Goldfish Disease ID

[MeiTnerium109]

I have began feeding my needlenose gar goldfish, and with my most recent batch I noticed something strange.

Various goldfish had frayed fins, and then died off. I doubt it's fin rot, because the goldfish die before losing all of their fins and the fins simply look like the effect of nippy tankmates rather than a bacteria.

When I fed my gar these fish, the gar's chewing causes some of the scales to break off and enter the water. This is what I'm concerned about, because otherwise the disease can't spread. (I drop one goldfish in every day and he consumes them instantly, preventing the spread of disease.)

I'm unaware of what this is caused by: a disease, poor water (sorry, my feeder tank isn't a large focus of mine), or malnutrition (fish seem to ignore the flakes in favor of the too-hard-to-eat algae wafers).

Anyway, I just fed my last goldfish with this affliction, so I would like to hear the answer in case it infects my fish or I happen upon it again.

 

[zackxf]

You shouldn't feed your Needle nose feeder gold fish. If you want to feed him live food you should either use guppies, convicts, etc. There are some popular fish bread for feeders, just do a little search on here. Goldfish aren't very nutritional, and unless you breed them yourself, are likely to have diseases. Plus, even though it gets eaten , it doesn't mean that whatever disease they have can't spread, and I also wouldn't him dead fish, because he could get infected himself.

 

[Lupin]

As I see it, the original post lacks logic in some instances but this will be explained below little by little so some issues can be rectified.

Do you have photos of the trimmed fin areas? It is very easy to confuse the tattered areas by nipping with bacterial infections however "frayed" fins is already a sign of bacterial infection in itself especially if the fins present unusually white edges meaning the fins are gradually rotting away.

Your gar needs to be treated if it starts exhibiting unusual symptoms. If you observe any unusual symptoms, please post your observations here immediately and do not treat the fish with anything yet unless you think your diagnosis is quite accurate. The problem with administering wrong treatments is that they can potentially kill the fish needlessly insted of helping them.

Regardless of the circumstances, you should not be feeding your prized collections with infected fish. Even if you think swallowing the whole sick fish will minimize the infection risk, it does not work that way. Parasites find their way to destroy all your prized fish.

The whole point of quarantining the feeder fish is to allow you to disinfect the feeders for possible pathogens that can potentially kill your fish. Remember that feeder goldfish often are kept in subpar water conditions and since these are also inbred most of the time, they are easily afflicted with tumors whether benign or cancerous. Aside from that, they are also prone to flukes, bacterial infections, ich, internal parasites and external parasites. No fish is completely free from parasites.

If I were you, refrain from using feeder fish completely especially for those who may not have the patience to quarantine their feeder stocks for 3-4 weeks and treat with a 0.3% solution of salt and praziquantel at various time intervals. Try the frozen stuff such as smelts, bloodworms, etc. I'd encourage the fish to eat pellets. Flakes have very little nutritional value which is why I don't use flakes with my own fish anymore.

Hope this helps.

 

[MeiTnerium109]

You shouldn't feed your Needle nose feeder gold fish. If you want to feed him live food you should either use guppies, convicts, etc....Plus, even though it gets eaten , it doesn't mean that whatever disease they have can't spread, and I also wouldn't him dead fish, because he could get infected himself.

I don't have a large feeder selection here, so it's goldfish and minnows, or the gar starves. (I feed both goldfish and minnows, but only the goldfish have shown signs of this. I prefer minnows, but the store had barely enough feeders.)

I'm continuing to feed it the goldfish because I personally believe it has something to do with the water quality. If the goldfish were displaying signs of a known disease I would stop immediately (it's not fin rot).

Do you have photos of the trimmed fin areas? It is very easy to confuse the tattered areas by nipping with bacterial infections however "frayed" fins is already a sign of bacterial infection in itself especially if the fins present unusually white edges meaning the fins are gradually rotting away.

Just to clarify: I want to know what is causing these symptoms. Not your opinions on feeding a fish you clearly know nothing about. The directions on how to handle infection are also unnecessary.

Also, the fins look more like http://www.twoofakind.info/images/fish/health/IMG_1533.jpg than http://www.time4fish.net/image/fishd/fin-rot1.jpg. Picture 1 caused by tankmates while Picture 2 caused by fin rot. I suppose "nipped" is a better word than "frayed."

 

[Lupin]

That's fine with me. If you don't want the additional information in concern towards your fish, then it's up to you whether you want to take the advice given to you or not however on the other hand, your comment that I don't know what I am talking about is uncalled for. Either way, I could care less of the criticisms you give and I'm done with this thread.

 

[sostoudt]

its is most likely a bacterial infection, since scales are falling off. in very sick fish more then one disease is likely present

i definitely would stop feeding your fish other sick fish, a very dumb move on your
part.
just because bacteria is probably killed in the stomach does not mean it wont become free floating in the water in the time you drop the fish in. bacteria doesnt have to be attached to the animal.
also not all bacteria is killed in the gut(ex salmonella).