Ammonia Level: Safe
Nitrite Level: I don't have the strips because I ran out
Nitrate Level: again I don't have the strips because I ran out and will inform you guys on it as soon as I get it.
Ph Level: 8.0 stable
Ph Level out of tap: I don't have the strips
Tank Size: 10 gallons and I think over a year it has been running.
Filter: Whisper 5-15
I change the water once a week 75% because I have 2 afd's the other 2 died, and 2 fish, I know overstocked
Fish: two fish: telescope 3 inch in size with tail, and fan tail 3 inch in size with tail as well.
Prime water conditioner and I recently put some API Stress Coat in it as well.
No New fish.
I feed them... Peas, frozen bloodworms, freeze dried blood worms, tubifex, Tetra Fin Flakes, Wardley slow sinking crumbles, and Wardley shrimp pellets formula, and occasionally if their nice, some zuchini's.
Yes, there's a huuuge blood spot on the fish, actually to be specific, it's left side, and it has flukes and my comet goldfish just died today cause of flukes, and I pulled all I can see out of it. My Telescope has no disease that I recognize, and by the looks of him I would say that he's pretty healthy, but usually never moves from the gravel on the ground, and just lays there, I think something's wrong with him. Fantail has white cotton on it's wound, I don't know if that means it's fungus or not, but I got the metal tweezers and pulled out as much as I could see, but there's still some left, and also uhh I pulled out it's scale on accident.
Yeah, so please help, I haven't payed much attention to it, seeming as I got too much involved in too many things, but I promise I will if they become healthy and live, please help.

A few questions for you:

I just want to confirm...you have two ADF's and two goldfish in the tank, right? And there was another fish in there as well that just died from flukes?

Do you have any large, rubbermaid-type containers you could use?

Have you used any medications to try and treat the flukes and what makes you think that is what they have? Are there particular symptoms? Are there any meds or salt in the tank right now?

The telescope sitting on the gravel all the time is not normal even if he looks healthy otherwise, and I believe that can also be a sign of flukes.

If you can get some test equipment asap that will help, the ammonia level reading "safe" does not always mean it actually is safe. The liquid drop tests are better than the strips and will save you money in the long run as well, so if possible try and pick up a drop kit. I am guessing water quality is contributing to your fish's problems so finding out the levels is very important. If money is an issue, you can get the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Kit at Petsmart for $13.49 if you print this page http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_det...+kit&N=2#detail and bring it in with you, it has all the tests you need and will last you ages and ages. Petsmart will match their own online prices.

As a side note, Tubifex can sometimes bring nasty parasites into your tank, so you may want to cut them out of their diet. Here is a post regarding this issue that ou can read later when your fish are better: http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=46356

I am not an expert so I will let someone else who is try and help you further, but until then please try and answer my questions so they can help you better. If no one answers soon, if it were my fish, I would do an immediate 75% water change, replacing the water with temp matched, dechlorinated with Prime only water (no Stress Coat this time) and see if that helps.

Good luck and keep us posted.

My AFD just died right now, and I will get the drop tests, but they are severely expensive and the only big petstore near me is PeTcO, so yea, and... no I do not have any large rubbermaid tubs, and yea even the AFD has flukes, EVERYONE has flukes, and I will do an immediate change as soon as I get up in the morning, there are no salt in the tank and I am for sure it is flukes because there are leaches hanging out of the fish's body, I plucked some out with my tweezer holding the fish firmly in my hand as I did so, and I will keep you updated.

I am *NOT* positive on this, but flukes are pretty small and hard to see, so if there are bigger things hanging off your fish maybe you are dealing with anchor worms instead? Is there any chance you could take a picture then put it on photobucket.com and post the link here so we could see it? That would help immensely.

As for the drop test I know they are expensive but they will last SO much longer than the strips that it is way cheaper in the long run-hard if you have to come up withthe money all at once though-I know! I think Petco sells that kit for like $25 but I have the kit and have 4 tanks and the kit is not even half used after 9 months-with ther strips you only get like 25 tests or so! Just a thought, but strips are better than nothing for sure!

I will see if I can get one of the mods to take a look at your post.

Yeah... is there anything I can do now? I have one afd hungry like crazy, but he won't eat, and the bloodworms keep on getting sucked in by the filter, and... yea I think once the AFD dies it'll be easier cause then I could put the aquarium salt in and maybe it'll ease him up a bit... but what can I do now?

oh and can I use a picture cell phone to upload it? and how?

