How do I get rid of ick completely?

Question

I have a 20 gallon tank, with two goldfish (One's a black moor and the other is a Ryukin). The tank is about 3 months old and this is the very first problem we have run into. Well, we introduced a placo last Sunday into the tank and he seemed to be alright. Later on that night, I noticed that he had white spots all over his little body and we seperated him from the rest of the fish. The next morning the goldfish started hanging out at the bottom of the tank and every once in a while they swim around. They do have normal apetites, but I've started noticing that the black moor has milky skin while my Ryu has red streaks all over its fins.

I have been treating them with tank buddies parasites since Monday, but the goldies don't seem to be changing their behavior. The Placo, however, died this morning. I'm at my wit's end and I don't know what to do. Should I take the fish out and scrub the tank completely? Or do I change the medications that I'm placing in the tank? Please help me!!

Answer 1

step 1 test your water, see if there are any imbalances (its free at petsmart)

step 2 50% water change preferably with a gravel syphon

step 3 when you add new water add kosher salt or sea salt in with them About tablespoon for ever 10 gal

step 4 medicate (rid-ich works great) and follow all the istructions on the box this will probably include removing the carbon part of your filter

step 5 keep testing the water to see if imbalances continue
good luck

Answer 2

Wow this pleco must be one of the four horsemen, i suppose however, the fact that you have 2 more symptoms of something else suggests to me that the water quality is more likely to have changed, and your fish are suffering from that more than anything else.

You've not said how big your fish are but you've basically tripled the work load of your filter in one go it would take a few days to start to cope with it, first thing is to do a water change you could add a proprietary treatment but I've no idea where you'd start the red marks could be ammonia burns or it could be natural colouration coming out again depending on the size of the fish, the black moor sounds as if its producing more slime to deal with an irritant again I'd be more inclined to believe its ammonia, however some fish do react to white spot in the same way, the fact they've both dropped to the bottom would suggest that the pH of the tank has increased and the alkalinity has increased to such a degree it could be poisoning them.

You need to get a test kit for PH, ammonia, nitrate/nitrite, and maybe a hardness test KH and GH, to see whether you have something that is raising it. PH crashes are fairly common but rises in alkalinity are usually caused by an outside source, a large shell or limestone gravel or even a breakdown of a buffer introduced by your water supplier if your in a hard water area.

I seem to remember the higher the pH the more damage ammonia does, but im not a chemist.

AJ

Answer 3

Wow, sounds like you've gotten smacked with a nasty pleco with some parasites. Parasites can cause all three of your symptoms: White spots, Red Streaks on the fins, and milky scales. (Here's a great chart to help identify disease in goldfish: http://www.goldfishinfo.com/identify.htm)

First thing I'd do is test the water quality and do a good water change.

Secondly, if you're treating with medication, make sure the one you're using is designed to kill parasites and you follow the instructions carefully.

Finally, if you're using a filter that has a carbon insert, remove it. Most often times, the carbon in your filter will negate any progress medication to your tank will make.

Answer 4

You need to change your medication. Use a good ick medication as directed on the bottle. Try to find a medication that used Malachite Green as the active ingredient. (CAUTION: Malachite Green is a known carcinogen. Be careful not to get it on your skin!) Quick Cure is a good choice.
Change 25% or more of the water daily being sure to clean the gravel as you do so.
Continue the treatment for at least 7 days after you see the last white spots on any of the fish. After the treatment, return the carbon to your filter.

MM

Answer 5

put fish in a quarantine tank with plenty of salt and worm up the water the fish will get well but that is not all clean the infected tank ad a lot of salt and worm up the tank and do a water change for 3 weeks or more before adding fish back to the big tank

Answer 6

Well, do not use medicine!
Fancy goldfish need 30 gallons a piece. A plecotamus needs over 50 gallons all to itself.

Plecos actually will eat the slime coat off of goldfish, so they are not a good match.

As I said before, do not use the medicine. Use a dosage of table salt. For ick I think it is 1 tsp for 5 gallons. So 4 tsp for your tank. And please get your fish new homes.

Answer 7

Try a product called Quick Cure. Its is blue colored drops. I have had fish for over 15 years now and it does the job every time.

Answer 8

Try a product called rid-ich. Its a copper based conditioner that Will kill almost all parasites, fungi, and especially ich.

Answer 9

in case you fairly need to bathe your tank thoroughly you will might desire to pass your guppies and sparkling the tank with out water in it, or you could throw out the fish, guppies dont even fee a greenback each and every