Goldfish SOS - Ick advice needed

[Arok2092]

Hello AA, I'm in desperate need of help here and don't know what to do.

About three days ago I realized my goldfish had Ick. I used Jungle Brand Ick medication for two days and did a 25% water change both days. I had removed the carbon filter as well.

This morning I discovered one of my goldfish and one of my bamboo shrimp were dead, and my while my goldfish were acting normal the first two days of treatment their condition had severely deteriorated today. They didn't acknowledge my presence at all and didn't seem the least bit interested in food. They are just floating around the tank now and not moving much. I also have observed that it appears the tips of their fins are starting to fray.

When I saw the dead animals I panicked and put the filter cartridges back in and did a 50% water change to hopefully remove any built up ammonia. I have not put in any more medication since then.

I don't know if if goldfish are sensitive to the medication and I accidentally OD'd them on the jungle cure (I put in 5 tablets every dosage as the directions told me to (1 tablet per 10 gallons) I also want to point out I dissolved the tablets in water prior to putting it in the tank) or if something else is causing this.

This happened about 5 hours ago, (12pm United States Central time 6/1/2013).

I'm completely at a loss here and have no idea what to do now. Please help! Any advice would be appreciated.

Tank: 55 Gallon

Occupants:
3 Bamboo Shrimp (1 now deceased)
5 Goldfish (1 now deceased, one's situation seems far worse then the others)
1 Amazon Sword Plant
lot of Anacharis
1 Dwarf Hairgrass

Prior to this outbreak I did a 25% water change weekly.

Tank stats:
(6/1/13)
pH: 7.4-7.6
Ammonia: .25ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5.6
Hardness: 75
Alkalinity: 720

 

[jlk]

The best thing you can do right now is another big wc, preferably two. Then run new carbon for few hours before replacing your old media. This should remove most of the meds. I believe the jungle ich meds are either formalin or a mix of formalin/malachite green. Unfortunately, there is no antidote to remedy poisoning by these. Lots and lots of healthy water and hope for the best are the only things I can suggest here.

Shrimp are highly sensitive to meds. Goldfish are a bit more tolerant but can have severe reactions to some, namely ich meds. Salt (.3%) is the preferred method for treating ich in goldfish. I wish I could offer more here to help. Please ask if you have questions!

 

[Arok2092]

Thank you for the speedy reply!

Update: About two hours ago my power went out but its back on thankfully. I just completed another 50% water change and the goldfish already seem a little more active! I fed them too, one of my goldfish still seems a little worse then the others but he'll hopefully pull through and the two surviving bamboo shrimp are still alive.

I'm a little confused about what you meant about the filter cartridges? And any ideas when and if I should do another water change?

How long should I wait for the Goldfish's condition to improve before I start treating the ick again?

Also, please give me the directions for treating ick with (aquarium?) salt.
I need to know the dosage per gallons (1 or 5 gallons preferably).
How often does the salt need to be added. Should I do any water changes while the treatment is ongoing? Do you know if Bamboo Shrimp and my plants can handle the treatments?

and I'd also like to say




I don't know if they will survive, but I am no longer in the dark and these ideas seem to be working, so really thank you. I'll try to keep this topic updated in case anyone ever accidentally OD's their fish like I did.

 

[jlk]

Do another big water change when you are able to do so. I would probably do one daily until you are sure everyone is back to acting normally. These meds do take quite awhile to clear the body/tissues so it will be important to keep the water as healthy as possible.

In respect to the filter media, you can remove the present cycled media to bucket of tank water and place new carbon/new carbon filter in your filter housing. Let this run for a couple of hours. The new carbon will remove any remaining meds. After a few hours, pull it out and throw it away and replace your old media back in the filter.

Ok, for using salt. Some plants can handle it such as anubias but most will melt at this level. I would recommend removing the plants and shrimp until your done with treatment. A kitchen scale is the most accurate way to dose salt. You want to dose 11.4grams per gallon so for a 55g that would be 627grams. Use aq salt or kosher/canning salt (pure NaCl with no additives). If you don't have a small kitchen scale ($4 at walmart), the dose is approximately 2.5-3 level tsps per gallon depending on grain size (fine grain use 2.5, large grain use 3).

Next, get a container you can close. Add the salt dose and fill with tank/conditioned water. Shake until completely dissolved. Gradually add the salt solution over a 48hr period of time. Half should be in the tank at the 24hr mark, next half over the next 24hrs. Monitor your parameters closely during treatment as this level of salt tends to affect your good bacteria and you may see spikes in toxin levels. Once the salt is all in, its recommended to do water changes with good gravel vacs every other to every 3rd day or more frequently if you see spikes in toxins.

For water changes, you want to only add back the salt you remove. So, for a 50%wc, add back half of the original dose (or 313.5 grams) predissolved in tank/conditioned water with the new water. Add this back at once with the new water to maintain the salinity level. Maintain the salinity for one week after he last spot is gone then just don't add back salt with future wcs and the salinity will gradually return to normal. Treatment on average takes about 2 weeks and is actually a lot easier than it sounds- its simply gradually increasing the salinity, maintaining it then gradually reducing it with future wcs. Please ask if you have any questions!!

 

[Arok2092]

Thank you for the directions!

Update: Everyone is still alive this morning thankfully, and I fed them medicated metro-med food. I'll do another 50% water change asap and do what you said about the filter cartridges.

I'm gonna trying waiting a few more days before starting the salt treatment so the fish can recover from the medication. One of my fish clearly has ick spots on him, but for now no one else does.


Thanks again!

 

[Arok2092]

Update: The goldfish and shrimp are all still alive, but my weakest goldfish, a shubunkin named Shubunking, has blood vessels appearing on his fins and his color seems to have faded a little.

His fins are the most frayed out all the goldfish and he is still the weakest. does anyone know if this is because of the overdosage of the medications? The ick? Or does Shubunking have another disease?

I also want to point out the fins were fraying the from 6/1/13 - 6/2/13 and don't appear to have frayed anymore this morning.

If there is anything I can do to help him? if anyone knows please respond. And thanks in advance.

 

[jlk]

Did the fraying start before you added the meds or after? The blood vessels/faded color is a reaction to the med as it affects fish at a cellular level as well as externally. I would do another wc right now, too.

 

[Arok2092]

The fraying definitely started two days after I started the meds. Okay I'll do another 50% water change right now.

Anything else I can do to help him?

 

[jlk]

Ok, the fraying is the result of the meds then as well. Make sure you read the ingredients before considering any med in the future. Lets see if she improves on her own with salt and wcs. You can also do separate daily baths of methylene blue for her to limit infection which will prevent her from healing. If she does not improve, she may need further help but I am hesitant to add further meds at this point until she has had a chance to clear the stuff that's presently in her body. keep us posted!

 

[Arok2092]

Update: It has been two days since I posted and I am happy to say Shubunking is looking much better! His fins have barely any red left in them and everyone seems to be doing great.

No signs of any ick spots either, but I'm not getting my hopes up. If I notice any ick spots on the goldfish by Friday then I'll begin salt treatments (and move my plants and shrimp into a hospital tank until the water is good again).


Thank you so much for all the wonderful info jlk , you saved the lives of four goldfish and two bamboo shrimp. I'm unfamiliar with this website so if there is anything I can do to help you just ask!

Sincerely,

Tara M.


P.S.
Assuming everything goes fine, this will be the last post I make in this topic.

P.S.S.
If I ever need to use fish medication ever again for any reason I think I will only ever do half of the recommended dosage, because how can anyone truly know whether or not their fish will be sensitive to the stuff?

 

[jlk]

Glad to hear everyone is steadily improving!!