You can take a pic with your cell phone if you either have a cable that connects it to your computer OR you can email it to yourself from the phone. If you can do either of those things, get the picture on your computer and save it. Then go to photobucket.com and open an account (if you don;t have one), it's free. Then go to the Photo Album and there should be a spot to upload photos-I think it is called Image Upload. Click the Browse button and go to the location on your computer where the picture is and select it, then click Submit. It will then show up in your Photobucket album and there will be three boxes under it with writing. Go to the box that says IMG next to it and highlight, then right click the url in the box. Paste that link into your post here and we can all see the picture. LOL, this is easier than it sounds, I swear!

As to what to do right now, can you put the ADF into another container with some of the tank water, then do a big 75% water change with temperature/ph matched water than has been dechlorinated with Prime? I think a water change is your best bet for now. I pm;d one of the mods who will hopefully be back soon and can also try to help-sorry i don't know more!

I can't get a good shot, and what's wierd is my fantail is acting fine but has the problems, but then my telescope has clamped fins and is laying on the ground...

Also, here is some info on flukes and anchor worm, some with pics:

Anchor worm (the white things hanging off the fish): [url=http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/2002/anchor.jpg]
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/anchor2.jpg
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/2002/anchor.jpg[/url]
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/Anchor%20Worm.html

Flukes:
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/imag...&tt=21&ei=UTF-8
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/Body%20And%20Gill%20Flukes.html

That's wierd my comp won't let me look at any pictures, the web page is blank like it's white.. uhh please help if you know anything?

It might be your anti-virus, browser or firewall settings...shoot-I am not too good at computer stuff. Well I can try and describe them-the anchor worms are like white worms that are stuck in the fishes skin and hang off but I *think* flukes are pretty small and hard to see without magnification. That is why I am thinking it might not be flukes-but again-I am still new at this myself. I pm/d one of the mods who tends to be "on" the site without actually being in front of his or her computer, so hopefully they will get my pm soon and come help.

If you can;t get a picture, I know it is hard, I would go ahead with the big water change and keep checking back. If the water is toxic it won't matter what else you do until that is fixed and it may help your fish some.

Also-do you have any type of air stone or bubble wall going? If you don't and you have one handy I would get some air going if you can.

Yes, it is really tough, I resetted my comp and now it works fine, and I think indeed that it is anchor worm, I was mis informed, I am sorry. I think the pics should work now, hold on let me check...

It works and I am for certain that it is anchor worm. help...

It works and I am for certain that it is anchor worm. help...

Yes, and should I dab it with hydrogen pyroxide that's used for human skin on the bloody spot?

Let me try another mod who is on now since I have never treated anchor worm I want to make sure you get proper advice. Hopefully she/he can come by soon, I am worried about your fish! :-) I *think* peroxide is ok but you have to be VERY careful not to get it near the gills or eyes. But let's see what one of the experts thinks....

Hi FD - if it is indeed anchorworm, as Jen say, it's best to pull them out gently with tweezers and if you don't feel confident dabbing the area with iodine or hydrogen peroxide, then salt the tank to 0.1%

You will also need to get some meds for any unhatched eggs - even though they carry the eggs on a sac. They can release hundreds of new worms so getting something like anchors away is really important.

Also, can you check the colour of the gills? Are they a nice meaty red in colour?

They can cause secondary bacterial infection as they pierce the skin so salting again should help here. The most important thing is getting the meds quickly and the good thing about the meds is they won't harm your filter at all. So if you can go to your local, check what products they have for anchor worm and dose straight away

As far as I know,you can't see flukes with the human eye-you need a Microscope.Now what makes you think that it is Anchor worm?What signs are you seeing?
Frogs are very suseptible to over feeding problems,but mainly poor water quality. Are you doing weekly gravel vac's along with those water changes?
As for your Params,not having a test kit is like an accident waiting to happen-especially when your tank has been up and running a while.Your LFS,will do these tests for you for free-just ask that they write the #'s down so that you can relay it back to us. If your water quality is poor,you will have nothing but problems,and that's a promise.
If your Telescope is bottom sitting,he definately isn't feeling well,for that is not normal.
What is this white cotton that you're talking about on Fantail?Describe it please.What do you mean you took tweezers and pulled it off?
When your fish are not acting normal,it's very important to "Pay attention "to it-other wise you will lose the fish.Are you able to get to a pet storeThe more we jknow and get those params tested? Where ,and what does the fuzzy whit stuff look like on your fish? Is it white looking with red in the middle,or red with white in the middle? The more we know,the better we can help you..
For now,I'd probably start with 25% daily water changes,and see if that makes any kind of diffewrence.Any other signs,symptoms-tattered/torn fins/gasping/ Have you actually seen an Anchor worm?

