Losing a Fantail to Ick. Help with tank! D:

[PlecoDeMayo]

My "oranda" as it was labeled at the store, which I'm pretty sure is actually a fantail, has had Ick since wednesday. I used "QuICK Cure" from Wednesday to Friday. When I saw no signs of improvement I bought the Jungles Lab fizz tab things. I used those by themselves from Friday to Saterday. When I saw that my fish was getting WORSE and not better I used both the medicine at once to see if that could save him as a last resort. Even with both meds and accidental excess QuICK Cure into the tank due to a malfunction in the bottle nozzle, he's still gotten worse since then. I've decided that I'm going to euthanize him when I get back to my dorm at college. He is the only fish in the tank.

Any tips at to counter this SUPER STRAIN of ick before I introduce a new fish into the tank? Should I wash all the decorations and stuff in bleach or something? Or would removing most of the water and super drugging the water with QuICK Cure kill most of the ich so a new aquisition won't get sick?

I have a 3 gallon AquaView 360 tank. I haven't gotten a filter for it yet. But the water has been clear and clean smelling, except when it was turned blue from QuICK Cure of course. I've been doing water changes since I got it. I did a 30% change when I accidentally almost overdosed my fish on QuICK Cure so I could dilute that medicine. @__@

Any thing I can do to my tank before restocking it with a new resident?

EDIT:
Now that I read about other fish diseases I think he might have cotton mouth as well. He used to just have the common Ich spots and then the past 3 days he developed a fuzzier slimey looking white patches on his face and tail. Is that cotton mouth trying to kill him as well?

 

[meegosh]

I'd suggest reading one of our articles that deals with freshwater ich. It is a great read and details the various stages of the Ich parasite's life cycle.

I have treated several fish for ich, successfully, just by using the heat method. I turned the heat up slowly, about a degree or two a day until I hit the 86 F mark. I left the heat up for two weeks after I saw the last white spot on the fish. I have never used ANY chemicals in my tanks other than Prime.

Here's the link to the article:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/29/1/Freshwater-Ich-Yuck-/Page1.html

 

[glassbird]

If I may...3 gallons is an incredibly small amount of water for a goldfish. It will make it hard to keep your water quality up, which is going to make it hard to keep a fish healthy, never mind comfortable. If you do not have the option to go bigger, consider one betta instead of any goldfish. It is still quite small for a betta, but bettas do not tend to grow as big as a goldfish will. Also, a male betta should be housed alone, where goldfish prefer the company of another goldfish.

Regarding sterilizing your stuff...1 part bleach to 5 parts water, let it all sit for several hours. Then rinse and rinse and rinse. During the last rinse, add whatever chlorine remover you normally use when you do water changes, but several times more than you normally do. Then let it run for several days, with the chlorine remover in. Before you get your next fish, drain, rinse, set up again with a normal amount of chlorine remover.

Big tip...look into "fish-less cycling". Very educational, and much more humane than putting a fish in, and then struggling thru the cycle with a life in the balance...

 

[jsoong]

1st, welcome to AA!

I hate to say it, but 3 gal is too small for any goldfish, and the fish is getting sick from poor water conditions. Ick is primarily an opportunistic infection, attacking fish when conditions are poor (for the fish). It is imperative that the water condition be improved before attempting treatment, or it will simply not work. Note also that ick has a complicated life cycle & takes a week or more to eradicate. It is not wise to switch or combine meds like you are doing. <Also, Quick cure & Jungle tabs has the SAME ingredients ... using both you are overdosing & poisoning the fish.>

If you wish to try to save the fish, please post & I will give you some suggestions. However, it will involve getting a 10 gal or bigger container of water (rubbermaid tub will do) & lots of water changes.

For an unfiltered 3 gal, the only fish I will suggest is a single betta. Even then, the betta will be better off with a small sponge filter & a heater. You can sterilize the tank with bleach as mentioned above. Although for ick, completely drying it out for a few days will kill it as well.

To prevent further diseases in your new fish, you do need to take good care of the water. <This is much harder to do in a small tank.> You need to cycle the tank before adding fish. Read up on that in the articles section:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/24/1/Nitrogen-Cycle-/Page1.html
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...ks-for-your-fastest-fishless-cycle/Page1.html

You will also need to test your water for quality. Just because the water looks clean does not mean that it is not toxic.