Emergency! Very sick fish!!

[sciencegirl]

The aquarium at our school contains a very sick goldfish. I know that it is overcrowded, and have been looking for extra aquariums to separate the fish...however...

The biggest goldfish in there has a fuzzy white glob surrounded by a red border at the base of the back of his dorsal fin. I've been treating with melafix for 3 days, and it has gotten worse. I'm going to just bring it home this weekend in a hospital tank, and was wondering what is this infection and what should I use?

I'm going to the pet store after school today to pick up the strongest meds for him.
Help!!!!!

 

[TankGirl]

Get something to treat fungus - that's what it sounds like to me.

Kudos to you for taking this fish home to treat it

 

[QTOFFER]

It sounds like columnaris. I had a very sick blue acara that was completely covered by the stuff. Fortunately, he recovered completely after treatment with Jungle Fungus Clear fizzing tablets. A word or warning, tho - this med permanently stains tank silicon and decor blue - but it has worked wonders for me. Good luck!

 

[Frisckey1]

Lumps/bumps

www.fishpalace.org/danscomments.htm

"Wounds that are white on the edges and red in the center are most typically Aeromonas. Those that are red on the edges and white in the center are generally Columnaris. Both are gram negative bacteria. The best treatment for this is any sulfa antibiotic with trimetheprim. This can be put in the water and/or mixed with food -- if you can find Romet B use it. "

I would definitely agree that its most likely a columnaris infection. The tank must be medicated with something that specifically says it treats columnaris. I know Mardel labs makes a Maracyn product for this.

 

[sciencegirl]

I think I should still take him home so I can observe him over the weekend. Is it going to be hard on him to be in a smaller tank that what he's in now? At least he won't be bullied by the other guys. What do you think?

Also, should I treat the rest of the aquarium as well?

 

[Sonia]

If it's just a fungus or bacteria (probably), it's not contagious and you don't need to treat the whole tank. Bacteria are always around, they just happen to infect fish who are hurt/stressed/weak. I treated a cottony growth on my fish with Pima-fix; it worked really well and didn't stain anything. Good luck!

 

[Frisckey1]

If it's just a fungus or bacteria (probably), it's not contagious and you don't need to treat the whole tank. Bacteria are always around, they just happen to infect fish who are hurt/stressed/weak. I treated a cottony growth on my fish with Pima-fix; it worked really well and didn't stain anything. Good luck!

I agree and disagree. Treating the fish is an option, so yes - you can take him home and treat him. The ride may be stressful, but you may have better luck controlling the environment at home. Be sure that your PH levels are identical, and if they aren't - don't forget to acclimate the fish to your water at home as if he was new from the store.

That doesn't solve the problem in the tank he's in though. That tank should probably be medicated too - to prevent its (bacteria's) multiplication and invasion of the fish when you return it to the tank/bowl. Or, a 100% water change will achieve the same thing. When you say the school tank is overcrowded - do you mean the tank is too small for the GF or that there are other fish in there with him? If there are other fish, you can still do the 100% water change thing (assuming its not a huge tank) - but you'll do best to re-acclimate those fish to the newly changed water as well. (its cheaper than medicating and just about as effective).

 

[sciencegirl]

So
I've set up a small hospital tank with nothing but a bubbler in it. I guess I'll just have to change the water every one or 2 days? Shall I continue to feed him regularly? I ended up buying maracyn-2; I hope this is ok. It's for septicemia, and since this am, he's developed red spots on his fins

Oddly, he's pretty active. Poor big guy, I hope he makes it.

 

[Frisckey1]

You're such a kind person to try and save this fish! I wish you the absolute best of luck.

You don't have to do 100% changes every day or two, unless its less than 5 gallons. 50% daily would probably keep the ammonia to a minimum. Only feed every other day, just a pinch - to keep his natural ammonia production down, as well as waste production, too. To best judge how much water to change, keep an ammonia test kit handy...don't let it rise above 1.0, max. If you're working with a 1 gallon bowl or small tank, you may need to change all the water each day...but for now, play it by ear (or eye) Don't wait for the ammonia to build to do the water changes...a minimum of 50% daily should keep levels manageable (hopefully).

You can use Maracyn and Maracyn two in conjunction with each other. Septicemia is often caused by Aeromonas...which goes hand in hand with high ammonia levels. Keeping the water clean is 1st priority. Add meds each day after the water change unless the meds specifically say DO NOT change any water (cumulative effect).

Again..best of luck. I'm Xing my fingers for this guy!

 

[sciencegirl]

Update:
It looks like his treatment is helping! Now I have to figure out what to do with him when he's better. I don't really want to return him to the school tank...here are the specs (please don't freak out, I know it's a bad situation):
-25-30 gal (not sure, it's an old tank)
-8 goldfish varying from 2 inches to 4 inches for a total of about 23-25 inch of goldfish
-water quality (ammonia, nitrate) is good - the students have been monitoring it daily since October

So...is another tank needed? (I think I know the answer...if yes, where can I buy a cheap aquarium)?

 

[TankGirl]

Look in the newspaper, or some kind of local "Bargain Trader" type paper - they usually have them at convenience stores where people place ads for cars, appliances, antiques, etc., and I usually see aquariums for sale there.

Good luck, and great job!