Sick goldy.. ammonia burns??

[Fishylover2011]

Hi! I have treated my fish with 3 antibiotics as they showed signs of sickness( fatigue, fungus, swimming rarely, fins clamped down)
I have 2 blackmoors and 1 goldfish. Since the antibiotics I have seen slight improvement in the blackmoor but the goldfish is getting worse. I have done 50% water change every week and put new filter in. I also got the water tested and the readings were as follows:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0.5
Nitrate 40
Ph 7
Gh 11
Kh 9
Now the nitrite is bad level so I am putting in nitrivec everyday for 14 days.
Today I have noticed my goldfish has blister like things on each side gil. And now one side is red like it's bleeding. I will try attach a photo.
Please can someone tell me what to do nxt???
I am so sad and dnt know what to do. Would appreciate good advice xx

 

[rich311k]

It looks to me like the tank is cycling which will stress fish. What size is the tank? I suggest 50% changes every day, and stop using the chemicals and get the tank cycled. When you changed the filter I take it you started with all new pads etc?

 

[Fishylover2011]

Ok thanks. I keep hearing this "cycling" phrase. What does it mean?

 

[Fishylover2011]

Sorry i was meant to tell you the tank is a 30L Biorb and i put a whole new service kit in the other day

 

[jenatron]

How long has your tank been set up?
When did the fish begin showing symptoms? Was anything added or changed around this time?

You should be treating with anti-fungals for fungus, not antibiotics.
You need to be doing more frequent water changes, not only because your levels indicate you should, but because your fish are ill.
Stop changing your filter. It doesn't matter what the manufacturer is recommending, stop. You're removing beneficial bacteria you need for your tank when doing so.
Stop adding "nitrivec." Don't add any products like that. All you should need are antifungals for now, and de-chlorinator. PWC's are the best way to remedy bad water levels.
Become familiar with the nitrogen cycle. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html
The biorb is not a suitable tank for multiple goldfish, or even one. I know biorb recommends them, but they're simply incorrect. If your fish make it I suggest rehoming them.
You need your own test kit, if you're having someone else test your water. Don't buy strips, buy a liquid test kit like API Master Freshwater test kit.

Good luck and welcome to AA.

 

[Fishylover2011]

Hi! I have had the tank and my fish for 18 months now.I did cycle the tank fir 4 wks before adding any fish. I think we didn't do a water change for 3-4 wks a few months ago and the first thing I noticed was cotton growth which I treated with meth blue and then the other symptoms started and my local aquarium recommended antibiotics as one of the moors looked like he had dropsy .. But he is ok now but the goldy( as pictured) is not looking good!
Will the red blisters go away with PWC?

 

[jenatron]

No, not necessarily. But clean, good water does wonders for sick fish.
Hopefully someone with more experience with these particular symptoms can help. I personally can only give general suggestions in this area.

 

[Fishylover2011]

Ok thanks for taking the time to help! I really appreciate it

 

[jsoong]

It is quite possible the antibiotics killed your biofilter, so your tank is going through a new cycle. This is one reason I don't like to use antibiotics in the water. I feed the fish anti-biotic food instead. <It also works much better in goldies.>

Since you are seeing nitrites, your tank biofilter is toast ... so basically you have to reestablish your cycle from scratch. There may be some survivors in the filter, so the process may not take as long ... but in the meanwhile, you need to do lots of pwc (daily!) to keep levels low (ammonia < 0.5, nitrites <0.25).

In future - Never change out all your filter media all at once. <I assume that is what you meant by "putting in a new service kit".> The filter bacteria lives in the filter media & removing them can also bring on a cycle. It is best to change out less than 50% of the media at one time, several weeks apart. <Better filters have 2 filter pad so you can change one at a time.>

One note - What people call "fungus" is usually columnaris - a bacteria infection that gives cottony growth. Anti-biotic is the right treatment, although it would have been much better to use it in the feed, or treat in a hospital tank. True fungus infection is relatively uncommon.

Your picture is not good enough for me to tell what the blister is. However, clean water is the first treatment for any ailment. It is usually poor water that cause the fish to be stressed & bring on secondary infection. The infection won't go away unless you fix the water.

30 l is a small setup for 3 goldies. Small setups are very unforgiving. it is far better for the 3 goldies to be in something like a 40 gal (120 l) breeder tank. However, to manage goldies in small tank, you must do lots of water change to compensate. The 40 of nitrates indicates that you are not doing enough pwc ... even when the cycle was established. So for now, do daily water changes to keep the nitrites & ammonia low. Once you re-establish the cycle, you need to do enough pwc that the nitrates are not rising ... preferably less than 20. This may mean daily or every other day pwc until you get a bigger tank.

 

[Fishylover2011]

Thanks for your reply. I only replaced the air stone and filter sponge I didn't touch the media as I know that is a bad thing to do and only change 50% media every 6 mths.
I will try PWC and keep testing water to see if it gets better. in the meanwhile do you suggest I keep adding the nitrite calming liquid?
I have uploaded closer pic for you

 

[jsoong]

Filter sponge IS part of your media .... unless you have a secondary media basket (ceremic rings, etc), I would consider that your primary bio-filter.

I don't know what your nitrite calming liquid is ... so no real advice there ... However, on Googling Nitrivec, it seems that it is supposed to be a bacterial supplement ... ie you are adding the biofilter bacteria back to the tank. In theory, this is good, but in practice, most bacteria in a bottle don't work because the bacteria dies during storage. No harm in trying, but prob. a waste of money. <Since your nitrite is high ... it is not working! A working biofilter will eliminate the nitrite within hours ..... the best way to get filter bacteria into your tank is to get some fresh media from a healthy tank. If you have access to some, this is the best way to go, otherwise, you have to complete the cycle the old fashioned way, with lots of monitoring & pwc's.>

That appears to be a blood blister under the skin. Several possibilities:
1. An injury - clean water & may be a bit of salt is all you need.
2. A bacterial infection - most likely in view of history .... generally, needs clean water & antibiotic food.
3. Costia (a parasite) - possible but usually costia give small blood spots all over the skin (usually under the chin), not a big one like the pic. <Treatment for Costia is quick cure + heat ... same as for ich.>

For now, I would fix the water first & see if the condition improves. If it is getting worse, I might consider adding an antibiotic food. <For goldfish, the best is something containing Kanamycin. Medi-gold (or the bigger pellets - Medi-koi) is often recommended.>

 

[Fishylover2011]

Hi.. i followed your advise with PWC and the goldy is a lot less swollen now so fingers crossed he'll be ok. Do you think it's safe to PWC everyday?

 

[jsoong]

You can do as much pwc as you want (or need), as long as the water is temp & parameter matched, it will not stress the fish at all. It is standard practice to do daily pwc in hospital tank to ensure pristine water condition for sick fish, and in all uncycled (or small) setups.

 

[rich311k]

Just as a further conformation, the more changes you do the better and healthier the fish are.

 

[Fishylover2011]

Amazing result already! Tested the water again and it was much better. Thanks to everyone that gave advise. I am happy to say they are all swimming very spritely and look happy
Been doing PWC and it's done the trick! Thanks