We bought a 10 gallon freshwater aquarium to keep goldfish in a week and two days ago. However we didn't realize how much upkeep went into caring for these cool little guys until we noticed they weren't acting right and had white spots on them. I started researching on what to do to care for my fish. I was overwhelmed because it seems like everyone cures their fish and their tanks differently. We've took a little information from here and from there and have sort of ran with it. Heres our story. We bought our tank and our fish from the pet store. Got home filled it almost all the way up with tap water, treated the water with the conditioner that came with the aquarium set up then, put our fish and the water from the pet store into the tank. My boyfriend didn't believe me that we needed to wait 24 hours before putting the fish in so he did all of this within about an hour or so. Our fish seemed fine for a few days, they were eating and we're seemingly happy with their new home. I started observing them more and more to make sure they were okay. Then about Wednesday, Feb. 22 I noticed the white spots on our fish. I started to worry because I automatically knew it wasn't normal. Started researching and found out about "ich" to the T this is what my fish have been experiencing.. Once I read, and watched, asked and told about what to do, how to do it and what to use, and just about driving myself insane. We decided to take advise from a few different sources and just try to save our goldfish by playing it by ear if you will. So Friday night we went to wal mart and bought the jungle brand of conditioner, start zyme, as well as the ich treatment. Also decided to get another fish.. (My boyfriends idea.) Anyhow, we get home and I explained to him we need to do this right this time. We took water from the aquarium and filled up temporary "hospital" bowls for the two fish that were in the aquarium. Transferred the fish over to the smaller bowl for the time being. We completely drained the entire aquarium, emptied the gravels and decorations. Used hot tap water to rinse the tank, the gravel, and decorations. Next we filled the tank back up and inserted our gravel and decorations back into the tank. After, I used the Jungle conditioner and put 10 ml into it. I used 5ml more because I figured the conditioner we used at first in the water from our tap wasn't doing the job. I then put 5ml of zyme start and decided to just allow that to run through our tank for at least 24 hours. We took our 2 goldfish in the hospital tank and dropped one stop of the ich treatment into their tank Friday night. Also a drop into the new fishs bowl just in case he is infected too. So today before the 24 hours was up I tested the water. The ph was at 8.4, chlorine at 0, hardness at 10, alkalinity 180, nitites 0, and nitrate was 0.454 ppm. I'm not real sure what all of these are acceptable and what isn't. But this is also before the 24 hours after changing water. Our 3 fish have been treated twice in their separate bowls. Once yesterday and once today. We did a 25% water change with them still in the same bowls. The water temps are at a good level within the green range on our glass thermostat. The fish seem to be a little calmer, and also the spots have noticeably decreased. They also don't have very much room in these small(temporary) bowls but there is progress. So we've done something right. Right? So I really want to dedicate to these fish and give them a good and happy life. We could use some advice on when to transfer them back to the 10 gallon aquarium. Also what to do about the water that is running through our tank while they are healing in the bowls. Help please. We don't want to fail these little guys.
New aquarium owner. Water and ich problems.
- Thread starter laina_baina94
- Start date
It often takes over a month to treat for ick.
Ick is a protozoa which has vulnerable life cycles, and non-vulnerable life cycles.
Just because the spots are not visible, does not mean ick is gone.
The spots are like holding bins for new ick, each spot erupts into new (invisible (microscopic)) young ick perhaps hundreds from each spot.
The good news, is when they erupt, that is the vulnerable to the chemical treatment stage.
When ick is on the fish, it is protected by the fishes own slime coat and skin.
You must assume if a fish had ick in the main tank, that tank is contaminated, and needs treatment.
Ick is a protozoa which has vulnerable life cycles, and non-vulnerable life cycles.
Just because the spots are not visible, does not mean ick is gone.
The spots are like holding bins for new ick, each spot erupts into new (invisible (microscopic)) young ick perhaps hundreds from each spot.
The good news, is when they erupt, that is the vulnerable to the chemical treatment stage.
When ick is on the fish, it is protected by the fishes own slime coat and skin.
You must assume if a fish had ick in the main tank, that tank is contaminated, and needs treatment.
You should continue treating them for ich, but don't move them back into the 10 gal. They need to be moved to a larger tank, as Goldfish are very messy. Search Craigslist for good deals on tanks. Ideally you want something 40+ gallons. If you want a new tank, PetSmart sells Marineland 55gal aquarium kits for $250, and a stand can be ordered/bought for $60-160, depending on the material it's made from.
Hello; Not that my take is necessary or in any way a requirement, but let me make a suggestion. I had difficulty reading thru your initial post as it is very long series of sentences without any sort of breaks. Makes it hard to keep my place when reading. Just a thought.
I think you may find a consensus on that the goldfish could use a larger tank. I know that folks keep them in small bowls and have for years. A ten gallon is a step way above a bowl so you should get positive credit for that.
The ick is a parasite and well discussed by Duanes. Become his friend if you can as he knows his stuff.
A common treatment for ick is reported to simply raise the tank temperature over 80 F for a long while (weeks perhaps). Not sure how well goldfish deal with elevated temps over a long time.
Good luck
I think you may find a consensus on that the goldfish could use a larger tank. I know that folks keep them in small bowls and have for years. A ten gallon is a step way above a bowl so you should get positive credit for that.
The ick is a parasite and well discussed by Duanes. Become his friend if you can as he knows his stuff.
A common treatment for ick is reported to simply raise the tank temperature over 80 F for a long while (weeks perhaps). Not sure how well goldfish deal with elevated temps over a long time.
Good luck
It is also hard for me to read through your post without paragraphs or breaks... I agree that your 10 gallon tank is too small for the goldfish long term.
How much do you know about cycling a tank?
Also you mention testing for chlorine but not ammonia. Did you mean ammonia or did you not test for ammonia?
How much do you know about cycling a tank?
Also you mention testing for chlorine but not ammonia. Did you mean ammonia or did you not test for ammonia?
