Fancy Goldfish has ulcers

[carolinef]

Hi i need advice about mixing medicine really. My Fancy Goldfish has been diagnosed with Ulcers. Initially I treated the tank with a General Tonic and after a couple of days when it looked like things were getting worse I went to the local aquatic shop and was advised to put and anti internal bacteria treatment instead (Interpet). The guy told me that I should do a 25% water change first and that it wouldnt matter if I had already added the general tonic - so I did that today. Now I'm paranoid that mixing the medicines may have made things worse? Please advise !!! Thanks in advance.

 

[Zagz]

Welcome to AA, we need a bit more info to help. What size tank? How many fish? What are the water parameters? What do the "ulcers" look like? Do they have any cottony fuzz to them. How long has the tank been set up? What is your water change schedule and how much each time?

Mixing medications is never a good idea IMO.

 

[carolinef]

Hi well my tank is 25 gallon it has 2 large Fancy Goldfish and a nursery net with 7 small babies 4/5mths old. I dont know what water parameter? and I water change about 25% every two weeks. The tank has been set up about 8 months after upgrading from a small tank. I havn't had any problems until now. In fact my fish have been mating and laying eggs every week for several months which i thought was an indication the fish were happy. Ifirst noticed the ulcers a base of fin yesterday and immediately paniced and put a general tonic in. Today I paniced even more and then did a 25% water change and added Interpet anti internal bacteria treatment. Now wondering if I've just sealed their fate...

 

[carolinef]

Sorry forgot to add that they do have white cottony bits on the top fin and appearing at base of tail too plus sore red ulcer at base of side fin.

 

[jsoong]

This sounds like fin rot rather than a true ulcer. The most likely cause is poor water condition. you really must check the ammonia & nitrite & nitrate levels if you have 2 adults & 7 4-5 month olds in a 25 gal. <BTW - how big are the fish?> In the absence of test result, I'd do empiric water changes. Perhaps 25% daily until you get some test results. <May be your fish shop will run the tests for you, although you should have your own kits if you want to keep golds in a small setup.>

I am not sure what "general tonic" is. I suspect it is nothing but plain salt. However, in the absence of ingredient list, I would play it safe & not mix meds. I have only read about the Interpet stuff on Goldfish boards. Generally, any antibiotics you put in the water will be ineffective for gold fish bacterial ailment - with the exception of Kanamycin. <FAIK Interpet don't list their ingredients so I have no idea how well it will work.>

Your first order of business is to maintain pristine water condition. Fin rot will not clear in bad water no matter what anti-biotics you throw at it. Once you get your water parameters under control, you may add a bit of <aquarium> salt to help with external ulcers. <About 0.1% final concentration.>

Since the fin rot is set in, you will need to treat it. My first choice would be anti-biotic food. This gets into the fish much better than just having the antibiotics in the water. And you run far less risk of the antibiotic killing your filter bacteria, <which will then cause a mini-cycle & make everything worse.> If you can't get anit-biotic food, you can make your own. This is a recipe:
Goldfish and Aquarium Board Article-Medicated Gel Food

If the fish is not eating, or if antibiotic food is not available, my next choice is to use Kanamycin in the water. I would prefer to treat the sick one in a hospital setup to reduce the risk to my other fish.