poor water quality. I have a school of ottos that had fin rot when i bought them but keeping them in clean water they grew back there fins a month later. It takes awhile for them to fully grow back, but it grows back.

 

[NekoOo]

I feel as if I need to use the treatment because I am severely overstocked. Its so hard to keep good conditions!! I originally thought I was keeping them in a 20 gallon, but found out after two years it was actually only a 10g!! >:'( I have 8 stunted goldfish that i have had for two years and a pleco I got a few months ago that I am trying to keep from stunting by getting a larger aquarium and keeping the water clean. I am waiting for my lfs to contact me about a bigger aquarium.

I tried doing 50% water changes every day but after three or four days straight they started to act funny, huddled together at them bottom of the tank and wouldn't even beg for food when I came up to the glass. I stopped doing it every day and started to do it every other day and they seem to react to that much better. And since I have been doing this about a month ago, the fish seem to be growing. I only have a ph test kit and it reads at about a 6 almost all the time. :\

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Its ok! We all make mistakes . The first goldie needs 20 gallons and each one afterwords needs 10 gallons. Thats the rule of thumb for goldies anyway.

 

[jlk]

This med is mainly an antibiotic but I honestly would not use it. Your fish are being affected primarily by their water. Its impossible to keep 8 goldfish & a pleco in a 10g and expect them to be healthy. There is not a med in the world that can help when the water is unhealthy.

Instead of purchasing meds, you really should consider investing in a good liquid test kit so you can monitor your ammonia, nitrite & nitrate levels. I would pick up a 50g storage bin or 55g rain barrel with some type of filtration & move the goldfish if you can not afford a tank right now. Its a temporary solution but it may help them survive a bit longer until you can figure out a more permanent solution.

If these are comets/commons, you really, really should find them a happy pond home. Your going to continue to be plagued with health issues (or worse) by trying to maintain their present situation.