black moor goldfish and cyanobacteria

[kentd]

Hi all,

I came home from a work trip to find my son's black moor goldfish in bad shape. From my research, the tank appears to be overrun with blue green algae (actually black in this case). My guess is that toxins from the algae infestation have compromised Bugsy's immune system and he has come down with some sort of fungal or bacterial infection as a result.

I am going to setup a 20g hospital tank, and I would like advice on how to treat the fish in the hospital tank and the main 40g tank to fix the underlying issue.

Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks,
Kent

 

[Fishdude3233]

Algae does not make any "toxins" lol
What are the parameters?
What other fish are in the 40?
What is your filtration?
What is your water change system?


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[kentd]

What are the parameters?
>> ammonia < 0.25ppm
>> nitrites 0
>> nitrates >80ppm

What other fish are in the 40?
>> none

What is your filtration?
>> aquaclear 70

What is your water change system?
>> infrequent 75% water changes

Here's what I've down so far:

1. I moved Bugsy to a 20g hospital tank and took a couple of pics.
2. I performed 2x 90% water changes in the main 40g tank.

Three main issues:

1. His left side has some growths on it in two main areas: behind the gill and on his tail fin.

2. His right side eye also looks very bad and is shown in the other photo.

3. His body/tail intersection looks 'crooked' for lack of a better term.

I have the following meds available but haven't used any of them yet.

- Kordon methylene blue
- Sentry copper safe
- Kordon Ich Attack

My main focus is to keep him in fresh water and see how he progresses in the next 24 hours.

Any advice for how to help him heal from this?

 

[kentd]

Here is a picture of the algae in the main tank.

I believe it is blue green algae (cyanobacteria).

Any suggestions for treating this?

 

[kentd]

Any advice on the diagnosis and treatment of illness?

Thanks!

 

[jlk]

What is your ph (gh and kh if possible)? Have you managed to bring your nitrates below 20 (preferably under 10ppm)? Ammonia and nitrite are steady at zero?

The algae is not relevant here but your water conditions are vital. Once we have some idea of your ph/kh/gh, and present nitrates, it will be easier to help. Water changes (great job so far!) should be continued in the meantime. I suspect there may be a few things at play here but hopefully we can help you to bring things under control. Is the tank planted?


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[kentd]

Hi jlk,

Tank is planted. See pic.

Bugsy has been in a hospital tank for the past 48 hrs.

I'll need to go to the pet store today to pick up a kh/gh test kid in order to get those numbers.

Regards,
Kent

 

[jlk]

Do you know what your pH reads in his qt tank? The white areas can be the result of ammonia/nitrate burns and/or it may be the result of acidic water. With your nitrate level reading quite high previously, I suspect the pH/kh levels were also quite low. If his qt tank is stable, I can offers some suggestions to help!

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[Mebbid]

Algae does not make any "toxins" lol
What are the parameters?
What other fish are in the 40?
What is your filtration?
What is your water change system?


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Cyanobacteria isn't an algae per se. It's a photosynthetic bacteria. Some types certainly do make toxins - https://www.whoi.edu/redtide/human-health/cyanobacteria

Here is a picture of the algae in the main tank.

I believe it is blue green algae (cyanobacteria).

Any suggestions for treating this?

I would worry less about the algae and more about the nitrate level. That is a seriously high nitrate concentration and is very like they cause of problems with the black moor. Increased nitrates have a detrimental effect on a fishes immune system which can lead to a lot of needless infections. I would work on getting the nitrates down as low as possible, preferably around 10 - 20 and keeping it there.

 

[Fishdude3233]

Cyanobacteria isn't an algae per se. It's a photosynthetic bacteria. Some types certainly do make toxins - https://www.whoi.edu/redtide/human-health/cyanobacteria







I would worry less about the algae and more about the nitrate level. That is a seriously high nitrate concentration and is very like they cause of problems with the black moor. Increased nitrates have a detrimental effect on a fishes immune system which can lead to a lot of needless infections. I would work on getting the nitrates down as low as possible, preferably around 10 - 20 and keeping it there.

Oh I didn't know that lol.
Learn something new everyday I guess


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[kentd]

Update since ~30 hrs ago:

1. Good news - Bugsy was actively swimming around in his QT yesterday afternoon.

2. Bad news - When I checked on him hours later, he was floating on his side at the bottom of the QT. I immediately moved him to the main tank since it was now clean and the nitrates had been lowered through several water changes. It wasn't until he was in the main tank that I noticed his right eye had ruptured.

3. Good news - ~24hrs has passed since his eye ruptured and he is swimming a bit more and seems to be recovering.

Main tank numbers:
pH 7.8
ammonia 0.25
nitrites 0
nitrates 20

I have a KH/GH liquid test kit arriving in the mail tomorrow, but I did buy KH/GH test strips and got the following:

KH 80
GH 120

...but those test strips are awfully hard to read, so take those with a grain of salt.

Finally, is there anything I can do for the ruptured eye besides wait for it to heal? Should I consider adding aquarium salt?

Thanks,
Kent

 

[jlk]

Has he recovered at all since moving him to the other tank? Was there anything in the qt that could have possibly injured his eye or was it already swollen? This is a bit concerning. Is he eating at all? How are the white areas?

Honestly, the eye will heal all by it self as long as the water is kept pristine. However, if it ruptured as the result of an internal infection rather than injury, its another story.

As you have some plants, let's keep the salt on the lower side (for simply remove them to another tank foir now). Dose @1tsp/g but dissolve it into solution before adding it gradually over the course of a day (no need to stress him further). If he reacts oddly, slow down on the salt solution and add more slowly. Let's see how he does over the next 12-24hrs. Keep us posted!



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[kentd]

The eye was very swollen before moving him to the QT, and the QT was bare.

He seems to be swimming okay, but his breathing is still somewhat labored and he is content to float in a corner at the bottom of the main tank for the most part.

Here is a pic of his eye and the white spots on his sides.

I am working to keep the water as pristine as possible moving forward. To that end, I bought some Purigen that I thought would help remove any extra organic wastes from the tank.

Is it ok to add the Purigen at this time?

 

[jlk]

Poor guy! Purigen is fine to add. If possible, I would really like him to have a course of medicated food. Problem is, the Goldfish Connection went out business and they carried the best med goldfish foods. It may be worthwhile to check eBay for MediGold- someone may still have it for sale. Alternately, I believe Seachem (and few other brands) still carry kanamycin but you would need to purchase it online. Purigen will need to be removed when treating with a med.

In the meantime, continue with the salt and water changes. You can even consider increasing it to 2level tsp/g (gradually, dissolve first) but your plants will not be very happy!

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