Goldfish help, red marks that look bumpy

[Niki_up]

ive not seen this before, just watching my goldfish tank tonight and noticed one of them has these marks on his face, head, and red gills. I don’t know if fish can get a form of fish herpies, but that’s what it looks like....sorry the pictures are not very clear.....there is also red streaking in the fins....

This happened overnight...I changed 50% of my water on Friday, and then 80% of my water on Sunday...

I’ll post water parameter tomorrow as I don’t have my test kit home, I lent it to a friend bc I didn’t think I would need it...

Nothing has changed in the tank.

Temperature is 77

I know these are signs of high nitrates, but it cannot be the case here (even without my test kit I know it not high NA), this tank has been running for several years, I didn’t clean the filters within the last 6 months so it’s not a mini cycle of the sorts... I’m currently in the process of changing 80% of the water again now

 

[Niki_up]

Couple of clear pics when he stopped swimming

 

[Kittiee Katt]

What kind of filter?

If you haven't cleaned it at all in 6 months and aren't using a Rid-x type product it may very well be high nitrates, the sludge and gunk in the filter is constantly breaking down and being released back into the tank as nitrate.

Assuming you haven't, try cleaning the filter in a bucket of old tank water, then keep up the daily WC's and see if anything changes over the coming weeks.

If it is nitrate poisoning the marks could take a looong time to heal, or your fish could die before they do. A while back I took in my little sisters goldfish who had severe nitrate poisoning, even after 6 weeks of daily WC's (increasing the amount gradually because the fish was kept in disgusting water for almost a year) nothing changed. In the end my ex ended up putting it down because it wasn't improving and got to the point where it was cruel to force it to die slowly.

Good luck.


Disclaimer: I am not an expert nor am I a vet. I do not know everything nor do I claim to. The above text is based on the small amount of knowledge I have and what I would do in this situation. Always do your own research and always cross reference!

 

[Niki_up]

My filter is an aqua clear 110, usually don’t clean it unless the flow is impeded....I’ll get my test kit back today and post results when I do....I don’t expect you to be an expert but everyone combined experiences can help! So I do thank you for posting...I will also check my filter today and see if it’s gross.

 

[Rocksor]

If you have the sponge pad in your AC 110, it should be rinsed with tank water removed during your water change, at a minimum once a week. A single fancy gold fish in a 20g (and no other fish) should be getting water changes at least once a week.

 

[Niki_up]

If you have the sponge pad in your AC 110, it should be rinsed with tank water removed during your water change, at a minimum once a week. A single fancy gold fish in a 20g (and no other fish) should be getting water changes at least once a week.

That seems excessive to me, no?

I have 3 fancy goldfish in a 60g with the AC110 filter, only one foshbis affected, not the other two. This tank gets one and sometimes two water changes a week.

Now I’m super interested to know what my NAs are in this tank....I didn’t think leaving the filter that long without rinsing it was that bad of an idea, especially when no flow is restricted...I’m not even sure what the media consist of, I think it’s the sponge, the ceramic rings x2, and a lava rock....

 

[Rocksor]

That seems excessive to me, no?

I have 3 fancy goldfish in a 60g with the AC110 filter, only one foshbis affected, not the other two. This tank gets one and sometimes two water changes a week.

Now I’m super interested to know what my NAs are in this tank....I didn’t think leaving the filter that long without rinsing it was that bad of an idea, especially when no flow is restricted...I’m not even sure what the media consist of, I think it’s the sponge, the ceramic rings x2, and a lava rock....

There is no such thing as excessive filter media cleaning in a fully cycled tank. It doesn't matter if the flow is not impeded, you can still have too much detritus matter than harbors pathogenic bacteria (like the ones that cause reddening of gills, body, and fins) in the filter. Once the flow is impeded, you waited way too long to clean the filter media.

Many people clean their filter media weekly or monthly, even though their filter's flow is not restricted, and it still takes them quite a bit of time to sufficiently clean the media.

 

[Niki_up]

There is no such thing as excessive filter media cleaning in a fully cycled tank. It doesn't matter if the flow is not impeded, you can still have too much detritus matter than harbors pathogenic bacteria (like the ones that cause reddening of gills, body, and fins) in the filter. Once the flow is impeded, you waited way too long to clean the filter media.

Many people clean their filter media weekly or monthly, even though their filter's flow is not restricted, and it still takes them quite a bit of time to sufficiently clean the media.

Good to know, time to step up my filter cleaning regime

 

[Niki_up]

Tests results are as follows:

PH 7.4
AM 0
NI 0
NA between 0-5

He is actually a little less red this morning....wondering if I should do another water change today....

 

[Rocksor]

How large of a water change did you do? I would've done at least 50%.