Help needed urgently (sick fish)

[Fish beginner]

Hi Guys/Gals,

A newbie needs your help/advice urgently!. Introduced fish to my tank three weeks ago (let water settle for two weeks prior) and they seemed to be doing fine. One fish died last night, was acting strange for a couple of days. Lying down all the time, lack of energy. Any ideas what could have caused this?, think they're was some white spots on the fin. Will the other fish be OK?.
Have Been testing Ammonia and Nitrite levels every week, these have been fine. Did a water change last week - drained 10% out. Please help!.

 

[Fish beginner]

Some more info to help you pinpoint the problem or eliminate others.

1/ Used crystals to soften water when I first set-up the tank and after cleaning.

2/ Cleaned the filter in dirty water from the tank.

3/ Pump has been on constantly

4/ Light is on for approx 6 Hrs a day.

 

[Ami]

Maybe the fish just had white spot and you've been unlucky.


Did you also test your nitrate levels in case they were too high even after the water change?

 

[Fish beginner]

Have been testing nitrite and ammonia levels only (weekly - always the same results). What will the nitrate level tell me. Should I get a kit to test PH level?. Can white spot spread?, how best to treat the remaining fish?.

 

[black angel]

take it its a new tank? did you go through a cycle at all where the ammonia peaked and then you would see nitrites? if not then the fish probably are cycling the tank for you and are maybe stressed out and thats where the ich can come in.
what do you have for ph, gh and kh? goldfish can adapt easily to any type of tank water so theres rarely any need to mess with it, and goldfish prefer the water to be hard with a higher ph level.
as for the sick one, if it had white spot then you must assume the others have it as well. the best treatment is to use salt and high temperature. do you have a heater?
what type of fish have you got, size of tank and what filtration are you using.
i would do more than 10% in a weekly water change, try 30%.
what are your stats for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate today? please write them for us to see.

 

[Fish beginner]

Tank is 3 weeks old (been set up for 5), cycle - whats' that?. 'ich' - does this refer to disease?. Sorry my knowledge is very limited. Haven't been testing PH (should I have been?).
No heater, built in light (under hood). Did have 3 goldfish not sure of size of tank (will find out). Will try and explain the filteration system (don't laugh), right here goes..... false back behind that is three seperate compartments, one contains a sponge, next contains floating balls/hula hoop shaped things (lol) and what looks like small pieces of charcoal.

RECENT READINGS

Saturday 16/7
Ammonia - 0.6
Nitrite - 0.1

Sat. 23/7
Ammonia - .6
Nitrite - .1

Sat. 29/7
Ammonia - .6
Nitrite .1

Thanks for your help!

 

[Fish beginner]

Was told to refrain from water changes in the early days. Maximum 10-20% every two weeks. Have only cleaned the tank once in three weeks - could this be the problem?.

 

[black angel]

your tank is cycling and the fish are stressed.
cycling is where the new filter starts to build up a colony of bugs to break down the ammonia from the fish.
the ammonia will start to rise and this in turn is turned to nitrite which is also deadly for the fish. as you are starting to show nitrites then the cycle will take a couple more weeks to complete. you will find that the ammonia will rise a bit more maybe or start to tail away and your nitrite level should rise a bit before going back down. for a cycled tank ammonia and nitrites must be at 0 and the nitrates at whatever level that come out the tap.
the only way to keep nitrate at a decent level is with regular water changes.
the levels arent that bad yet but that depends on the ph value, the higher that is then the more toxic the ammonia. you need to get a test kit for this.
keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrite and if it gets anywhere near one for either of them do water changes to bring it back under, sometimes this might mean a couple of changes a day of small amounts of water.
the filter sounds like a juwel. this on its own isnt really up to the job when keeping goldies and i would suggest getting another filter. how long is the tank? with two fish left how big are they? filtration should be 10 times the tank turnover but if you could get the dimensions of the tank then we can work it out.
as for ich, this is known also as white spot and is a disease that appears when fish are in a stressful environment.
the best way to deal with that is with a heater and aquarium salt.
if you get those then i can talk you through dosing your tank with it, but you need to act fast before the ich spreads to the other fish.
the best way to get a tank going is to regularly check the ammonia and nitrite and make sure you have those under control and only do water changes if those readings are getting high so yes he was right to say that but i didnt know how long the tank was going for.
another good use for salt is that it helps the fish to breathe properly when going through a nitrite phase.
so for your shopping list, you will need
esha test strips which will have ph,gh and kh on it amongst others.
aquarium salt
gravel vac
and once we figure out the size of tank another filter
forgot the heater

 

[Fish beginner]

So ideally cycling should be done prior to fish purchase?. Approx tank size 16" length(will measure tonight), fish approx 2 1/2" long. I thought you could buy treatments for various diseases?.
Would you suggest that I relocate the fish and start from scratch, get the ammonia and nitrite levels to 0?. What filter would you suggest?

 

[Fish beginner]

Heater?, did I mention they're cold water fish.

 

[black angel]

you can cycle with fish but it just puts them under stress. as the fish have ich then its best to keep them and treat them at the same time.
for your size tank i think a fluval 1+ would be ideal to run alongside the juwel.
you dont need a heater no, but when treating ich you need to get the temperature up to around a constant 80-82 f so the lifecycle of the parasite is shortened and the salt will help kill them. the heat will also help with their immunity and give it a boost. you will ned a thermometer as well and only turn the knob on the heater a little bit at a time so the fish can get used to the rising temperature. ask your pet shop for the right size heater for your tank which you will still need to get the measurements for.
once the treatment is well and truly over then you can store the heater away but fancy goldfish prefer their water slightly warmer than common goldfish but i dont know which you have.
you can buy meds but this will interfere with the cycling of your tank and will probably result in your tank having to cycle again.
salt is a natural way to kill ich and will also help your fish to take the nitrite spikes.
common goldfish need a lot of space to swim as they are very active fish and they excrete a huge amount of waste.
for commons of your size and allowing for growth you will need a tank of around 20 gallons to sustain them for a year or two, if you have fancy goldfish then a 20 gallon will do them for most of their lives and that includes having powerful filtration..

 

[Fish beginner]

Thanks for all the helpful advice. You seem to know your stuff!. Do you work in a fish shop? or are you just a very clued up ethusiast.

 

[black angel]

Ive been keeping fish for many years and started with the humble goldfish. I cant keep goldfish here as the water isnt right for them, its too soft.
I dont work in a fish shop and i pick things up as i go around and try to help people just starting out or who have problems. I'm more into the disease side of things.
if you have more questions then please post back.
Just happy to help really )