Is my Goldie developing ick?

[mapexmac007]

My daughter notices this morning, a white small globular growth on the fin of one of our two fancy tails. (Pictures attached - sorry, best I could do with my phone). These fish had ick once, over two years ago. They are approx. 4.5 inches, nose to anus, approx. 2.5 years old.

29 gallon tank; weekly 55% WCs, zero ammonia, zero nitrites, and since I began feeding them leaf spinach, the nitrates have crept up from 0-5ppm to 40-50ppm. My live plants don't seem to be reducing the high nitrates. This elevated nitrate has been "normal" for about four months. Tank is one year into its cycle/stability. 80 degrees F. pH 7.8-7.9. One large and one small snail, lots of red fur algae on a lava rock formation, a few tiny specs of green algae here and there. I gravel vac weekly.

Diet varies: Blood worms (one cube) in the morning feeding; a small evening feeding rotating between New Era for Tropical, one large spinach leaf, green peas. They're fed twice a day, small meals, they eat all food within 3 minutes.

Fluval206 filter, maintained weekly. I've been rotating (gradually) new bio-mech, rotating the old bio-mech one-third at a time (each week). The old bio-mech has been in that filter for about 7 months. Time to go! I just replaced ALL of my ammo-carb a week ago, it was about 12 weeks old. The tank has three live plants; the newest one was added one week ago - and I'm wondering if it introduced a fungus into my tank...

So, what should I watch for? How might I treat this before it becomes a full-blown outbreak?

Thank you to anyone who can offer a bit of advice.


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29 gal, fresh water, fluval 206 with nitrate-scrubbing media + mech + charcoal,

 

[mapexmac007]

My daughter notices this morning, a white small globular growth on the fin of one of our two fancy tails. (Pictures attached - sorry, best I could do with my phone). These fish had ick once, over two years ago. They are approx. 4.5 inches, nose to anus, approx. 2.5 years old.

29 gallon tank; weekly 55% WCs, zero ammonia, zero nitrites, and since I began feeding them leaf spinach, the nitrates have crept up from 0-5ppm to 40-50ppm. My live plants don't seem to be reducing the high nitrates. This elevated nitrate has been "normal" for about four months. Tank is one year into its cycle/stability. 80 degrees F. pH 7.8-7.9. One large and one small snail, lots of red fur algae on a lava rock formation, a few tiny specs of green algae here and there. I gravel vac weekly.

Diet varies: Blood worms (one cube) in the morning feeding; a small evening feeding rotating between New Era for Tropical, one large spinach leaf, green peas. They're fed twice a day, small meals, they eat all food within 3 minutes.

Fluval206 filter, maintained weekly. I've been rotating (gradually) new bio-mech, rotating the old bio-mech one-third at a time (each week). The old bio-mech has been in that filter for about 7 months. Time to go! I just replaced ALL of my ammo-carb a week ago, it was about 12 weeks old. The tank has three live plants; the newest one was added one week ago - and I'm wondering if it introduced a fungus into my tank...

So, what should I watch for? How might I treat this before it becomes a full-blown outbreak?

Thank you to anyone who can offer a bit of advice.


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice
29 gal, fresh water, fluval 206 with nitrate-scrubbing media + mech + charcoal,

Forgot the pics, here they are:


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice
29 gal, fresh water, fluval 206 with nitrate-scrubbing media + mech + charcoal,

 

[MonkeyMonk86]

I see 2 white spots. ICK is more like large grains of salt all over. I think it's more possibly a fungus. I'm still learning, but this page might be of help:
http://www.fishnet.org/sick-fish-chart.htm

I'm hope someone more informed helps you. Best of luck!


(Friend of Bill W., One day at a time)

 

[jlk]

Hi! I see a slight white fuzzy growth on his pectoral fin. Definitely not ich but most likely he caught it on something/rubbed it resulting in a minor injury. The exposure to high nitrate levels over a period of time has likely caused a reduction in immunity allowing a minor issue to become a bigger problem.

Assuming your tap level for nitrates has not changed (worth checking!), the high nitrate levels indicate an issue that needs to be addressed. A temporary fix is simply to increase the size and frequency of your wcs in order to maintain a more reasonable nitrate level. A permanent fix is a big tank upgrade.

For the present health concern, I would work on daily wcs to reduce the nitrate levels and provide pristine conditions to prevent further problems and aid in healing. If you are comfortable handling your fish, you can topically apply a product such as BioBandage or methylene blue to treat the issue. This will be easier than adding meds that may affect your biological filtration. If you would prefer a tank treatment, Tetra's fungus med has the best ingredients of most common fungus meds out there. Please do not hesitate to ask questions!


