Need advice on high nitrites and anchor worms

[dandries]

Okay this is a long post.

I have a 60 gallon tank that has been set up for over a year. It had 4 fancy goldfish and 2 large plecos. Little over loaded I know (everything grew faster and larger than anticipated) but I had two filters and I cleaned the tank every week and tested the water. Never had an issue, so I left it alone.

Last Saturday I did a small cleaning testing the water everything was fine. I have 2 filters on it. A 360 fluval canister and a small top filter that is on there simply to keep it cleaner-- can't think of the name but it is now fluval. The top filter got left off but the canister was still going.
When I stopped by to feed on Sunday, they are at the office, I found 2 goldfish dead, 2 dying, and plecos were stressed.
Water test showed nitrites were through the roof (dark purple on API test).

I have no idea what happened. The filter that got left off shouldn't have had any impact it was never designed for that aquarium. There was no power outage. I didn't overfeed.

I managed to save 1. (Actually 2 but the other was struggling to recover and 1 of the plecos decided it was food and it didn't survive the stress.)

So I have found a new home for the plecos and am about to bring home 4 new goldfish. Minor problem: they all have signs of anchor worm.

My LFS is treating them before I bring them home. I would like to put them with my other fish as soon as possible since he seems depressed all by himself.

It is a very good LFS and the fish came from outdoor ponds in Florida so anchor worms are not to shocking. Am I stupid for considering not quarantining them? They have been at the LFS for 2 weeks so I are not showing signs of any other illness. And they won't be coming home until they are healthy.

Thoughts please.

Darcy

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[Delapool]

Okay this is a long post.

I have a 60 gallon tank that has been set up for over a year. It had 4 fancy goldfish and 2 large plecos. Little over loaded I know (everything grew faster and larger than anticipated) but I had two filters and I cleaned the tank every week and tested the water. Never had an issue, so I left it alone.

Last Saturday I did a small cleaning testing the water everything was fine. I have 2 filters on it. A 360 fluval canister and a small top filter that is on there simply to keep it cleaner-- can't think of the name but it is now fluval. The top filter got left off but the canister was still going.
When I stopped by to feed on Sunday, they are at the office, I found 2 goldfish dead, 2 dying, and plecos were stressed.
Water test showed nitrites were through the roof (dark purple on API test).

I have no idea what happened. The filter that got left off shouldn't have had any impact it was never designed for that aquarium. There was no power outage. I didn't overfeed.

I managed to save 1. (Actually 2 but the other was struggling to recover and 1 of the plecos decided it was food and it didn't survive the stress.)

So I have found a new home for the plecos and am about to bring home 4 new goldfish. Minor problem: they all have signs of anchor worm.

My LFS is treating them before I bring them home. I would like to put them with my other fish as soon as possible since he seems depressed all by himself.

It is a very good LFS and the fish came from outdoor ponds in Florida so anchor worms are not to shocking. Am I stupid for considering not quarantining them? They have been at the LFS for 2 weeks so I are not showing signs of any other illness. And they won't be coming home until they are healthy.

Thoughts please.

Darcy

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Hi,

Welcome to AA

These are my 2 cents.

Imo I don't buy fish with problems. If the lfs can treat them and they are fine for two weeks after last sign of problems, then I would buy. Normally I would QT but sounds like you are starting again almost anyway.

Um, have nitrites come down? Otherwise you will be stocking a tank with existing water chemistry problems. Sorry, I'd just hang fire until everything is sorted out.

It's odd with the filter. I have managed to do it and wipe out the bacteria but that was something like 3 cleans in a really short space of time (blocked impeller). Have you checked ammonia?

Edit - a pinch of salt (NaCl) will protect the fish from nitrites.

 

[Angela1108]

Unless you got the nitrites under control there is no point in adding the new fish- especially if sick to the tank. Nitrites that high could shock and kill a healthy fish so adding a sick fish it has an even lower chance of survival. I say return the fish and if you can't use a qt to make sure they are healthy and make sure the real tank has good parameters again


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[dandries]

I never had trouble with ammonia or nitrites in the year my tank has been established. I added some new material to my canister filter as a future precaution.

I have decided to get the fish but I'm not bringing them home until another 2 weeks. That will give that store enough time to medicate and the fish to recover and ensure they are healthy.

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[DeirdreHoyle]

I would really suggest waiting until you get your nitrites down to 0. Your current leftover goldfish is already stressed and bringing in new fish greatly increases the risk of parasites/illness (especially if the new fish are just getting over something). Good water is essential for healthy fish!

 

[Delapool]

I was wondering if something could of happened to the filter 2 or 3 weeks earlier? So it might have been wipeout, ammonia spike, then nitrite spike ie the high nitrite reading is at the end of a mini cycle.

 

[dandries]

I was wondering if something could of happened to the filter 2 or 3 weeks earlier? So it might have been wipeout, ammonia spike, then nitrite spike ie the high nitrite reading is at the end of a mini cycle.

The only reason I say it is not that is I did a complete reading of the water on Saturday before this happened. Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites and everything was normal with my API master kit.

I did clean the filter two weeks earlier, but I only rinsed out the crud in part of it. (Which I do with regular water only to get it really clean and because I don't touch the entire Fluval 306 media at one time.

 

[Delapool]

The only reason I say it is not that is I did a complete reading of the water on Saturday before this happened. Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites and everything was normal with my API master kit.



I did clean the filter two weeks earlier, but I only rinsed out the crud in part of it. (Which I do with regular water only to get it really clean and because I don't touch the entire Fluval 306 media at one time.

