Something is irratating my koi and goldfish! Help!

[Andyskoi]

Hi i have got a problem that i just cant solve in my tank. I have got a 55 gallon tank that i had 2 goldfish in but a few weeks ago i bought two koi from someone (not a shop stupidly) and they have brought something to the tank and i just dont know what, not long after putting them in i noticed they were rubbing themselves all around the tank and swimming side ways into the gravel as if something was irratating them, i treated them with whitespot treatment which had no effect, a few days later my original fish started doing the same thing. None of the fish have any signs of parasites or any types of spots and look perfectly heathy so that lead me to beleive that they may have had internal parasites (flukes) so i then treated them with "sterazin gill and body flukes" this again has had no effect on the fish and they are still insisting on flashing and rubbing themselves. I just do not know what else to try, the water quality is good, i have been doing regular partial water changes and the fish are all eating fine. I have never had any problems like this before and googling is getting me nowhere! Any advice or suggestions would be great thank you

 

[jlk]

Hi and welcome to AA!!!! A few questions to help us steer you in the right direction. How big are your goldfish (& what type) & how big are the koi? What are your exact readings for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph & what are you using to test (liquid or strips)? I would be a bit suspicious on water quality issues because you just doubled your bioload & it takes awhile for your bacteria to adjust (as in a few wks). Lets start with your water & go from there!

 

[Andyskoi]

Hi the goldfish and koi are around 3-4inches long. i had a friend come round and test my water with a test strip and he said everything was fine with the water quality. I have an external and internal filter runing so water quality is always good.i also have two weather loaches so they clean up any left over food the fish miss.everything i have read points to some sort of parasite but theres no signs of anythink on the fish themselves. I know this doesent really help and ure proberly as confused as i am on the matter.

 

[jlk]

Ok! Thanks for the info! I strongly advise you purchase an API freshwater test kit as soon as possible. You need to be able to monitor your tanks conditions in order to provide the best home for your guys. Test strips are inaccurate at best & are not telling the real story of what is happening in your tank. I suspect the flashing is due to a big jump in your ammonia & nitrite levels do to the dramatic jump in your bioload. Until you are able to get a test kit, i would suggest doing a 50% pwc daily with a good water conditioner dosed to the size of your tank & temperature matched water (match the new water temp to your tank water). Until water quality issues can be either ruled in or ruled out, i would not treat them with any meds other than a theraputic dose of aquarium salt (1 tablespoon per 10gals) because you may doing more harm than good. Hope this helps!

 

[Andyskoi]

Ok thanks for the advise i have just bought a testing kit of ebay so asoon as i have the results i will get back to you. Thanks again

 

[jlk]

Your welcome! Lets see how your water looks & we will go from there!

 

[Andyskoi]

This could be totaly unrelated but this morning the suns been out on the tank and i noticed this on one of goldfishs bk fins any ideas?? They look to big to be ick

 

[Andyskoi]

Pic of goldfish

 

[jlk]

Im not 100% positive if its ich because its hard to tell from the pic. Are you using aquarium salt in this tank?

 

[Andyskoi]

I have had ick in another tank about a year ago and it looked alot smaller dots then this so im really unsure myself. I have never used salt before ( apart from on me chips)

 

[jlk]

It does look larger than ich. Its possible the new fish introduced something or it may be the result of your water & stress. Lets see if healthy water is enough to clear things up. You can try adding a theraputic dose of aquarium salt (not the stuff in your kitchen cabinets). Aim for 1 tablespoon per 10gals. Premix it in some tank water & slowly add it a little every few hrs over the course of 2 days to allow your fish to adjust. When you do a water change, you will need to add back the amount you removed (ie-50% wc, re-add 1/2 the original dose). Keep us posted!

 

[Andyskoi]

Hi got my test kits today the results are

Ph 6.4
No3 50
No2 0
Gh 16
Kh 0
Cl2 0
Ammonia 0.25

Dont know if this is good or bad to be hounest first time i have ever tested water before

 

[JesseMessykinn]

I would to a 50% PWC then another 50% PWC soon after to bring them ammonia and nitrates down. Hope this will help.

 

[Andyskoi]

Are they high then and could this be what is causeing the flashing and yawning with the fish?

 

[JesseMessykinn]

Ammonia you want at 0 all the time and Nitates below atleast 20ppm.

 

[JesseMessykinn]

Crazy question but are you heating the tank? Goldies are cool water fish right?

 

[Andyskoi]

thanks for ure help. No theres no heater in that tank. About 2 months ago i did the biggest and stupidest thing of my life and cleaned the tank out with no water conditioner and i lost alot of fish could this have anythink to do with whats going on?

 

[jlk]

thanks for ure help. No theres no heater in that tank. About 2 months ago i did the biggest and stupidest thing of my life and cleaned the tank out with no water conditioner and i lost alot of fish could this have anythink to do with whats going on?

Your tank may still be recycling. Lets see what your results tell us.

 

[jlk]

Hi got my test kits today the results are

Ph 6.4
No3 50
No2 0
Gh 16
Kh 0
Cl2 0
Ammonia 0.25

Dont know if this is good or bad to be hounest first time i have ever tested water before

Thanks! I missed this! Yes, your tank is still cycling because you have detectable ammonia. Your nitrates are pretty high as well. Ideally, they should be less than 20ppm. As suggested, a couple of 50% water changes will bring them down. I usually am not concerned with ph, but yours is fairly low meaning your fishes environment is acidic & your buffers are almost non-existent. The low ph may be why you tank is not fully cycled by now. If you can, test your tap water for these numbers as well. Ph will need to be tested after a cup of tap has sat out for 24hrs- preferably with an airstone or bubbler in it but if you dont have one then give the water a good stir every so often to release gasses. Let us know how these numbers look for your tap & we will go from there!

 

[Andyskoi]

So you would say that this flashing and rubing with the fish is down to the water then and not parasites? I will go and fill a glass with water and stick an airstone in it now ?