Goldfish with Ick? had 4 fish & they died ICK, I sanatized tank set it up, got 1 goldfish, now hes sick ?

Question

1. I set up a brand new tank
2. conditioned water waited a few days got 4 fish
3. within 4 days they were sick with white spots and died.
4. Cleaned scrubbed and sanatized tank & set it back up.
5. Waited a couple days
6. added 1 goldfish & 4 days later it got white spots
7. am treating with ICK stuff but Jaws (my goldfish) is no better.

I bought the first 4 fish at a major retail store.
I bought the second fish from the same retail chain pet store.

If Jaws dies & I clean and sanatize the tank can I put other fish in there or do I have to get rid of the tank?

we are on city water not a well, but the water was conditioned.

Answer 1

first of all, you're not cycling the tank. you can't just throw fish in, the tank needs to be cycled first.

also, the fish are probably sick when you buy them, get them from somewhere else.

before you get more fish you need to cycle the tank, since you have 4 goldfish I assume it's a 50gallon? probably not, but for 4 goldfish you should have a least a 50 gallon. one goldfish needs 20gallons as an adult and 10 when young.

if you have a tank smaller than 20gallons I suggest tropical fish instead.

here's how to cycle a tank:
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article14.html
is you decide tropical is better for your tank feel free to email me for suggestions and help on good fish to pick, originalcatastropheqeen

Answer 2

I am not sure how many...if any...other fish are in the tank. Was it only the goldfish or are any others infected? Ick usually takes some time to clear. A good medication to try is Ick Guard by Jungle Labs. Be careful though if you have any catfish or weak fish in the tank because the Ick Guard may kill them. Ick Guard 2 is recommended for smaller fish. The tank must be treated every 24 hours and may take up to a week to clear. Once the signs of ick are no longer visible on the fish, the tank may still be infected because the ick parasites fall from the fish to the bottom. You will want to continue treating the water with the Ick Guard. It is also important to do a 25% water change before every new dose so the fish do not overdose. The water changes will also help to get rid of the parasites that may be lurking in the tank. Ick is a really difficult fish disease to cure. I hope this helps! edit: Now that I know you no longer have any fish left...I agree with Audrey....you may just want to start over.

Answer 3

Sorry this is so long, but understanding the life cycle of ich will make it a easier to grasp the treatment process. Ich is a small little animal/parasite. Ich has three life stages. The first stage is the trophont stage, where the parasite embeds itself in the cells of the fish. It will grow until it reaches the size and appearance of a grain of salt at which time it drops off of the fish. It finds a home in the substrate and begins the second stage of life. The second stage is the tomont stage in which it lays in the substrate and begins multiplying as much as 2000 times. After it has divided, the hundreds of new ich parasites hatch and start to swim around and try to find a host (fish) and start the cycle all over again. The free swimmers are called theronts.The theront stage is the only time that ich can be killed. The only other way to kill ich is if it does not find a host. Ich's life cycle is dependant on temperature. It may take ich several weeks to go through all three stages in cool water, while at 80 degrees+ F it will go through all stages in a matter of a few days to a week. Salt is the preferred treatment method because it is less expensive, far less stressful, is as effective as chemical meds, is not affected by organic carbon levels and the filter carbon will not remove salt from the water like it does with chemical meds. To add salt, pre-mix it in water in small volumes and add to your tank. Do not use table salt. Use aquarium salt. Mix the salt in a bucket of tank water and pour it in a little bit at a time next to the filter output. This ensures it is mixed, and adds it slowly to a high flow area to be further mixed as it enters the tank. Add ¼ tsp. per gallon once an hour for four hours. You need to keep this treatment going for the lifecycle of the ich, which, if you raised the temperature of the water, should take a week or two. If you feel you need chemical meds, get a combination of Formalin and malachite green and administer according to directions. As said above, ich cannot live without a host. Like KylieAnne said, you need to cycle your tank anyway. If you lose Jaws, god forbid, this is the perfect time to do a fishless cycle of the tank, and in doing so, you will break the life cycle of the ich and it will die naturally. Without fish in the tank, you don't need to do any "sterilization" procedures on the tank. Now, your fish had ich when you bought them, but ich is caused by poor water quality, whether in the pet shop or in your home tank. This is another reason you cycle water and test it to make sure you have the proper parameters for safe, healthy water. While you're treating Jaws with the salt, read up on cycling tanks, doing proper water changes, diseases and general tips on keeping goldfish, including tank size, before buying any more fish so that you'll be ready to keep goldfish so they are happy and healthy. When it comes time to buy more fish, using the 10 gallons of water per 1 goldfish up to 4 inches and 20 gallons per fish over 4 inches, only buy as many goldfish as will fit in your tank using this rule. If you only have a 10 gallon, Jaws is it. If he makes it. You can only have 1 goldfish. Good luck!