Ah, got it. Oh well back to the drawing board

 

[dandries]

I thought I would give an update. Not at all the fish survive the anchor worm treatment at the store so I had to make some revision on my choices. However the three that I have added anchor worm free and everyone is very very happy.

I was worried about my remaining one being a bully because he's so much larger but one of the smaller ones is kind of the leader of the tank. I think the large one is just so happy to have friends again he doesn't mind.

I had a hard time getting a picture but they are wiggling all the time when I go to the tank.

Now I hope I don't jinx things by posting this...

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[em1981ma]

Your goldfish is massive.
How do I get my fish to grow that big ive had them since dec 2013 and they have grown a little but not as big as that. I have a Black Moor and an Oranda in a 45 gallon tank any tips on how to get them to grow. I saw a massive black moor in the aquatic design centre on great Portland street id love to get my dave as big as that. Do I need to upgrade tank get them a bigger space to grow in

 

[dandries]

So here's my routine. The fish (and the 3 that died were all this size) were purchased in May 2013 and were very small. They were the first fish I was adding and I didn't want to invest in much. They were all (plus 2 plecos which also got very large) in a 60 gallon tank with live plants.

I feed twice a day. Never flakes. Always pellets. Typically, I feed a good pellet in the morning (I like Spectrum Amazon.com : New Life Spectrum Small Goldfish Formula - 150 g : Pet Food : Pet Supplies )

In the afternoon, I feed frozen. Usually brine shrimp because they never liked blood worms. I also give them red leaf lettuce (mostly) and occasionally spinach about 6 times a week. I also offer cucumber or squash for the pleco, but I have seen the goldfish eat or peck at it. All is clipped to the side of the tank.

On Saturday and Sunday I feed 1x a day. Usually one day is just frozen and the other day is peas because before I switched to Spectrum I had swim bladder issues. Since I switched to Spectrum, no problems (knock on wood). I do a good water change on Saturday or Sunday. I have two filters on my tank because when I had larger fish the tank size was overstocked. But at least 40% water change each week kept things in check. The two filters are a Fulval canister 306 and an aquaclear 70. I have to clean the filters every couple of weeks because they get "full" of crud.

I kept my PH at 7 and always had slightly elevated nitrates. The temperature stays around 75 to 77 degrees. I turned off the heater for the summer but have one going on the winter.

My understanding that water quality and food have more to do with size than the tank. And as I had 4 goldfish (plus 2 common plecos that got to be at least 8 inches before I had to sell them) in a 60 gallon, I would say you are fine.

I am no expert but before my tragedy, they seemed very happy and healthy. Never had any health issues. New fish are also doing very well and seem happy (in fact the song "Happy" plays in my head because of the way they wiggle when I approach the tank). They are very friendly and will eat frozen food out of my hands.

Some of the best goldfish raising tips I have gotten are the following:

1. Flakes are bad. They are not as nutritious and cause the fish to eat at the top which is bad.

2. Red leaf lettuce is good because is very close to their natural diet. I have also heard people feed Romaine (which mine don't like) and other types of lettuce.

3. Do water changes by vacuuming the rock because goldfish are messy. But never disturb all the rock at 1 cleaning because it can disrupt to much bacteria.

4. Goldfish like to root up plants, but I have found that Anubius Nana/Barteri and Anacharis always survived in my tanks even with the Plecos. Plecos were very hard on plants so I am testing other ones. And I am horrible about adding plant supplement. But the place does have a bit of indirect natural light.

So that's about all I know. Some of it may not be the best advice, but it works for me.

 

[Angela1108]

My hornwort seems to be ok with our plecos. The mosses and others not so much


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[jlk]

Your goldfish is massive.
How do I get my fish to grow that big ive had them since dec 2013 and they have grown a little but not as big as that. I have a Black Moor and an Oranda in a 45 gallon tank any tips on how to get them to grow. I saw a massive black moor in the aquatic design centre on great Portland street id love to get my dave as big as that. Do I need to upgrade tank get them a bigger space to grow in

Actually, he is fairly small. Please check out the visual perspective thread stickied at the top of this section if you would like to see a large ryukin. The most important things for growth are large, frequent water changes (lots and lots of clean water) and an excellent diet fed frequently. These two things go hand in hand for optimum growth. If you have questions, please ask!

 

[dandries]

Actually, he is fairly small. Please check out the visual perspective thread stickied at the top of this section if you would like to see a large ryukin. The most important things for growth are large, frequent water changes (lots and lots of clean water) and an excellent diet fed frequently. These two things go hand in hand for optimum growth. If you have questions, please ask!

His body is at least 4" which is not bad since he is only a year old and they don't reach maturity until he is 4.

 

[jlk]

His body is at least 4" which is not bad since he is only a year old and they don't reach maturity until he is 4.

Goldfish will actually grow throughout their lives with proper care and adequate water. The majority of their growth occurs in a growth spurt between hatching and sexual maturity. Once reaching sexual maturity between approximately 1 and 3yrs (depending upon temperature, nutrition and environment), goldfish will continue to grow but at much slower rate.

 

[dandries]

Goldfish will actually grow throughout their lives with proper care and adequate water. The majority of their growth occurs in a growth spurt between hatching and sexual maturity. Once reaching sexual maturity between approximately 1 and 3yrs (depending upon temperature, nutrition and environment), goldfish will continue to grow but at much slower rate.

Well, I don't know if mine is sexually mature. We don't have that type of relationship.

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