I will go to my grandparents house unfortunately from Friday to Monday and hopefully will be back Monday night. So there is no hope of doing 25% waterchanges daily. I can do 75% water changes if that will help. and what I mean by I took tweezers and pulled it off it that I actually got tweezers and grabbed the white cotton and pulled it off, but there's still some left under the scales. I had to reach under there and pick out the cotton. The cotton is red and white in the middle. Please help me, I will get the test kit as soon as I can, and I have no Idea what's going on with Eyeball(telescope) and I don't know anything more about Frankie(fantail) either. Frankie has a beautiful long tail and I would hate to loose her/him. Eyeball is unique in every way and I have not seen a single fish look like him before, and I would hate to loose these fish cause I had them a year ago and they survived since, because of koko's so thank you everyone for helping me, but I still need some answers.

I am seeing strings just like I saw on the internet and green on the ends that split into two at the end. They are huge and I can see with the naked eye. Also, the gills are the same color as the rest of the body for Frankie: Orange. If it's not meaty and red does that make it bad? I am a horrible fish keeper oh no... I don't deserve to keep goldfish. I am ashamed...

If what you pulled out was indeed an Anchor worm,there should have been a little sore red spot/That spot needs to be dabbed with Hydrogen Peroxide or an Antibiotic,and your fish need perfect water and watched closely for any secondary infections.Anchor worms are nasty,produce rather quickly and need to be dealt with asap,because they can take over your fish very fast.
Gills not meaty and red like fresh bought ground meat sound like they have been comprimised by something-whether it be Parasites,or poor conditions
You really need to know your params to treat them correctly,and if they're Anchor worms,you either need to salt that tank to 0.3%,or by Meds that they sell to kill Anchor worm.ADF's by the way,will not be able to deal with that,so he's going to have to be kept seperate..

Yes, there was a sore red spot there, and I will indeed dab is as quickly as possible, and also I do not know how to put 0.3 amount of salt in my tank, please help. I have aquarium salt, will that do?

You need to remove the frog if he's still in the tank. To kill Parasites, salt needs to be added until you are at 0.3%.This has to be done gradually over a period of 36 hours.
For a ten gallon tank,it'going to be adding ten teaspoons to get it to 0.1% Salt must be dissolved in a little bit of tank water before adding it to your tank.You will then wait 12 hours,and once again add another 10 teaspoons the same way. Wait another 12 hours,and add the last 10 teaspoons and that will get you to the 0.3 % needed to kill Parasites. During this you need to keep up with your params and replace any salt that you may take out during a water change. Gravel Vac's must also be done for any free swimming parasites.If you have any more questions as we go through it -just ask.

Oh yeah, and also I cancelled it so I can stay here until Monday morning, which is awesome and now I can care for my fish... now what is it that I need to do again? Yea and how do I measure 0.3 salt?

Bless your heart. It's so tough when your fishes are sick.

Adding salt goes like this:

1 tsp per gallon = .1%
2 tsp per gallon = .2 %
3 tsp per gallon = .3%

Now, you don't want to go full out and add .3% all at once. You need to do a .1% first, wait 12 hours, add another .1% and then the final .1% 12 hours after that to build up to a .3% solution. (ETA: However, with the direness of your situation, it may be best to add to it all at once? Hopefully, someone who knows more than I will come on and advise whether the situation calls for an immediate .3% or to follow general procedure and build up to it slowly.)

To add the salt, you need to dissolve it in water first and add it slowly to the tank. Don't just dump it in and do try to pour it in away from the fish.

I hope your fish pull through this. They are very lucky to have an owner who cares about them and is trying so hard.

Lisa

Thanks Lisa, and Devs and Jen for all your help. I added the salt now, so I should wait 12 hours for another 10 gals. How long do I leave the salt in there? How long do I replace the salt keeping it at 0.3 salt? do I need to dissolve the salt so that it disinigrates? or do I just dissolve til I can see the salt, but.. for how long? Thanks guys.

oh and the other one is a mistake so please move it to trash: thx: my fish are acting fine, I put hyrdogen peroxide where it's bleeding, and I'm going to put 0.1 in right now.

