Chavamomma1227
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hey everyone, I’m new here. Just a quick overview, I have 5 tanks - a 55gal w turtles w lots of guppies, 2 betta tanks (5.5 gal), a 10 gal tank with one glofish, and another 5 gallon guppy grow out tank. All these tanks are established and doing well.
Here’s the problem:
I stopped into a Meijer store last evening - which is a large retailer in our area similar to a Walmart - where they have a little bit of everything. They have a live fish section, and I couldn’t help myself but to take a look. Bad idea!!! The tanks look horrible, as expected. Most of the fish looked ok though, and surprisingly I didn’t see any dead fish. HOWEVER, all the tanks lights were off (may have been bc it was late but I’m not sure) and all the tanks at the bottoms seemed to be empty, but I just happened to lean down and take a good look into one and lone behold, there were 5 juvenile black moor goldfish ABSOLUTELY COVERED with Ick. These poor babies look soooo pitiful... it’s so bad that my kids thought they were actual polka dotted fish
I immediately called for help, had to wait for 10-15 mins for a worker to come help me. I told him they were sick but that I wanted to go ahead buy them so I could take them home and take care of them/try to save them as they are obviously being neglected by how bad the Ick has gotten. He called his manager whom came over and after some back and forth (she told me she’s not aloud to sell sick fish) she ended up letting me have them because she doesn’t have the supplies to care for them.
Well, now they’re here with me. I took the glofish out of the 10gal and put her in the guppy grow out for now (I currently dont have but maybe 5 or 6 guppy fry in there). I treated the tank with aquarium salt, acclimated the goldfish (tank has a heater and is currently between 78-80 degrees), added more beneficial bacteria, and then after about 30 mins, hand transferred each one to the 10 gal. (Disclaimer: I know this is WAY to small for goldfish, this was just an unexpected situation and I had to make do with what I have available at the moment... this will be temporary and they will get set up with another much larger home if they survive)
I plan on doing daily water changes, I just need some reassurance and a little guidance on a good medication to help these poor babies survive. In my area there’s Walmart, Petsmart, Petco, and a Pet supply plus. No small local fish stores unless I drive over an hour into the next large city. I can also buy whatever is needed online (Amazon preferred). I’m just nervous because I’ve never dealt with Ick or even had goldfish before and there are soo many options available, I just want to make sure I’m doing what’s right for them.
Any help is much appreciated! I’ve attached some photos so you can see how bad the Ick really is.
Here’s the problem:
I stopped into a Meijer store last evening - which is a large retailer in our area similar to a Walmart - where they have a little bit of everything. They have a live fish section, and I couldn’t help myself but to take a look. Bad idea!!! The tanks look horrible, as expected. Most of the fish looked ok though, and surprisingly I didn’t see any dead fish. HOWEVER, all the tanks lights were off (may have been bc it was late but I’m not sure) and all the tanks at the bottoms seemed to be empty, but I just happened to lean down and take a good look into one and lone behold, there were 5 juvenile black moor goldfish ABSOLUTELY COVERED with Ick. These poor babies look soooo pitiful... it’s so bad that my kids thought they were actual polka dotted fish
I immediately called for help, had to wait for 10-15 mins for a worker to come help me. I told him they were sick but that I wanted to go ahead buy them so I could take them home and take care of them/try to save them as they are obviously being neglected by how bad the Ick has gotten. He called his manager whom came over and after some back and forth (she told me she’s not aloud to sell sick fish) she ended up letting me have them because she doesn’t have the supplies to care for them. Well, now they’re here with me. I took the glofish out of the 10gal and put her in the guppy grow out for now (I currently dont have but maybe 5 or 6 guppy fry in there). I treated the tank with aquarium salt, acclimated the goldfish (tank has a heater and is currently between 78-80 degrees), added more beneficial bacteria, and then after about 30 mins, hand transferred each one to the 10 gal. (Disclaimer: I know this is WAY to small for goldfish, this was just an unexpected situation and I had to make do with what I have available at the moment... this will be temporary and they will get set up with another much larger home if they survive)
I plan on doing daily water changes, I just need some reassurance and a little guidance on a good medication to help these poor babies survive. In my area there’s Walmart, Petsmart, Petco, and a Pet supply plus. No small local fish stores unless I drive over an hour into the next large city. I can also buy whatever is needed online (Amazon preferred). I’m just nervous because I’ve never dealt with Ick or even had goldfish before and there are soo many options available, I just want to make sure I’m doing what’s right for them.
Any help is much appreciated! I’ve attached some photos so you can see how bad the Ick really is.
