Not sure whats going on...

[lynnamarie]

So I have a 120 or 150 gallon tank (not sure the size cause it was given to me and I restored it.) It's 6ft long, 24 high and 18 wide. It was a old tank that was sitting in a old zoo. I've had it now over a year and it was doing great. Water temp 78, all water parameters normal. I had a couple clams that I had in my goldfish pond outside that I brought inside. The goldfish and guppys that were in that outdoor pond came in as well. The goldfish is in his own tank (hospital tank) he has no tail. Had a injury a couple years ago and I don't want him getting picked on by other fish. The female guppies I put in with the big tank. I had the clams in the tank with the injured goldfish but moved them to the large tank. Then my nitrate levels started spiking so I did water changes and got it back to normal. One of my Koi started having missing scales, a couple of the guppies died. Now I did have a few mollies die off before putting the clams in so I don't think it was them that caused it. Now my one goldfish is hitting itself against the rocks and I am wondering if it's parasites. My question is, I want to start using aquarium salt in the water but I am not sure how much to add. I do have rooted houseplants in the tank as well as netrite snails and the clams. Normally when doing water changes I add in a little salt to the smaller aquariums but I haven't done it with the big tank. I am not sure how much to add so not to kill off my fish.

 

[Aiken Drum]

I would be more worried about killing the plants and clams if you added salt than the fish. Im no clam expert, but i understand that freshwater clams are very salt intolerant. Brackish water plants like java fern will be ok with aquarium salt, but apart from that i would say they won't do too well. Nerite snails will be fine, you might even get some of their eggs to hatch in the brackish water.

Typically you dose salt at 1 rounded tablespoon per 5 gallons, if you see no improvement after a week, double the dosage. Remember to add in more salt in proportion to any water changes.

 

[Andy Sager]

Due to the fact that Guppies and Mollies have been farmed for so long, it could be totally coincidental that the fish died and them the goldfish started having issues. Hitting against things ( a.k.a. Flashing) is a common first symptom of a parasite on the skin but also for some internal issues. Salt may not be the correct way to go. This is a link to a disease book with one of the best diagnosing flow charts https://pdfcoffee.com/handbook-of-fish-diseases-smaller-sizepdf-pdf-free.html I suggest you download the book and go through the chart to get a better diagnosis. Be aware that since this is an older book, some of the medications it suggests are either no longer available or may be available under a different brand name. The key is making a proper diagnosis and then we can better suggest the proper medications available today to treat the issue(s).

Hope this helps.

 

[lynnamarie]

I guess I can pull the plants and the clams out and set up a ten gallon while treating the big tank. It would be easier to do that then take all the fish out of the big tank. Just odd it's only this tank, the other tanks are fine. No new fish, only new decorations. Of course they came from TEMU which means China so possible something came with it.

 

[Andy Sager]

I guess I can pull the plants and the clams out and set up a ten gallon while treating the big tank. It would be easier to do that then take all the fish out of the big tank. Just odd it's only this tank, the other tanks are fine. No new fish, only new decorations. Of course they came from TEMU which means China so possible something came with it.

Before you pull anything, do the flow chart. Goldfish seem to get different parasites and worms (i.e. anchor worm, lice, flukes) than tropical fish usually get that salt alone will not treat. The best time to treat these is early in the infestation.

 

[lynnamarie]

pulling goldfish

Thank you.. I've decided to keep everything in the big tank and pull out the two large goldfish. The Koi isn't showing any symptoms but he is always swimming with the Fancy. The Fancy has missing scales and white on the head. The only other one that had a white fleck on the tail was the Dalmatian Mollie. She's the last one I have left. It's not their now but I did a salt treatment on her last week. But she to would always swim with the goldfish. The Guppies avoid them like the plaque. Think they are afraid of them LOL. So I am setting up the 10 gallon as a hospital tank, put the two Goldfish in there and going to do the flow chart. Thank you for the advice.

 

[Andy Sager]

Keep us posted on what the results say.