# fish are sick with ick! HALP!!!



## Blaze (Sep 4, 2013)

i have four goldfish in a 29 gallon aquarium. I noticed two with ick but without a quarintine tank i could not isolate them. I noticed this yesterday. i bought tetra ick guard and treated them in eastern time 7. today i looked and they didn't appear to have changed symptoms except my favorite, Blaze is swimming loppy. I just put in another dose right before this post because the tetra website suggested this. *H2. i had just got my fish around july , or june. Also the fish infected hide under the decorations in very tight spaces


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## starrysparkle (Aug 4, 2013)

ich and goldfish that's a hard combination because of the water temp,,, in the colder water the ich doesn't get to its free floating stage for quite some time and that is the only time you can kill the ich ... I had ich in my goldfish tank and it took me about 4 weeks to get rid of it i put some aquarium salt in my tank and kept giving the ich meds also do lots of water changes I used kordon rid ich plus which seemed to have done the trick or you can use AP PRO Quick cure which is malachite green which works great also,,, just read the instructions and don't forget to remove your carbon out of your filter and hopefully your fish will make it also check online to find out more about ich and goldfish because that is a totally different ball game than a tropical tank and ich ,, I just had ich in my tropical tank and took care of it within seven days but I caught it really early ,,,so good luck keep us posted and let us know what happens
also read about the lifecycle of ich which was really helpful to me 
take care


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## Blaze (Sep 4, 2013)

Thank you for replying, I am very new to the aquarium hobby and finding good information seems very hard so I have some additional questions...
1. Is it really ok to feed goldfish canned peas?
2. How do I know if the fish are in the feeding stage? I only have 2 more tetra ich guard tablets left which isn't enough. I will try to see if the petsmart near me has rid ich plus
3. The infected fish are hiding and clamping when I put in my dose. Does that mean that ich guard from tetra is harming them?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

The main difference between treating ich for tropicals and goldfish is the max temp you can raise tank to.Many with tropicals try to get up to 86,while recommended max for goldfish is 77.
Try to get tank up to 77(if you have heater).
Get liquid ich med(not herbal).Any with malechalite green and formulin will work(I use rid ich plus{kordon} ,but many say quick cure is excelllent also.)
Vaccum substrate thoroughly as this is where the ich will fall from fish to and multiply.Ich can only be cured while it is off the fish so when you don't see keep medicating.
Follow directions ,change water and replace meds for volume of water removed and re apply as needed.
The increased temp speeds up life cycle of ich.
Here's a link to the life cycle of ich which will help you understand how to kill it.
Ich | The Skeptical Aquarist
You got to kill it or it will kill your fish!KILL IT!


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Four goldfish in a 29 gallon is way over stocked, which is the reason for the ich in the first place. How often are you changing water, how much and what size filter do you have? 

Fancies are suggested 30 gallons for the first and then ten for each after with a filter rated for double the volume of the aquarium. Comets and the common types belong in ponds.

On the cure: I use quick cure. It is safe for my wilds and it works very well. Can easily be found in the fish dept of Walmart. Once the ich is gone, I suggest you work on upgrading to a larger setup and filter for these guys.

ETA: I suggest you use frozen peas as we dont know what additives are in the cans. You need to take the peas and place in a bowl of aquarium water, and microwave it for about 30 seconds. let this cool, and de shell it. Then smoosh it in your finger just to break it up a little and then feed to the fish. They will love it, along with some other veggies like zuchinni and I heard they enjoy the brocolli florettes.


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## Blaze (Sep 4, 2013)

Hi people. Today I woke up and one of my goldfish, Electric, was dead :'( the color of the water was not blue like the tetra ich guard but more of a greyish, I thought this may have been the cause in addition to ich so i put in the carbon filter. coral bandit, i will attempt to raise the temperature to that and not past it because I am not sure how to raise my heater to a certain temperature. majerah1, i change my water every month, 100% because lets just say my parents like to take care of fish the old fashioned way. I cannot get a bigger setup. I have one whisper power filter that is 115 volts. I am off to do a 50% water change, do I put dechlorinater in the bucket or tank?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Raise temp slowly and make sure the fish can "handle" it.
If you put dechlorinator in bucket you only need enough to treat "actual " water replacing.
If you want to put dechlorinator in tank then add enough for "total tank volume".
Eitherway is ok.


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## Blaze (Sep 4, 2013)

I did a 50% water change and added two more bubblers to a total of 3. I also turned on the heater. Blaze, my favorite fish is swimming like he has swim bladder problems or he is just at the mercy of the current. While I was cleaning the gravel I noticed little white spots going up a bit but going back down. I spent the majority of my gravel cleaning in that spot but couldn't quite get them.  I decided to add in the bucket.