Answer 4

Ick cannot be removed from a tank by washing it,the tank must be treated with permanganate of potash or something similar to kill the infection. My suggestion would be if tank is 10 gal. throw it in garbage and start over.Find a new pet store preferably local,and before you purchase fish examine the aquarium they live in and if you see "Cotton"growing on floor or sides, fish with spots, shimmies,or swimming funny do no buy from that tank. When you buy fish be sure you have the time to do all of the above , it pays off with mice fish and less migraines. Good luck
One other thing-don't EVER buy feeder goldfish either to feed your fish or to propagate your tank-they are almost always contaminated!

Answer 5

They make little ick tablets that look like alcaselser. Drop those in. (Half of one for small fish) My fish had ick, and it was gone within two days. (Just remember to take the filter out, else it will filter the medicine for the fish. Also, dont change the water, cuz it will make the ick more irritable. Use the tablets, and then once the ick is gone, change the water. And always be sure to read the directions on the box, which is a given!)

Answer 6

what kind of ich medicine are you using? ich is hard to get rid of and most people -- even fish geeks -- lose fish to ich.

have you tried aquarium salt yet? it works well in combination with other meds. you need to remove live plants and some other fish like cory catfish when you salt treat the tank. just put in 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons a day for 3 days. you can just leave the goldfish in that water for about a month and add salt to the changing water at 1 tbspoon per 5 gallons. after about a month you don't want to add anymore salt for a while because salt concecntrates in the water when it evaporates off the top. many people think adding 1 tbspoon per 10 gallons helps reduce ich breakouts. if you are ich prone you might want to try it. it isn't anywhere close to salt water strength and fine for your fish. it is hard on some plants though -- you want to check to see which plants are good with some salt

ich takes a long time to get rid of -- the ich on your fish that you see won't go away easily. it lives in a three part cycle -- you only see one part on the fish. it will leave the fish and drop to the bottom. (this is why its good to do frequent gravel vacuums too!) in the bottom stage it will sit and reproduce. when it reproduces it starts the free swimming stage. 1000s of little ichs are swimming around looking for a host. this is when you can acutally kill it off. so it is important to keep the treatment going 7 days after you don't see any ich on your fish because it is still around.

finally people recommend you raise the tank tempertaure to about 82 degrees as it speeds up the life cycle of ich from 20 days at 70 degrees to four days at 84 degrees.

Answer 7

I thought both of these websites were helpful. The second link describes a variety of gold fish diseases and how to help cure them, which includes ICK. The first one talks about the care of a goldfish. I'm sure you know, but I was stunned to see that goldfish need at least ten gallons of water to live (that's just for one fish!) Good luck. I'm rooting for JAWS to make it...it may not be too late!


http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/care.html#Disease

http://www.petlibrary.com/goldfish/symptoms.htm

Answer 8

Hmm there are a few things to think about:

Try getting fish from a differant place after you:

1. Empty the tank. Throw away anything like gravel, food, fake plants etc. Even buy a new filter if you can.

2. Wash the tank with strong disinfectant.

3. Soak the tank in boiling water. Repete step 2

4. Do steps 2-3 for anything you are going to put back into the tank like a filter etc.

5. Refil the tank and try again

Answer 9

Ick is a parasite that most fish carry on them . When they are subjected to a stress (temp change,water change...a new tank..)
it becomes active in the form of those white spots you see.It is unlikely that any remains in your tank as you cleaned it but as the fish came from the same store they probably all carry it.
the treatments are almost all the same using a dye medication (methyl blue,malachite green....) so the meds okay but check your temp as low temps interfer with the speed of treatment.

Answer 10

Add a little salt to your tank before you put in any more fish. About 1 tsp for every 5 gallons usually clears up minor parasitic infections