unknow sickness need help

[pixieprincess]

a few weeks after i had gotten my fish they came down with ich, i treated it and saw much improvement, about a week later a few of my fish developed black spots on them, then they started to turn completely black i have added all types of medicine, melafix, parasite clear, fungus clear, methylene blue, and it still hasn't went away, i have went to pet stores and no one seems to know what it is. can anyone help me?

 

[lmw80]

Hi pixie....when you say they started to turn completely black, do you mean the spots, or the whole fish is turning black? What size tank? What are the water perameters, what kind of fish and what behavior are they displaying/not displaying? Also, do you have a camera you can take a picture for us?

 

[Menagerie]

What type of fish are they?

 

[pixieprincess]

The whole fish turned black, it is just 2 of the gold fish none of the other fish have it, one of the fish died and the other one is just getting worst laying at the bottom of the tank and just floating he isn't eating, and gills are moving rapidly, a white furry type stuff is starting to form and peel off and the fish is losing a lot of weight it looks so horrible, ph is 7.0, i have 30 gallon tank, no i don't have a camera to take any pictures

 

[Allivymar]

Hiya pixie and welcomen to Aquariumadvice.

Ahh goldfish. Ok. First things we need you to do is to do a big water change - 30-50%. Make sure its matched for temperature and is treated with dechlor. My guess is your guys are suffering from ammonia burns. The black color, the slikme coat sloughing off are all signs. You need to test for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates; that will tell us for sure, but clean fresh treated water is ALWAYS a good thing. I'll bet the ich meds killed off your nitrifying bacterial colonies. You can read a little more about ammonia poisoning here: http://groups.msn.com/FishHealth/ammonia.msnw

Understand the water change may not be enough to save your poor guys. Ammonia burns are nasty, and if there is too much damage to the gills it may be too late. If the fish don't start looking better at least a little bit by tomorrow (and you'll probably need to do daily water changes till the good bacterial colony regenerates), you may want to consider euthanization.

 

[patryuji]

You should also put fresh carbon in your filter if the Ich is completely gone and you have completed the cycle for the meds as this should help to neutralize any concentration of medications in the water (even after the big water change there will still be some medication in the water that might delay the bacteria growth).

 

[pixieprincess]

When i woke up this morning the fish that was black was dead. I have been observing the fish the swordtails are scratching against the bottom and the other fish are swimming around rapidly, there are no white spots on any of the fish and they all look normal does anyone know what this could be? should i treat them for parasites? Or should i change the water and put in a carbon filter?? i have no clue what to do i plan on going today and buying some test kits...this has turned out to be more work that i thought it would be please help

 

[patryuji]

Do a water change, go buy some test kits; ammonia and nitrite at the least...gH, kH, Nitrate are good to have as well. Make sure the ammonia test has more than one bottle with it (if any of the bottles say "Nessler Reagent" skip it).

The hard work is just in the first 4-6 weeks. After that it gets much easier.

What type of filter do you currently use? If it is a powerfilter with a carbon cartridge, once the medication period is over (usually 5 days for anti-biotics) then you put in a fresh carbon cartridge to remove the medications from the water.

 

[pixieprincess]

i am currently using a hob powerfilter with a carbon cartridge, i don't have a carbon cartridge in now because i am letting the medicine circulate but i plan on putting one in tomorrow i am going to do a water change later on today i just need to know if i need to add any more medication?

 

[patryuji]

They turn black and die...as previously suggested it is most likely ammonia poisoning. Ammonia builds up as waste is produced by the fish. The massive combination of meds will probably have killed off any beneficial bacteria that were utilizing ammonia in your tank.

You need to find out immediately if it is ammonia. If it is you need to do a water change regardless of what the medications say about not doing the water change. Then monitor the ammonia levels every day. Once you finish the medication (as described in the medication directions) is when you want to pput the carbon back in.

Removing the filter also will probably have reduced the amount of beneficial bacteria. Have you kept the filter wet in de-chlorinated water? If so some of the bacteria might still be alive. If not then you will be essentially starting your tank over from scratch again.

 

[pixieprincess]

since my fish are scrathing against the bottom and swimming rapidly around the tank should i add more parasite clear or should i jsut do the water change and hope for the best

 

[Menagerie]

Read the article on Ich that Allivymar wrote (you can find it under Articles at the top of the page). IMHO, I don't think you should add any additional meds, try to treat your fish with heat and salt, unless there’s an emergency, or the condition does not respond to treatment.
Trust me when I tell you that the hobby gets easier as time goes on. Good luck and ask questions as needed!

 

[pixieprincess]

i did the water change and added the carbon filter and did a ammonia test and it was at 0 so i don't guess it could be that any suggestions to the scratching at the bottom of the tank??? also i was looking this after noon and there is a black spot on the gill of one of the gold fish

 

[Menagerie]

scratching at the bottom of the tank

I've heard about that on AA before, but I cannot think what it was.

Check out this link: http://www.aquatronicsonline.com/hobbyist/hobbyist3.htm
There is mention of "Black Areas on Fins and Scales of Fish"--it gives reasons for it, fish commonly affected (goldfish) and meds to treat it with.
Do you have a QT tank?

 

[pixieprincess]

no i don't have a qt i actually did have one but then i got a turtle and he doesn't like the fish so he is now currently in the tank. My plecostomus keeps sucking his way out of the water and staying there i am starting to get worried about him is this normal?

 

[Allivymar]

No its not. Are you sure there is no ammonia or nitrites? Thats usually the cause of a lot of the symptoms that your fish are showing. My other guess would be some sort of parasite infestation, possibly ich, which is causing the scratching and might even be in the plecs gills causing breathing probs. Is he breathing heavy as well as sucking his way out?

 

[pixieprincess]

yea i am sure i have done 2 test there is no ammonia or anything i think maybe the salt helped them... i am going to change the water and clean the tank today....all the fish seem to be acting fine i think they are getting tired of the cloudy water...thanks for all your help i hope all this is over