black moor goldfish has ick?

Question

i recieved two black moor goldfish for my birthday two weeks ago. they were in a bowl with tap water. the next day they didn't look so happy so i ran to get the water treatment chemicals. i put it in but when i got home later that night, one of my fish was dead. i panicked and changed my other fish into a different bowl with fresh treated water. later that week i moved him back into the original bowl but the water kept getting murky. i have never had fish before. i noticed a white spot on his head and realized her has ick. on monday of this week, i went to petco and purchased a 2 gallon cheap plastic tank with a filter and a real plant. since then my fish has seemed much happier, swimming around in the clean water and hiding. i do not know how to treat the ick though. i can only find information on how to treat ick in larger tanks!!! help! he's my first fish and i love him! =)

Answer 1

Before you start dumping things into his new home, what kind of white spot did you notice and has it gotten worse?

One bowl two fish, not a good combo. Goldfish, which is what your moore is classified need lots of dissolved oxygen. Two in one bowl will deplet this quickly. Also, just dumping in water conditioners isn't a good thing either. When you change his water, put the conditioner in the water before you put it in the bowl.

Great for upgrading to a tank. One white spot does not mean it is ich. It could be afungus. What does it look like and has it gotten worse? Remember your fish likes dissolved oxygen and colder water. Your filter now will supply this for him. Change 25% of the water every week.

As for ich, I wouldn't treat him for ich.

Feel free to email me or repost and I will help try to figure out why he has a white spot.

Also, your fish will be fine in his new home for a while. You will eventually need to rehouse him in a larger tank. 10 gallon will do.

Answer 2

All you need is salt. A salt treatment can kill off the ich, and goldfish actually prefer a little salt in their water. Use aquarium salt if you can, otherwise you could use a pure salt that has no iodine or addatives. Use about 1tbsp per gallon, but slowly add it in over the course of a day or two so as not to stress the fish. Have the water like this for 10 days or untill 3 days after all visible signs of ich have disappeared, then do a 40-50% water change.

If he doesn't have ich, and has a fungus or something instead this treatment is considered a cure-all and should still work.

Answer 3

Hi, Is he covered in white spots that look like grains of salt or does he just have the one on his head? The symptoms of Ick are scratching & rubbing himself all over the tank, on the gravel etc. If it's juts the one spot it is quite possibly fungus. Go back to your pet store & get aquarium salt & follow the directions carefully. Salt will nuke many parasitic infestations in addition to Ick but please DO NOT use household salt as it will kill him. I do not agree with the answers that say forget him, his life is worth saving if you can. The person who said about tank size is quite correct, Goldfish need an enormous amount of space. The tank needs regular partial water changes to keep it healthy & you will need some kind of filtration otherwise it will stay murky as Goldfish produce an enormous amount of waste. The Totally Goldfish group always has experienced members online & is very friendly. Koko's is another great site to learn stuff & there's a forum to ask questions there too. Also check the Glimmering Goldfish diagnostic guide
Good luck, I hope he makes it.

Answer 4

I know you love your fish, but heres the lowdown:
A goldfish produces a huge ammount of ammonia, and 10 gallons are required per inch of goldfish to maintain healthy living environment. And less, and you run the risk of your fish poisoning itself. Live plants MIGHT absorb some of the ammonia, but you'll have to rely on filtration to do the rest.

Above that, loving a fish or not...successful ick purging in an aquarium can cost as much as $20 in materials and two weeks of your time. A new goldfish is around $2.

I love my fish too, but you have to know when you're beat sometimes. Ick is a hardy disease that can pop up over and over, and will continue to do so as long as the tank contains the same gravel/water/ornaments.

Honestly, you're best to let him live his life till it's over, keep him fed and happy, and start over when his time comes :(

Answer 5

Very good move upgrading your fishes home to a tank with a filter! A 2 gallon can only be home to a goldfish for a short while ( a few month) before it outgrows the tank, but it will be much better off than in a bowl!

If you only see one spot on the fish after almost 2 weeks, then you don't have ich. In 2 weeks ich would have the fish covered in small dots that look like salt sprinked all over the fish. I need to know a little more about the spot to helpyou figure out what it is. Is it flat or more like a lump or a hole? Does it have anything coming off of it that looks like cotton or fuzz? Tell me anything you can think of about the spot and we'll figure it out and get you on the righ track to treat it. Add the extra info to the question and I'll check back in a bit or you can email it to me.

MM

Answer 6

I thought they have chems for that at the pet store. You may want to go back to PetCo and ask. It may be nothing at all :)

I highly recommend using bottled water for fish. It always seems to be better for them.

Answer 7

get anit-ick tablets to put in your fish tank, the look like pills, and you can buy them at Dee Jo's more than pet supplies, or any other pet store

Answer 8

You should be able to get medicine to treat ick at Petco or Walmart.

Answer 9

You can buy an ick treatment at pet stores. I used it on my beta.

Answer 10

I agree, doesn't sound like ich.

Buy some Melafix, great stuff!