Hello there,im a newbie with an aquarium i had wo goldies for over a yr n recetly got a bigger tank and a few more goldies so total is now about 7.two almost 5-7 inches long ( these have been with me for over a yr)n 5 newbies barely an 1.1/2 inches long in a 30 gallon tank.the new tank 30 gallon one ha been with me for over 4 weeks n the new fish were bought about 10 days ago.

ive never used a heater.and like a fool i got two new sword plants from one of these special aquarium shops.(it was so shbby looking the shop itself i meant).n i think that was the ich carrier.now all my fishies r effected badly with couple sitting head down . Im been surfing this site for two days n i had couple of questions...

i bought rid-ich medication from petsmart n ive been treating my whole tank every two days sinc the past one weeks n did a 30% water change after the 3rd treatment like the lady in the store asked me too... its just gottten worse i see more spots than ever.the bottle says i could do treatments every 24 hrs n if necessary every 12 hrs (it sure looks necessary to me) but im worried after reading all ur posts...u guys seem to have an alternate cure with salt n temp...im really confused what to do.

can u please elaborate both treatment methods n whichever one will be more effective. esp how much of salt will i need to add for a 30 gallon tank n how do i introduce a heater into the tank with out shocking the fish with the temp change .
also should i remove the live plants n the ornaments n treat them with hot water and salt or the rid ich medication n remove the gravel completely n treat it the same way.

BTW can i combine the two treatments(my reason tells me no but i still like to reconfirm this)

pls help i can't bear to watch my fishy pals suffer i need to do somehing for them fast.



appreciate ur input

Test Results for the Following:
Ammonia Level? Nitrite Level? Nitrate level?
Ph Level, (If possible,KH and GH and chloramines)?
Ph Level out of the Tap? - petsmart tested my water level for all of teh above n said its ok well within normal range
Tank size (How many Gals) and How long has it been running? 30 gallon running since a monthWhat is the name and size of the filter/s? top fin bio 3 large filter
How often do you change the water and how much? 30% weekly
How many fish in the tank and their size? 7 two about 5 inches n remaining 5 barley an inch and a half"
What kind of water additives or conditioners? terta fin conditioner
Any medications added to the tank? as of now rid ich
Add any new fish to the tank? the 5 newbies were added 10 days agoWhat do you feed your fish? Tetra Fin Goldfish Crisps
Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt",
bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? definately have ich on them seems rather bad as of now
Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, ect..? some sitting head down n rubbing n flashing

Hi Navi,
Ich is a parasite and meds do not touch it in the cyst form. Only after they drop into the gravel and divide into free swimming tomites are they vulnerable to anything.

The med is most likely got MG in it which is deactivated by light also. Turning off the lights and wrapping towels around the tank is generally recomend'd for f/mg medicacations. At this point, I would discontinue and go to salt. You need to vaccum the tank daily to remove the cysts so they don't divide more. Remove the plants and treat them with the rid ich, hot water will kill them as will salt.

The salt will be dosed as follows: 1 tsp per gl (=0.1%), do this three times (to bring it up to 0.3%), dissolving it in tank water, 12 hours apart and hold it there. Increase the o2 as much as possible and bring the heat up to 79* . Salt does not evaporate, so when you do a routine tank change, if you remove 5 gl's, salt the new water to the 0.3%. You want to keep the salt in tank at 0.3% for 6-10 day's past the last cyst falling off. You can't use the medication in conjunction since it most likely has Formalin in it and can burn the fish. The salt will take a bit longer, but is kinder all the way around and two weeks of meds and no results isn't doing them any good. Give the meds a break.

Do vaccum the gravel daily to remove any cysts falling off.

So the next thing to note is that 7 fish in a 30 gl is a bit overstocked, ROT is generally 10 gl's per goldie (fancy) and 15-20 for the larger species such as comets. Whats the filtration like, the gph rating?

thanks a ton for ur reply, will try the salt treatment from today.