HELP! There’s a bug crawling on my goldfish

[Briggan]

hi, where I live, there was a strong storm and my houses power cut out at around 5:00 pm yesterday. I went down to check on the goldfish and I see my black butterfly laying on the bottom, like he’s sleeping. I shined a light on him and I saw a little clear bug with teeny legs and the tiniest tail.
I don’t know what it is, I can’t find anymore, and it’s just crawling on him. The fish doesn’t seem to mind but I’ve never seen it before and I want to take it off of him but I don’t know how.
I assumed it came from the new fish I added, a red and white telescope, but I don’t see any on her.
Please help, I don’t want anything to happen to my fish!

 

[FishFinatic77]

Could you post a picture please?

 

[Briggan]

Sorry, I have already removed the bug. after some research, I’m almost certain it’s fish lice. Anyone know the best way to treat and kill fish lice?

 

[FishGuest5123]

You can order this from Amazon. If you have Amazon Prime you can get it in 2 days.

 

[Colin_T]

If the fish was new and only just been added to the tank, and it only had one parasite on it, you probably don't need to treat them. If you have to treat them, use salt.

You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate will affect some plants. The lower dose rate will not affect plants.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you just have goldfish, use the maximum dose rate of 4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres of water. Keep the salt there for 2 weeks, then water change it out.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Will the salt kill the eggs too?

 

[Colin_T]

salt won't kill the eggs but it will kill any larvae that hatch from eggs.

 

[Briggan]

Hi!
I suppose I should update on the situation.
Unfortunately, the original goldfish, Kepler, died, I’m not sure of the cause because there was so much going on. Soon after finding the lice, the newer fish, Faye, started getting a lot of anchor worms. I ordered the treatment but I decided it was going to be easier to treat the tank fishless and then get healthy fish. I brought Faye back to where I got her and a very nice employee explained that they were having issues with anchor worms in their goldfish tanks. I went back to the tank Faye came from and found that every other fish in there had anchor worms. He gave me store credit to buy a new fish once the tank is clean and treated.

After keeping Faye, I’ve realized just how much personality goldfish have. The day Kepler started to die, he was floating and trying to swim but he kept getting stuck to the filter. Faye spent the whole day swimming next to him and flipping him over and pushing him off the filter. She kept doing this until he finally died. I had gloves on when I took him out so I didn’t use a net. Once I got Kepler and I started pulling him out of the tank, Faye suddenly started biting my hand and thrashing around, and when Kepler was out she calmed down and hid in the vase. It was so sad to watch, let all me do, because I believe Faye genuinely loved Kepler in a sense. This is another reason I gave her back, I didn’t just want to replace her friend so soon after he had died.

Now that the tank is empty, I’m thinking of what to put in it. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what fish I should get, it’s a 20 gallon tall with an air stone. I’m still interested in keeping fancy goldfish, so those are a top choice.
Thanks! Sorry for the long post.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I’m so sorry for your loss. I too, absolutely love goldfish. They are so much smarter than people give them credit for and full and f personality. They’re also loyal as a dog. Fancy goldfish need 20 gallons for the first fish and 10 more for each additional. You can place 2 small ones in a 20G if you plan to upgrade as needed. You’ll be ok for probably the first year in a 20G. Mine went from a 10, to a 29G, and finally to a 55G in about 18 months. One is about 8” big now because I gave her plenty of room to grow. She’s beautiful and way over average size.

 

[Briggan]

Thank you, your fish sounds happy and beautiful!

 

[FishGuest5123]

Thank you, your fish sounds happy and beautiful!

@Briggan I edited above post. I meant to say you can put 2 small ones in a 20G, not a 29G. Sorry.

 

[Briggan]

Ok thank you