itchy fantails

[bbick]

hey all. apologies in advance for a question that has probably already been posted here (uh-23,000 posts to peruse for a POSSIBLE answer?!?), my fantails (the two remaining) have been through a recent trauma of ich (i think) induced by a non quarantined [i swear-can't believe the fish i got there was sick-my favorite pet shop!!!] and are somehow still alive. the third fantail died, as well as the healthy plecostomus i had and the [sick] one i just got that infected my beautiful, thriving, healthy, freshwater, live planted goldfish tank. i am devastated, i used to be all freshwater tropical, but have grown quite attached to my coldwater guys. please advise if you know the best course for two med-large fantails that no longer show the spots of ich but are ITCHY! their poor tails are ragged and pale, and they keep shoving their rear ends into the flow of filtered h2o (i set the water level low for maximum oxygen and circulation). they are definitely not up to par and i am loathe to continue ich meds (although the organic one i just got DIDN'T kill all my fish) as they generally kill everything. HELP PLEASE! i already am doing water changes with novaqua, but its not enough. when i had tropicals, salt was a good option. does anyone think salt is ok for goldies? i have it but am apprehensive about putting it in there.

thanks
bbick

 

[dkpate]

What are your water parameters?

 

[jsoong]

Salt is the first thing I would use for goldies! If anything, goldies are more tolerant of salt than tropicals.

Clean water, of course is the first line of treatment. So testing water parameters is a start. Also, removing as much organic debris as possible from the tank (ie good gravel vac & clean) is helpful. Doing some extra water changes even if parameters are fine will never hurt.

Generally, ich can be lurking even if all spots are gone. You need to treat for 2 weeks after the last spot disappear. Reason is that the ich spot falls off into the gravel & hatch into tomites that can reinfect your fish, and when the tomites first attach, they are not visible. If the fish are acting itchy, I would presume that the ich had not been completely cleared.

Also, in a cold water tank, ich can last longer. <In ponds, ich can over winter.> Once you have effective treatment going, you may consider bumping up the tank temp (high 70's) to speed up the ich life cycle for faster eradication. <Bumping the temp all the way to 88F will kill ich outright, but that is rough on goldfish .....>

The ragged fins is prob from damage & open sores from the ich falling off. That is prone to bacterial infection. Reducing organic debris will help decrease the risk. Unless the fins look infected, clean water 7 maybe a bit of salt is all that is needed.

I generally treat ich with salt. however, salt will kill your plants at levels needed, so you might need to do the treatment in a hospital setup. For bad infestation, I usually do a salt bath at 0.5-0.9% for 15 min. <higher conc. for fish that had already been exposed to salt.>, then transfer the fish to water at 0.1% salt. I would raise the salt in the tank to 0.3% over 3 days, and maintain that for min 2 weeks AFTER the last spot is gone. then gradually take the salt level back to zero with regular water changes.

This is more details on salting goldfish:
Treating Ich with Salt | Illness and Treatment

 

[bbick]

Thanks! I don't currently have water testing kits, so I don't know the parameters. I will try the salt, and put my plants in another tank for a couple of weeks.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

Thanks! I don't currently have water testing kits, so I don't know the parameters. I will try the salt, and put my plants in another tank for a couple of weeks.

Water testing kits are absolutely essential for fish keeping IME. You might as well be trying to drive wearing a blindfold.

I have the API freshwater master test kit and a SeaChem ammonia detector that hangs inside the tank.

 

[freakinfishgeek]

I had a major disaster with my fantail when she was very new. She didn't have ich but she had ammonia poisening and then caught velvet! The salt was amazingly helpful. I would get a test kit like yesterday there is no way to know if something else is causing your fish stress. When my fantail was sick she acctually got sucked up the filter and it really torn up her fins stress coat and slime coat helped allot with the re growth of her finnage. Good luck I hope they all pull through!

 

[7Enigma]

You really shouldn't move plants to an uninfected tank, as you risk infecting that tank with Ich. Also do NOT use the same equipment for water changes as you can cross-contaminate. Salt is a good option. I'd trash the plants for ease of care, but if you really want to keep them I'd bleach or hydrogen peroxide dip the plants then put them in a clean bucket of fresh water. You'll probably lose some of them in the coming weeks before you can add them back, but it's better than having them rot in the tank or infect another tank.

Gravel vac water changes are CRITICAL in making sure the Ich is eradicated. Since you don't have the luxury of using high temps that will outright kill the Ich like those of us with tropical tanks, you need to make sure you get as much of the cysts out of the water as possible or you'll get stuck in a never-ending cycle of thinking you've cured the tank only to have it crop back up.

If it was my tank and I had the ability I would do 25-50% water changes daily, always focusing on the substrate to remove any cysts lying in wait.

Since you already see damage on some of the fish you are at risk of complications from bacterial/fungal infections. I would be using natural antibiotic/antifungals such as Pimafix and Melafix at the recommended dosages during the treatment time. Last thing you want is to kick the Ich and then have one of your fish come down with something bad and spread it to the rest of the fish.

Goodluck, and realize almost all of us have gone through Ich at one point or another.