Ich in a goldfish + cory tank

[jonnythan]

I have a 29 gallon tank with a pair of young fantail goldfish and some older corys.

Just noticed a few white spots on one of the goldfish. Looks like ich. It seems the recommended treatments are different for tropical fish and goldfish so I'm wondering what the best course of action is in this case.

Water temp is normally kept around 72. I'm thinking the best idea is a medication treatment (have to buy at Petsmart - any specific recommendations?) and raising the temp slightly, maybe to 80F over the course of a few days.

Does this sound right? Will the medication have any effect on the filter bacteria? How long should I medicate?

 

[jlk]

Hi! You can raise the temp slightly over the next few days & leave it there but the best treatment is going to be aquarium salt for the next 2+ weeks. Its always best to go with a natural treatment that wont harm your bb first before considering any meds. Read the sticky on ich in top of this section. How are your tanks water parameters (amm/nitrite/nitrate)? Is the fish in question new or have you introduced any new fish recently? You need to figure out where the ich originated from-if nothing is new, then it may not be ich.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

I agree that we should know the above.

 

[jonnythan]

Hi! You can raise the temp slightly over the next few days & leave it there but the best treatment is going to be aquarium salt for the next 2+ weeks. Its always best to go with a natural treatment that wont harm your bb first before considering any meds. Read the sticky on ich in top of this section. How are your tanks water parameters (amm/nitrite/nitrate)? Is the fish in question new or have you introduced any new fish recently? You need to figure out where the ich originated from-if nothing is new, then it may not be ich.

Both of the goldfish are new to the tank (4 days for one, a week for the other).

I'm wary about adding salt, as it seems a sufficient quantity of salt might be detrimental to the corys.

I can't imagine it's anything other than ich. I don't see any parasites on any of the other fish, but there were this morning about 5 tiny white spots that look like tiny grains of salt or sand on the one fish (a black moor) - 2 on one side of the body, one on the other, one on the caudal fin, and one on top of an eye.

The tank is well-established. Last night it measured out at ph ~7, ammonia <0.25, nitrite 0, nitrate ~40.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Hi there,

IMO your cories should be fine. I know it's risky, but when I treated with salt for ick the cories were fine. So were the plants.

It does sound like ick. I would raise the temperature around 76 F.

Your water parameters are not off, I would suspect that the ick was unseen from the place you bought it from.

 

[jonnythan]

Yes, no doubt the ich came with one of the new fish. The ryukin came from Petsmart and the black moor came from an independent shop I regard rather highly. Who knows which fish the ich came with.

I'll get some aquarium salt and a hydrometer on my way home this evening.

 

[Lydia]

I had ich in my tank a few months ago. I tried QuICK Cure and it didn't help at all. I removed the carbon from filters like you're supposed to and my fish just kept eating worse. I eventually bailed on the med method and used the salt and heat method. I ended up clearing the tank of all the ich. I was hesitant to try salt cause of my 7" mystis cat and salt can cause burns and skin damage but defiantly dissolve the salt before adding to tank. My cat was fine. I vote natural. As long as you ease into it and do it right IMO all should be fine.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

I suspect Petsmart. Not always are their conditions the best.

When I dosed with ick, I was told one teaspoon to my tank. It was forty gallons, so I assume yours would be half teaspoon? IDK.

 

[jlk]

I have no experience with cories, just goldfish. You really should do a pwc (50%) to get your amm & nitrates lower. Moors are very sensitive to nitrate levels. I have to assume you didnt QT the new fish. It is possible to move the cories to another tank while you treat this one?

 

[jonnythan]

No other tanks to move the corys to, and I don't have the space or cash to get and set up a new tank to house them in for a while, especially given the possibility of bringing some of the parasites over with the fish or some bio media. Ammonia is about as low as it can get and I have some nitrates in my tap water so it's virtually impossible to get it below 20 except with a massive water change, after which it creeps above 20 again within just a couple of days. ~40 mg/L is about as well as I can reasonably do long-term with nitrates, and it seems to generally be OK.

 

[jlk]

Ok! Keep an eye on things anyway because the new fish just gave your bb/bioload a big hit. My tap has @20ppm nitrates on any given day (and i have moors as well) but i do 50-70%pwcs 2-3x wk to keep the nitrate levels down. Moors eyes can burned by the nitrates & high nitrates can (long term) cause cataracts. It looks like aq salt is going to be your best route here based on everyones experience with cories. You should start thinking about a new tank in the future though to house the cories seperately from the goldies (the goldies should be by themselves in the 29gal). Good luck!

 

[jonnythan]

Ok! Keep an eye on things anyway because the new fish just gave your bb/bioload a big hit. My tap has @20ppm nitrates on any given day (and i have moors as well) but i do 50-70%pwcs 2-3x wk to keep the nitrate levels down. Moors eyes can burned by the nitrates & high nitrates can (long term) cause cataracts. It looks like aq salt is going to be your best route here based on everyones experience with cories. You should start thinking about a new tank in the future though to house the cories seperately from the goldies (the goldies should be by themselves in the 29gal). Good luck!

Well, no, the new fish didn't give my bioload a big hit. My bioload actually went significantly down, as I had two fairly large cichlids last week. One died and I gave the other away I'm also perfectly happy with the two goldfish and three small corys in the tank - it is absolutely not crowded in any way whatsoever. I am definitely not doing 50-70% pwcs 3 times a week to keep nitrates arbitrarily low when I keep them <40 already!

Thanks for the tips though.

 

[jlk]

I didnt know you lost some fish. Im sorry about your losses