Sick Lonely Goldfish

[Tiswas]

Hi all. I'm new to this forum and to fish keeping. I got four goldfish recently and foolishly didn't really look around many places before I got them. Got them home and they immediately developed white spot. When I went back to the shop all the others in the tank they came from were affected as well. I treated them religiously and they appeared to be getting better but then they rapidly went downhill and I lost three of them in the space of two days!

The two shubunkins were the first to go. Their tails were all shredded and they'd been rubbing themselves against the decorations so much that they'd started scraping skin off. Then the little goldfish went. He had a shredded tail but wasn't as battered as the others.

The only one I have left now is a little red and white goldfish. He doesn't have white spots the way the others did but I did notice today that he appears to have a red blob on his lower lip and there is a small white bit just inside his mouth that sometimes gets blown out. He also has some almost slimey grey/white blobs on his head. He has been a lot more subdued since the other fish all died and this morning didn't eat much food (he used to eat ravenously).

I need help because I really don't want to lose him too!

 

[Davo86]

Hi what size tank fo you have these in and how long has it been setup for?
Do you have any water stats

Tbh it sounds like the the tank wasn't properly cycled when the fish were added or that the tank was overstocked,

The remaining goldfish seemingly has a bacterial infection, possibly columnaris, which suggests that the water isn't in top condition,

Can you post a pic of the infected areas on the goldfish?
I wold also be doing a 50% precautionary water change

 

[Tiswas]

The tank is a 60 litre tank and it wasn't cycled properly I know that. I was stupid and didn't do any proper research first and I regret it! And as a result it's only been set up about 3 weeks.
I got some water testing strips and they say that my water quality is good, I've been testing regularly.
I'll do a water change tonight when I get in and I'll try and get a picture as well but he's still quite small.
I sought advice from the man in the local aquatics centre and he's also recommended a 50% water change and to vacuum the gravel and clean all the tank decorations.

 

[silverrabbit]

Please trust me when I say that those strips give false readings. When I first strated browsing on here, I was using test strips and thought things were fine... I bought a liquid test kit after what i'd read on here, and was shocked to see the difference in results. If you can, try and get hold of a liquid kit - much better

Sorry your goldies died hope this little one makes it. Actually, 2 meds I have found to be great are eSHa Exit (whitespot/velvet med) and eSHa 2000 (anti fungus, finrot, mouthrot, bacterial infections etc etc) - and you can use them together. If you can get hold of them, might be worth a shot.

 

[Tiswas]

Oh god ok! I'll try and get hold of a liquid test kit then. Thanks!

 

[black angel]

youll need tests for ammonia, ph, nitrites and nitrates.

dont get any other goldies for the one one unless you can upgrade the tank to at least 30 gallons and have a lot of filtration. As you are youll need to do water changes every couple days or so depending on ammonia readings. Your goldie may get to a foot in length but most average around 8 inches when kept in tanks, some smaller depending on size of tank.
Sounds like a bacterial infection and best treated with lots of water changes and gravel vacs to keep the water in good condition..Id also recommend a heater set to around 20c to help the fishes natural immune system to kick in and help fight infection.
dont remember seeing where you were from but uk theres nothing really specific to treat bacterial infections but in the US you can get medigold, which is a feed with medication to help fight off bacteria.
As your tank will be cycling keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrites to begin with. Never let the ammonia get above .5 and for nitrites above 1. when the tank is cycled youll know when you need to do water changes when the ammonia starts to rise.

 

[Tiswas]

As promised some pictures of my poor little fishie!!!

It's the little white blob on his head and the red blob on his lower lip that I'm worried about. I've done a 50% water change this evening and vacuumed the gravel. Will have to try and get a liquid water testing kit.

 

[black angel]

looks to me like he caught something on the mouth and its a bit bloody, but cant tell for certain... the head not too sure but is it dented in or growing out?

 

[saph.st24]

hi all
agree black angel
what happens is one fish will be infected when it dies the parasite drops off the dead fish and infects the next live fish available so on and so on
ulcers are a symptom of a bacterial infection it comes about by your fish becomes stressedI
also it can be health problem that comes after lesions created by parasites have become infected. .
you will need to add salt and raise the temp of the tank up 7C the life cycle of itch will take six weeks, but at 20-25C it will be complete in a week-2 weeks. also raising the temp will aid healing
for the ulcer add a broad-spectrum anti-bacterial treatment available from your local aquatics shop and extra air as the treatment and the heat will lower oxygen levels

hope this helps