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[mapexmac007]

MonkeyMonk86 ,
Thank you for that chart. I've studied it and will reference it often to see what changes on this injury. Greatly appreciated!

JLK,
You're so right about this 29gal tank being too small. At this time, regretfully, it's all I can afford. This may change 6 months down the line.

My only option/course of action (in managing the high nitrates) is frequent and massive WCs. (more on this in a moment) I'm really trying hard to NOT over-feed.

Feeding:
One 1/2" cube of frozen blood worms in the morning (using a feeding cone so one doesn't get a giant clump) and a small smidgeons of the New-Era Tropical in the evening. I alternate on some days they get a large spinach leaf or fresh green peas (shelled).

I had one LFS employee suggest I feed them once every other day. When I did that, the nitrates were under control. But starving these fish seems like a drastic measure and one that stresses them.

Back to WCs — here in the US Southwest, we're having serious water shortages. I feel guilty as is changing 16-17 gallons once per week (plus water used to clean my filter). Of course my waste water goes into the plants outdoors. So... I wonder if adding another Fluval 206 would help in doubling my GPM flow rate of filtration — or perhaps simply buying one much larger capacity filter...

My live plants don't seem to do well. A two-week old sward is already browning on certain leaves —*it certainly didn't look like that at the LFS...

Lastly, I don't mind handling my fish at all, but even though they recognize me (as their feeder) and get all excited when I enter the room, they are afraid of my hand. I fear trying to touch the orange goldie will stress her as I try to hold her to apply the BioBandage.

Forgive this next question, but given that I've never used BioBandage, do I hold her momentarily out of the water to apply this bandage — or is it something which gets applied while she's underwater?

Thanks again, I ALWAYS admire and value your expertise.

 

[jlk]

Not sure where to start! Ok, can you add another filter? Yes, of course, but it will not reduce the nitrate level. There's a variety of chemical media options that can be added to the new filter that may or may not help and will need to be replaced/recharged on a regular basis. Have you considered checking out your local classifieds/Craigslist/etc for a used tank or any of the dollar a gallon sales (my apologies if you are not in the US!!!)?

If your plants are not doing well, what type of lighting do you have? Dose any fertilizers? Some plants will undergo an 'adjustment' period when introduced to a new tank and leaves may melt and/or die. You may want to consider something like duckweed, eldoea or water lettuce as long as your lighting is half decent.

Swabbing with BioBandage or MB is very simple (and painless!). Set out your items first. Cotton qtips or cotton balls work fine. Gently pick the fish up by his tummy, blot dry the spot a bit, swab on the med and set him him free. It should not take any longer than 5-7 seconds max (quicker, the better). Offering a small treat immediately afterwards helps to associate the experience as a positive one. If the spots do not improve or become worse, please let us know as soon as possible! Please keep us posted!


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[mapexmac007]

JLK,
I never followed up, and I apologize for that! The white mark was indeed an injury which cleared-up, healed and vanished within about 5-6 days. Thanks - as always - for sharing your expertise!


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29 gal, fresh water, fluval 206 with nitrate-scrubbing media + mech + charcoal,

 

[mapexmac007]

Follow-up part 2

JLK,

Also, re: plants. I have pretty decent lighting. If measured by algae growth alone, I'd say my lighting couldn't get any better.

The tank is located in our kitchen, and there is a large sliding-glass door about six feet away. The tank never received direct sunlight, but there's PLENTY of daylight in the room. Also, across the room is an east-facing window — which provides a fair amount of natural room light.

Supplementing these two natural daylight sources, I have a "Current LED" light strip across the tank top, and my lights are on for about an average of 12 hours/day.

I believe the single factor in harming my plants is the algae which is growing on their leaves, and the high nitrate levels.

I used a plant fertilizer once; Seachem's "Flourish" — but saw a spike in Nitrate levels the following week, and an explosive growth in algae after using the Flourish; so I've avoided using it in that tank since.

I pulled the plants out of the 29 gal aquarium, and attempted to rehab them in small, two-litre containers, where they got Flourish and a few days of outdoor sunlight. Bonehead me — I had them in shade, forgot to move them a few hours later, and two of the three got fired by the blistering Vegas direct sun.

The root structure of the Anbius is still alive, but it has no leaves. The Anacris is dead, gone. The Sword is coming back brilliantly and soon will be re-introduced to the aquarium.