Goldfish pimple!

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

Thanks in advance!

I have a young pearlscale goldfish(about an inch, which I just bought from PetSmart a few days ago and was fine) in an 84g tank with 9 others that are medium sized gold fish(maybe 3" that have been in the tank for a few months, mix of calicos, moor, lionhead, and regular ones) and i just noticed it with red spots in 3 areas(one on the pectoral fin[it's reddish on the joint and a spot on the fin itself], by the anus, and the last one between where the belly ends and tail begins). The one by the anal fin is the biggest one and has pus coming out of it.

There are some live plants, and just did a 30% water change 4 days ago(before the pearlscale was put in).

Assistance please, looking through the web for answers atm and waiting on water test results...

 

[Laticauda]

I'd recommend taking pictures and posting them as well. If you go to www.thegab.org those nice ladies will walk you through it every step of the way. There is a sticky with a copy/paste form for them to help you diagnose and treat the problem.

Also, make sure you say "I know I should have quarantined, it was a n00b mistake, and I'll never make it again." Because that's what they will need to hear!

 

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

Thanks Lati, I'll give it a shot

Ammonia is .5ppm
Nitrate is a bit high but i think it's normal for goldfish at 40-80ppm(i can't tell the difference lol)

He is in a separate tank by himself now, 10g tank with 80% of the water from original tank
Added a bit of aquarium salt and water conditioner with a powerhead and prefilter and an airstone too

I will check up on him tomorrow, not much else I can do for now, 1130pm stores are closed. I'm sure he will be still alive tomorrow, just not sure if condition will improve or worsen =/

Any advice will be a great help

 

[Laticauda]

40 nitrAtes is still very high, and could be contributing to his problems. Also, .5 ammonia is very bad for him. What I would do tonight, is change 100% of his water with clean tap water that's been treated and temperature matched to the water he is in now.

Also, you will want to work on getting your nitrAtes under control in your larger tank. The ladies at the GAB can be much more patient than I am, so you are in very capable hands. I try to be short and to the point, which doesn't always go over too well!

 

[Lupin]

I also mod GAB but I can help here anyway.

Could you please provide shots of different affected areas?

Ammonia must be zero and so should nitrite. Nitrate should not exceed 20 ppm. Unfortunately, goldfish are very prone to floaty issues when the nitrate becomes dangerously high due to vasodilation wherein the nitrate is converted back to nitrite in the bloodstream.

Do another water change and add a teaspoon per gallon of aquarium salt. I would still advise you to take pics of your fish's affected areas and post here and/or on GAB.

If you haven't yet, please consider investing in praziquantel. Every new goldfish must be treated with prazi as they are very prone to flukes.

Here's the dosing schedule for prazi as a reference. We'll go there when we're done addressing the current issue.

Day 1 -- remove carbon, perform water change with vacuuming, and add Prazi to tank
Day 2 -- add Prazi
Day 3 -- do nothing
Day 4 -- do nothing
Day 5 -- do nothing
Day 6 -- add Prazi
Day 7 -- add Prazi
Day 8 -- normal partial water change with vacuuming
Day 14 - normal partial water change, then add prazi
Day 21 - normal partial water change, then add prazi
Day 28 - normal partial water change, then add prazi
Day 35 - normal partial water change, add carbon, treatment is complete

 

[Lupin]

Raychel, I'm not a lady but I can still help even in GAB.

 

[Laticauda]

No, but you also have infinite wisdom and patience. Thank you for being in both places
Hot heads like me, need someone like you around, Lupin!

 

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

Will take pictures right now, i dropped by a lfs and one of the staff there told me that it just indicates that it's a male. Something about it being a seasonal thing?

Regardless, the nitrate and ammonia still needs to be worked on, which I will do today.

I couldn't get a clear shot of the 2 minor spots, but you can make out what the major spot one looks like. The blurry white spot is puss i think coming out from the reddened area

 

[Lupin]

Huh? Your LFS staff seems to be guessing as wrongly as they in general do.

These look a bit like ulcers to me. What you can do right now is separate the fish in a barebottom setup and treat with salt. Try one teaspoon per gallon and add two more sets in next 12 hours each until you reach three teaspoons per gallon total. Your goldfish should be able to tolerate that. If not, you may have to reduce it. Signs of intolerance include darting and constant "talking" or "yawning" but it could also mean presence of flukes at the same time. Maybe you should check the poop and gills as well to strengthen your suspicion on possible parasites involved since I don't think you treated them with prazi yet.

 

[Laticauda]

Be sure you use clean, new water (treated with dechlorinator) in his "hospital tank." That's the best thing for him right now. Do you have a spare filter for his small tank?