PLEASE HELP ASAP!!! Ulcer or Cotton wool? Treatment?

///PLEASE HELP ASAP!!! Ulcer or Cotton wool? Treatment?
PLEASE HELP ASAP!!! Ulcer or Cotton wool? Treatment? 2016-04-19T12:26:52-05:00

goldfish emergency Forums gfe FORUM Diagnose Goldfish Symptoms and Treat PLEASE HELP ASAP!!! Ulcer or Cotton wool? Treatment?

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    • RMREagle
      Member
      Post count: 2
      #17107 |

      Please help. I have a single Fancy Goldfish in a 20G tank. I have Whisper EX20 and a Marineland Penguin 200 biofilter both working on the tank.

      I noticed a medium sized white spot on his left side a little under a week ago (def not ich). Thought it might be an ulcer of some kind. Decided to treat with melafix and pimafix. Have been dosing the tank with 10mL of each since last thursday (4/14) after a 40% water change and adding 4 TBSP of aquarium salt. Removed the carbon from both filters.

      Yesterday (4/18) I noticed he had developed a second spot near his tail on the left side. Neither seemed to be improving much and the first spot seemed to have a slight wisp of white trailing off of it. Water conditions are good, Nitrate and Nitrites at safe levels. pH was a little low before treatment but I raised it with an alkaline buffer and is now sitting at about 7.6.

      I am thinking of changing up the treatment and have done a lot of reading and cannot settle on the best course of action. Still not sure exactly what I’m dealing with despite reading multiple diagnosing sites. My thought process of treatment so far is this:

      1: 3% Hydrogen Peroxide swab of affected areas and possible application of triple antibiotic ointment or other topical wound treatment. Slightly concerned about handling the fish in this way and stressing him out, but seems like most direct way of addressing the problem areas.

      2: Acriflavine – MS – Seemed to fit multiple different possibly illnesses with similar symptoms, but I’m worried about it being too broad a treatment and/or affecting the balance of the tank. Don’t really have the space for a hospitalization tank, and while i have a live plant in the tank if i lose it I’m not all that concerned, can always get another.

      3: I read somewhere that you could also use something called Mercurochrome to swab the area and then use a topical wound treatment and an orahesive powder to seal the area, but not sure where to acquire these items and want to move forward with a different treatment today.

      4:Alternatively I have considered Methylene Blue, Malachite Green, Formalin, Sulfa-MS and Phenoxyethanol as I have seen all of these mentioned as possible treatments, but again not sure which to use since I’m not sure what I’m dealing with or exactly how it would affect my tanks cycle.

      The tank is at my girlfriends and she is not happy with the situation given it is in her 10 year old son’s room, and he doesn’t like to see his pet suffering. She is fed up with the tank in general as we lost the original fish we had in there along with some others along the way, and he is the last one and I desperately want to keep him healthy and strong. His name is Whiskey, and he means a lot to me. Please help if you can.

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      The chemicals you named are not the solution. Using them will break the cycle, and could sicken the fish. The substances you’ve used so far shouldn’t interfere with the cycle

      Now that we have that out of the way, it looks like fungus to me, but photos of fish are often unclear. Whether it’s a parasite, a fungus or even an abscess, the key is to examine the water quality

      Do you know KH levels? Could you test the pH levels in your tap so we could compare to the tank readings? What was the pH before you buffered?

      Is the tank enclosed?

      Fungus and or parasites thrive in unhealthy water, so this is what we need to work on

      Read and follow the instructions for our 911 water change, and when you’re done, you will have learned a lot and your fish will be much happier
      911 Water Change

      Once we get the readings for your KH, we’ll know why your pH is low. pH is made up of oxygen and carbonate mineral (KH). Carbonate mineral gives water the ability to support oxygen. If this reading is healthy, we’ll know the tank water isn’t oxygenated for another reason. In most cases it’s due to being enclosed. The surface of the water must be exposed to fresh air and the tank water must be free of carbon dioxide and other gases created from waste

      The fungus or parasite isn’t life threatening, it’s just a sign the water is unhealthy, and unhealthy water is life threatening. Sick fish live in sick water

      Following the instructions in the 911 water change, exchange 20% today and another 20% tomorrow. The instructions on the salt box call for too much salt, so let’s lessen the solution to safer levels. Salt is very effective in eliminating both fungus and parasites, but as most treatments do, another round will be necessary. Due to the excessive amount used, I would switch to garlic for the next round. Garlic destroys the bad bugs as it enhances the health of the fish, and the fish looks as though it needs a little help

      Garlic Remedy

      Your fish will be just fine if you follow our lead, Venus

    • RMREagle
      Member
      Post count: 2

      The pH before the buffer was sitting at about 7. kH was sitting between 120 and 180… Hard to tell exactly from the test strips but it was in the “ideal” range. I added the buffer because I was told at my local petstore (non-chain, good people) that the pH tends to drop over time and that goldfish like a more basic pH level between 7.2 and 7.6. I raised it with the buffer to about 7.2 the first day, then a few days later added a bit more, and its actually probably around 7.4 now i think, again, test strips make it hard to know exactly… will retest the water when I get home.

      The tank does have a cover on it, but the top has a large opening in the back for the two filters, and a small feeding rectangle near the front. I also have an aerator in the tank and the two filters do cause a decent turmoil in the water surface and bubbles flowing. Will try and also attach some more pictures of the tank set up as well.

      Should I attempt the hydrogen peroxide swab or any other treatment. I really think the water conditions were ok just a little too acididic but i haven’t been diligent in my testing of it. Prior to the fish getting this sore i had been doing 40-50% water changes every other week, but let it go a little longer because I got sick with pneumonia myself and was home and not at my girlfriends place… She really wants me to try some other treatment since while using the melafix and pimafix a second sore developed… Should I continue the melafix and pimafix? Stop them and add the carbon filters back in? I would ideally like to show up there with some other plan in mind…

    • Venus
      Keymaster
      Post count: 133

      Well, garlic would be the other treatment to try. It’s pointless to treat the spot. Treat the environment, and the issue will resolve itself

      Okay great. Your KH is at a very healthy level. Don’t use the buffering agent again, as it raises KH, and too high of levels can burn your fish. All too often KH is ignored (the forgotten parameter) and pH misunderstood. This leads to trouble. The water changes I recommended will reduce the substances you’ve added naturally. After you perform the 911 water change, test your pH, and you’ll see the difference

      There’s no magic potion to keeping fish healthy. It all comes from hard work, understanding the value of water and how to manage it

      Goldfish make waste, and lots of it. Gases are produced from waste that fill the body of water, keeping oxygen from entering. These gases need to eliminated, and the filtering systems you’re using won’t get the job done. Consider adding a real pond pump to your set up. If the top is removed, if the KH is healthy and the body of water is free of gases, your water will be oxygenated, and the pH will be healthy. With KH readings like you have, the levels should be closer to if not over 8.ppm, and this is the goal

      Bad bugs can’t tolerate oxygen

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