My two fish, Oranda's, just bought them 3 weeks ago are already sitting at the bottom of the tank with white spec on their bodies, it's the sadest thing i have seen EVER!! They won't leave each other's side...I finally went to the store today and they said that my Amonia and Ph were severly off.....If i treat them, what are the chances they are going to die, they don't look very healthy, they have just developed the white specs about a day ago, and have been sitting on the bottom of the tank for a week now....How long does my poor little fatheads and cheeks have to live, if i just started treating them now?
Please Help

Hi and welcome mbarbarow.

Im very sorry to hear your new Oranda's are not doing well.

First of all you said that the fish store said your Amonia and Ph were severly off
Can you go back there and get them to re-test it if you dont have test kits, and get them to write down the numbers (not just say it ok or its not ok)
We really need the numbers to know what is going on with the water
Also if you can answer the other questions in the white box aswell.
This will save alot of time when trying to help.

Another thing if you can not get to the store now...did you do a waterchange after they told you the Amonia and Ph were severly off?
If not do it now to ensure better water until further help can be provided.

Post back soon.

I second what LMF says and I just want to add that while cycling, you will need to change their water every day.... So there's 2 things you can do as a great start:

1) Read up on cycling a tank - it's invaluable when starting to keep new fish

2) Do a massive waterchange straight away making sure the temperature is matched and a dechlorinator is used.

Sadly, no medication will work while your water quality is stressing your fish, if anything, it can push them over the edge ... so the most important thing right now (in the absence of test kits) would be daily water changes using temperature matched, dechlorinated water.

Do the white specs look like grains of salt? If so, then they may have ich but will wait for you to post back on this.

Are you able to invest in some test kits? This will help you understand what's happening with their water and control their environment - so that they can thrive in a healthy environment. PH in particular is a very important test to have on hand. When fish are exposed to ph swings, it can make them very ill so having a good handle on your levels is a great start...

If you have any questions, just ask - there's so many great people here just waiting to help you through this first stage of fishkeeping

And a big welcome to you from me also

Thanks JenW
I was just coming back to the thread to cheack it and thinking of asking bout the spots and posting some links to cycling.
I did not do it in my first post as did not want to overload mbarbarow with so many things in the first post

Yeah I know It's especially hard at first because it can be so overwhelming although I think as you said, they can probably be revived with a few waterchanges... it's a good start Then learning all about that demon we know and love 'tank cycling' - after that, the rest is a bit easier no?

I agree with you guys that water quality is the most important issue for the health of fish but if the fish have ich? ...

Well, if it is ich then you better start the salt treatment as it is the easiest to maintain dosage even if you have to do daily water changes.

I agree!
if you know it is ick then do the salt treatment...If you in doubt (corect it if im wrong anyone else thats more exprenced)
then I sugest pristine water conditions with salt as a tonic so that the fish will kick in the imune system and fight it

Now ..my Fred was beyond tonic...we did so much ...and we saved him! .but I say that in hope as it can be done, take it slow, follow the advice
remember that the fish will not respond in 2 hours!~
it may take a while
in the mean time maintain the best water conditions you can
amd follow advice

I am reallyy praying for your fish!!!!!!!

You have feshmerised and captk and JenW here to help
they all great
you are in good hands!!!!


keep us posted

Sadly Fathead (My oranda) died this morning while I was at work, and cheeks is slowly dying. The stupid pet store didn't say anything about Ich and i didn't catch it fast enough. But I still have hope for cheeks, he looks so sad. He is covered in white spots and he doesn't swim anymore. He has "film" all over his body and he is unable to use his fins to swim. I have put about 4-5 teaspoons of fish salt, and started the medication, plus i'm changing the water, and trying to raise it to about 80-85 with out shocking poor cheeks. There is a 50-50 chance that this buck-a-roo will survive tonight. After going back to the petstore, I found out the lady who helped me was not certified AT ALL w/ fish, she was a dog trainer!!!!! AHHH Very Very upset because if I had someone who knew what to do this would've never happend to the poor fish.
RIP Fathead

Thanks for all your help, I will keep you guys updated on cheeks!

-Melissa B.

Im so sorry you lost Fathead

As for cheeks....what is the tanks capacity?

To salt the tank you need to add 1 TEAspoon per Gal, then repeat in 12 hours then repeat in another 12 hours.
You said you also started medication aswell. What is it?
Remember no amount of meds will help if the water is not perfect

Can you test results for the water and post them? This will help a great deal.

I'm sorry fathead didn't make it. I hope cheeks recovers.

I'm not sure of the size of your tank but to treat ich with salt you need a concentration of .3%, this is achieved by dosing 3 teaspoons of salt per gallon. It is best to do increase the dose over 3 days, ie. 1 teaspoon per gallon each day.

In case you need to know you can use aquarium salt, rock salt, sea salt and kosher salt. Do not buy conditioning salts as these contain different minerals and are used for a different purpose.

RIP Cheeks
Cheeks died about 20 minutes after I posted this last night... I checked all the ph and amonia and they were normal, used salt and gave them ich meds. But it wasn't enough. I received them from a pet store that has a 14 day return policy....today is day 15, what are the chances?

But thanks everyone for your concerns and your help, it is greatly appreciated..
Melissa B.

I'm so very sorry

I'm very sorry for you and your fishes. How sad.

oh no! Im so sorry! Thats so sad