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## Blaze (Sep 4, 2013)

I went to petsmart and got kordons rid ich treatment. I just put it in the water now.


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## starrysparkle (Aug 4, 2013)

you should also remove all decorations in the tank when you treat for ich ,,
if I remember right with kordon rid ick plus remove carbon in filter dose tank wait 48 hrs do a 50% water change and repeat until ich is gone ,, keep putting salt in the tank it helps with the stress you can use regular sea salt you can get at the store instead of getting the aquarium salt just don't get the stuff with iodine in it ,, frozen peas are the ones you want to use ,, defrost,, peel ,, smash them and feed them ,, also mine liked ghost shrimp and snails you can get ghost shrimp at petsmart and the snails come with the life plants ,, lol ,,( just kidding I always get snails with my "guaranteed snail free" live plants ) and don't feel bad about losing fish we have all lost fish at one time or another if your fish get too miserable sometimes the best thing to do is take them out of their misery !!
good luck


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## Blaze (Sep 4, 2013)

I acctually do not have any salt in the tank at the moment because of my safe salt shortage. How much do I put in anyway? (I didn't have any in the first place)


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## starrysparkle (Aug 4, 2013)

its one teaspoon per gallon of water pre dissolve it in a container before putting it in to your tank , it will help with the stress


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## Blaze (Sep 4, 2013)

why would salt help? Also i think the ich is out of feeding stage becuase i don't notice any spots on Blaze


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## Blaze (Sep 4, 2013)

I had just went to get the mail and ntoiced that Blaze was at the same place he was a few hours ago (head in a patch of coral decoration) I decided to shift the coral decoration and Blaze was dead. :'( On the kordon's it says every 24hours


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## starrysparkle (Aug 4, 2013)

it adds electrolytes and parasites and other undesirables in the aquarium are adversely affected by salt, so it is a treatment and preventative for parasites. 2. Wounds heal faster with salt in the water ever notice how sores heal faster after you swin in the ocean?) and 3. Fish being in water all day have a stressful time trying to keep the right amount of liquid in their body, salt helps the fish in this battle (liken this to the wrinkles you get after a long bath) 
so I straight jacked this from a web site but I cant put it any better than that ,, im a big believer in salt in my freshwater tank and it doesn't seem to affect them adversely .


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## Blaze (Sep 4, 2013)

I made some edits did you read them?


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## starrysparkle (Aug 4, 2013)

I wasn't sure whether it was 24 or 48 hrs .


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## Blaze (Sep 4, 2013)

when did you start your aquarium career and how many tanks do you have? What setups?


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## starrysparkle (Aug 4, 2013)

im sorry about your fish,,,, I know it sux but live and learn ,, don't take it to hard


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## starrysparkle (Aug 4, 2013)

I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank and a 10 gallon hospital tank ,, I have had aquariums off and on for the past 30 yrs ,,,my dad raised cichlids in his basement the whole basement was nothing but aquariums from one end to the other and we had a 60 gallon tank in our house,,, I used to spend a lot of time with him and his fish lol and his trials and errors ,,, learned a lot,,, forgot a lot ,,, he is still one of my big references when it comes to fish keeping and on here I learn something new every day about the aquarium hobby .. there is some really knowledgeable people on here and I like to read the posts and replies ,,,
take care


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## Blaze (Sep 4, 2013)

what is the procedure of feeding your fish during treatment?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Feed as normal.No more than what is consumed in 2 minutes.


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## Blaze (Sep 4, 2013)

I went to an aquarium specialist and asked about my problem. He said i should dip their food in garlic juice then feed it to them. I just fed them their meal


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

The garlic basically only enhances their desire to eat.


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## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

Blaze said:


> I went to an aquarium specialist and asked about my problem. He said i should dip their food in garlic juice then feed it to them. I just fed them their meal


That was good advice. Did the sick fish eat the garlic-soaked food? Garlic stimulates appetite. A fishes ability to fight any infection depends significantly on high nutritional intake. It's very important to keep sick fish eating. If you normally feed your fish once daily, when they're sick, I'd feed them twice but no more than what they can consume in 2-3 minutes. I'd remove uneaten food. The water itself needs to be kept as nutrient-free as possible. 

FYI: I personally don't believe garlic itself has any direct medicinal value, but that's just my opinion. Others believe differently. My opinion is based on many years of treating many fish with ick. 

Are you familiar with the benefits of UV sterilization? Now that's the way to go IMO. It's cheap and it works.

Ick sux.


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