Ich on Dropsy Recovering Goldfish

[Spookie]

Hi! I have a cold water 15 gallon tank that held two small fantail goldfish that I've had for over six months. The tank is cycled, and meters have been reading fine. Two weeks ago, my boyfriend's mom gave us 4 tiny comet goldfish fry to keep for her for a few months (They're about 3/4" long and were bred in a pond). The same day I also bought a dojo loach from a pet store. Immediately upon introduction of the new fish, my orange fantail started getting lethargic/laying on the bottom of the tank. His eyes started bulging out of his head and he started getting super swollen... really bad dropsy. A few days later ALL of his scales stood out, like an ultra pinecone. He would just lay there gasping for breath, and seemed like he was trying to swim around but just literally couldn't and didn't eat. I felt guilty and horrible, supposedly knowing he was going to die and just waiting and watching him suffer. We changed the water 25% every day & gravel vacuumed but since the other fantail wasn't sick, we didn't know what else to do but cross our fingers. Surprisingly, he has now made a full recovery! All of his scales are back to normal, he is active and eating... its like he was never sick at all, like some miracle (I am so happy!!) He does have small black marks on one side, but water tests indicated ammonia was at 0, so maybe its from him just resting at the bottom for a week? Anyway, now the dojo loach suddenly has ich. My formerly sick fantail went from fine to COVERED in ich in the span of a day, probably because he is still weak. We have raised the temperature but I'm guessing can't add salt because of the loach? How hot is too hot for goldfish to treat ich? I really don't want him to die after going through so much and recovering from tough odds! My other fantail and the comet fry are all active and fine, they have no ich spots from what I can see, and they will all be transferred to a 30 gallon tank in the next month. Thank you!

 

[jlk]

Hi and welcome!!!! You have some serious issues going on here. Do you have an API master test kit? We really need to know your tank parameters for ammonia, nitrite, & nitrate as you are heavily, heavily overstocked. 15gal is too small for even a single fancy. The minimum rule for fancies is 20gal for the first fish, 10gal for each fish after. The comet fry really should have stayed in the pond at 3/4inch- they are pond fish & realistically do not belong in aquarium setting. Introducing so many fish into an already overstocked tank has caused your ammonia & nitrite levels to sky-rocket. I honestly would return or rehome the loach immediately, move the fantails to the 30gal, and treat everybody with aq salt. The amount of heat needed to kill ich (88degrees) is not appropriate for goldfish & will cause undue stress in already stressed & sickened fish. Aq salt is your best option. In the meantime, you should be doing 50% water changes & grav vacs daily with temperature matched, conditioned water to lessen water toxin levels. If you have questions, please ask because we are here to help!

 

[Spookie]

Thanks! I do have the API test kit, I've been checking the levels often and the ammonia and nitrite levels have been consistently at 0. The nitrates are between 20-30 or so, even with vaccumming the gravel. The comet fry will eventually be returning to the pond, but since it is starting to freeze over their original owner decided it was best to bring them inside and doesn't have room to keep them for the winter months. They are just over half an inch long though, not 3 to 4 inches, sorry if that was confusing! I didn't know of the rule for fancy goldfish and tank gallons, I feel guilty! Luckily they won't be staying in there too much longer. The ammonia and nitrites have been stable every time I've tested though, I get paranoid if I see them rise. I'll continue to do water changes and I'll add some salt tonight to try and help the ich go away. Should I raise the temperature at all or leave it alone? Thanks!

 

[jlk]

Good job! I am glad you are testing daily & doing water changes! Water changes with grav vac daily will help suck up ich spores, too. I wouldnt raise the temp higher than 80- i dont know what it is now. If you do raise it, do so gradually (not more than a degree every few hrs) so your fish have a chance to adjust. I am not sure about the loach & salt (i only keep fancies). Aquarium salt, like the temp, needs to be added slowly & gradually to give the fish a chance to adjust. A standard dose would be a tablespoon per 5gals mixed into a cup of tank water & added slowly over the course of a 2 days. When you do water changes, you need to add back the salt you remove (ie- 50%pwc, add back half of the original dose). But, i dont know about the loach & salt. I would do a bit of searching on here for more info (ill see what i can find out too). Good luck & keep us posted!

 

[jlk]

Ok-I did some searching on loaches & salt and the advice is really mixed. Some opinions are a low dose (tsp to tbsp per 10g) is safe, others recommend no salt what so ever. I cant advise you on adding it because i dont have any experience with loaches. Hopefully, someone will chime in here to offer you more advice on the best approach.