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May 24, 2013, 12:48:23 PM
Pet Goldfish - Aquarium Forum Community
Aquarium
Health and Illness
Fin Rot
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Topic: Fin Rot (Read 543 times)
lreiden
Full Member
Karma: 20
Posts: 116
Fin Rot
«
on:
September 11, 2011, 08:37:47 AM »
Hi All,
I noticed last week that my fish had little white spots on them, I immediately did a 50% water change and added salt to the water. The spots went away, then I did another water change 2 days later without salt, the fish seemed fine, then the white spots came back. It is fin rot with the white line around the edge of the fins...one of my fish seems to get it more than the other but it seems like the water changes and adding salt does the trick. My question is, is this going to keep coming back? What should I do to keep it from coming back? Is it bad to add salt with each water change? Up to this point I havent been adding salt with each change because I'm afraid it will be too much, I follow the directions and only do 1 tbsp per 5 gallons but I'm still worried I'll harm them. I dont want to medicate unless its really necessary, I think I'm catching it early so it isnt that bad yet...Any help/advice appreciated
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Goldiegirl
Sr. Member
Karma: 168
Posts: 760
Re: Fin Rot
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Reply #1 on:
September 11, 2011, 09:59:28 AM »
It sounds like the life cycle of the white spots hasn't had time to be destroyed completely, causing your fish to keep catching the illness repeatedly. When treating the fish, you should leave the salt in there for 7 days straight, regardless if your fish look better or not. That should give them enough time to recover completely. And if you do a water change, replace the ammount of salt you took out. I recommend using 3 tablespoons of salt for every 10 gallons of water you have. Goldfish really can tolerate an astounding ammount of salt, so don't be afraid to use the full dosage! For instance, if you have a 20 gallon tank you should add 6 tablespoons of salt. If you do a 50% water change, you should add 3 tablespoons to replace the salt you removed. If you don't replace the salt it will dilute the concentration you have in there. Fin rot is something you really have to nip in the bud right away; else your fish end up loosing their entire tails to the disease. For a small ammount of time it will be fine to use the salt. You just don't want to keep it in there all the time weeks after they have recovered.
Hope this helps!
«
Last Edit: September 11, 2011, 10:01:30 AM by Goldiegirl
»
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lreiden
Full Member
Karma: 20
Posts: 116
Re: Fin Rot
«
Reply #2 on:
September 11, 2011, 10:09:57 AM »
Thanks for the great advice Goldiegirl, one more question if you dont mind, how often should I change the water? Every other day? Can I do water changes every day or is that too much?
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fantailer
Sr. Member
Karma: 121
Posts: 1626
Re: Fin Rot
«
Reply #3 on:
September 11, 2011, 12:10:02 PM »
I would think every other day. But check with Goldiegirl too because she knows more than I do.
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Nossie
Hero Member
Karma: 481
Posts: 5469
Re: Fin Rot
«
Reply #4 on:
September 11, 2011, 02:06:37 PM »
Karma for Goldiegirl for that great answer
Ireiden: I would, if the tank is cycled, and I'm only using salt, I'd only change the water once or twice a week, but then take out 50% as usual
If you have a heater, you could turn the temperature up a little bit too, this will speed up the life-cycle of the Ich parasites
Should you have some, you could try feeding some anti-bacterial medicated food for the fin rot if you have some while treating with the salt.
Next, you could try figuring out why they got sick, is it the water quality? Did you recently introduce a new plant/ornament that was previously in a tank? Are you changing the water often enough?
It's usually pretty hard to find reasons, but sometimes you may realize that "Oops! I was a few days late with the water change last time!" Or something like that, in a small, crowded tank, something that small can make all the difference
Good luck! I hope the fish will recover!
