Goldfish infection

[jtwalls]

I have a comet that is 6 years old, about 9 inches long, that is living in a 100 gallon tub. Also in the tank are 3 other orandas, only about 3-4 inches long. The comet recently developed some sort of gelatinous junk under his gill cover, and the scales are turning silver/white around it. The fish are normally in a pond, but are in for the winter. I use a sponge box filter and just did a water change less than a week ago. All water parameters checked out fine. Nitrate is just above 0, so I'm going to do another water change. Any ideas as to what it could be, or how to treat it?

I appreciate any advice or comments! Thanks!

 

[Fishanatic]

Not sure, might be slime disease?

 

[jlk]

When was the last time he was exposed to a new fish? Do treat your fish for flukes as part of quarantine?

 

[jtwalls]

The last fish introduced to the tank was about 9 months ago. I didn't do anything to quarantine any of the fish. We bought them all when they were small, so they would spend a month or two in the tropical fish aquarium before joining the big tank/pond.

Should I scrape off the gel or leave the fish go to reduce handling/stress?

 

[jlk]

I would treat the tank with praziquantel (Prazipro) and increase the salinity to .1% for now. The jelly slime is a protective reaction to extreme irritation in his gills. I am not positive if it's flukes or ich in the gills. The salinity then can be raised gradually to .3% in case there's ich. Prazi will deal with flukes. The issue here is if there's excessive damage to the gills or not. Pay close attention if you see any red streaks in the body or fins indicating internal infection.

 

[jtwalls]

Thanks! I don't see any red in the fins/body yet, but there is a twist in the bottom part of his tail-fin (not the flesh but the cartilage part). I attached a picture of it. You can see on the left side of the pic the twist in his tail. Sorry about the bad picture, I just used one I already took earlier to avoid catching him again.

How immediate does the Prazipro need added? I will have to order it online and have it shipped.

 

[jlk]

Hard to tell from the pic. Bends in fins are fairly normal. Scrupulous breeders cull fish with these as flaws. No big deal as long as he is active and mobile. Make sure you get a large bottle of prazi- it needs to be double dosed and treatment is a minimum of 3-4wks. It's very safe though and will not affect fish, good bacteria, etc. please ask if you have questions!