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lreiden
Full Member
Karma: 20
Posts: 116
Re: Fin Rot
«
Reply #5 on:
September 12, 2011, 12:27:02 PM »
Thanks for the great advice, I will try your suggestions, if they dont clear up and stay free of it, I will probably be posting asking about the best medications to use
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Nossie
Hero Member
Karma: 481
Posts: 5469
Re: Fin Rot
«
Reply #6 on:
September 12, 2011, 02:07:53 PM »
Sure! Please keep us updated
It'd be such a shame to lose a fish
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Goldiegirl
Sr. Member
Karma: 168
Posts: 760
Re: Fin Rot
«
Reply #7 on:
September 13, 2011, 09:56:11 AM »
Sorry I was late on this post...been really busy the past few days! The salt should pretty much do the trick (that stuff works wonders), however sometimes stronger meds are needed. I would just suggest keepiing a very close watch on them and try to avoid stressing them as much as possible (i.e. chasing them around with the net, bumping into the tank...). Keep the water perfect...I would suggest testing it often so you know for certain. Nossie's advice about the heater is also great - warmer temperatures make the life cycle speed up, destroying them faster.
Good luck with your fish and keep us posted.
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lreiden
Full Member
Karma: 20
Posts: 116
Re: Fin Rot
«
Reply #8 on:
September 13, 2011, 12:58:59 PM »
Unfortunatley I dont have a heater for my tank, I did a water change yesterday and added a tbsp of salt back...I may do the same today...Its getting frustrating because it has come back 3 times so I know i am obviously not killing it off entirely. I still need a bigger tank, unfortunately my finances arent allowing me to purchase one right now...if I had a bigger tank I know it would be easier to control this. My fish seem completely happy and healthy other than the white line on the one fish's fin. Not all of the fish have caught this which is a good sign. Can I take the one fish out and put it in a separate container to treat? I dont want to cause undue stress so I was trying to avoid having to do that. Blah
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Nossie
Hero Member
Karma: 481
Posts: 5469
Re: Fin Rot
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Reply #9 on:
September 13, 2011, 02:36:31 PM »
"Separate Container" in that case has to mean a "cycled quarantine tank" to avoid causing any damage to fish by moving it...
It could be a plastic container of sufficient size, (10 gallons - 40 liters) but since you already have the parasites obviously in the tank, it would really be the best solution to just treat all of it. Just salt won't have an impact on the eco-system of the tank either way
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lreiden
Full Member
Karma: 20
Posts: 116
Re: Fin Rot
«
Reply #10 on:
September 15, 2011, 10:21:00 AM »
I did a big tank cleaning, took out some of my gravel (I think I had too much in there anyways), rinsed the filter out in tank water and added salt...it hasnt come back yet. I am going to do another 25% water change today and add back the salt i take out....I"m crossing my fingers that the major tank cleaning helped.
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Goldiegirl
Sr. Member
Karma: 168
Posts: 760
Re: Fin Rot
«
Reply #11 on:
September 15, 2011, 10:42:55 AM »
Yes, with ich it is important to syphon the bottom of the tank as well due to the life cycle of the ich cysts...
When the ich protozoan attaches to the side of the fish, it literally begins to eat the fish alive. The fish usually produces extra slime coating to try to protect itself. The ich protozoan continues feeding and growing. This is why ich can be hard to treat with meds - the cyst wall prevents anything from penatrating it and harming the ich protozoan itself. Once it matures, it will burst through the cyst wall and then fall to the bottom of the aquarium into the gravel. It then begins to divide into hundreds of new ich-infecting "baby ichs." At this stage the temperature influences the ich most, the warmer it is the faster it multiplies. At temps around 78 degrees F, the replication will be completed in about 8 hours. At lower temperatures, the replication takes longer making the treatment time for eradication much longer.
Once the replication is complete, the ich protozoan bursts and releases the newly-formed ones into the water. These are mobile and swim around the tank searching for a fish to attack. Once they attach to a fish, the cycle will start over again. It is during this stage that ich is most susceptible to treatment. These protozoans go all over the tank, which is why it's important not to transfer gravel, plants, or other decor to another tank unless they are first sterilize. Depending on the temperature of the tank, it can take anywhere from 4 days to several weeks to get rid of all these horrible little monsters.
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Nossie
Hero Member
Karma: 481
Posts: 5469
Re: Fin Rot
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Reply #12 on:
September 15, 2011, 02:55:42 PM »
A small addition to Goldiegirls great post
:
The parasites actually get in under the fishes' skin, and the white spots we see on the fish is a defense mechanism. The fishes' skin covers the parasite in a vain attempt to protect what's under. So sometimes in major outbreaks, or recurring ones, it's a good idea to support the salt treatment with some medicated food against internal parasites
Ireiden, do you have a test kit yet?
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