Always predissolve the salt first as it can burn the skin. So add your 1 teaspoon of salt per gallon to a bucket of tank water and make sure it's all dissolved before adding

And you will need something to kill off the eggs of the anchorworm

But my main concern is the white cotton I think it's fungus that's red and white in the middle help plz, how would I finish the fungus off!?!! well without store bought medicine anyways, and how long does it usually take to dissolve aquarium salt? I am using aquarium salt and then I put it in a cup. 10 teaspoons, cause I have 10 gallons of tank water. Then I put a little layer of the salt and left it there, how long will it take? I still see the salt, is there anyway to quicken the salt dissolving?

Sometimes, the salt is a bit stubborn to 100% dissolve. My method is to just stir, stir, stir and stir some more. In dire situations and/or with super stubborn salt, I will warm the water up a bit first in the microwave to dissolve the salt and then cool it down to tank temp in the fridge.

As for your other questions, I'm simply too much of a newbie myself to give you reliable advice on that. So sorry. But bumping this back to the top should, hopefully, get you the answers you need.

Keep us updated!

Lisa

Use more water and the salt will dissolve better, salt has a saturation level and only a certain amount can be dissolved in a given amount of water-so use more water and stir, stir, stir!

So if you have 10 teaspoons in right now you will want to add another 10 teaspoons 12 hours after you added the first, then the final 10 teaspoon, bringing you to .3% another 12 hours later. You will also need to replace any salt that you take out when you do water changes-it can be tricky and too much salt can kill your fish, so make sure and keep good track. For example, if you do a 50% water change once the salt is at .3% then you would need to add 15 teaspoons back in to the new water. Water changes are still going to be inmportant here because all the salt and meds in the world won;t help your fish if the water params are bad.

Beg and borrow (but don't steal!) and see if you can get some test kits and some med that kills anchor worm...i think Parasite Clear takes care of them and can be bought for like $5.99 or less-but I am not 100% on that.

Good luck and keep us posted!

yep, I put more water in teh cup cause it still hasn't dissolved yet... I'm still stirring... it won't dissolve.. stubborn salt... thx guys.

hey haha it's starting to dissolve! thx guys!

Here you guys... not sure if you can see or not.

ok so I just put in the dissolved salt, and my fishs got perked up and got their dorsal fins up... and also I'm going to put in some Jungle Ick Cure, cause I thought I saw some white spots... ok peace yall.

Edit: I decided that it wasn't ick, so I just left it there. I put no meds.

Good move on not adding the ick meds...at this point you don't want to add meds for anything unless you are sure, uneeded meds can hurt your fish, plus some meds can affect your cycle and mess up your water quality even more.

Salt and good water should help a lot, but if they really do have anchor worm you may need to get some meds specifically for that-I think Jungle's Parasite Clear takes care of anchor worms along with other parasites, and you can get 8 doses for under $5. If you vcannot afford test kits bring some tank water into the store with you and have them test the ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and ph and have them write down the exact results (not just ok or safe) and tell us.

Good luck, I am glad your fish look better.

thanks Jen, they really are looking awesome. Frankie, the one in the pic, always has her dorsal fin up, but eyeball never does, but he did for a while when I put the salt in, until I took him in my hand, grabbed him firmly and plucked all the anchorworms that I could see out and dabbed it with hydrogen pyroxide. After I did all that, his dorsal fin went down. =(. But Frankie is looking better. MUCH better. but my most concern would be eyeball. He is more active. As a matter of face I think he's gotten better. Haha, except he has a thing that sticks out on his back fin. It's like a lump, but there is a hole in the middle. On the back of the fin was where the anchor worm was so I dabbed both sides with peroxide. Frankie is such a beautiful fish, as you can see, or maybe it's just me, but I really love Frankie and is like a member of my family. I wouldn't want a member of my family to die, or even get sick. Thank you guys sooooo much... I'll get the water params in as quickly as possible, thank you.

Please help I have discovered fish lice. I found little white dots moving around the fish's body, help please please please, how do I cure it please help!

Now I looked at it again, it's green!!!

OK - first thing to do is get some tweezers and gently pull it/them off your fish. How many do you see?

Also, to destroy the eggs, you'll need to get some meds (ie. anchors away) and dose the tank.

Then as they carry bacteria on their feeding stilletto, you'll need to make sure your water is perfect. The salt will help

Yeah and also they're on both fish. I see them by the hundreds moving around on the fish and they move so fast and are so tiny that I can't reach them with my tweezers... please help?

You're going to need to get some meds quickly that destroy lice. Most outlets sell anchors away. I've used Wardley's Para-Ex which destroyed all the free swimmers looking for a host.

Do you have a very fine net you use? My friend's tank had 100's of fish lice and to reduce the numbers, we gathered as many of them up in the net but it wasn't netting with big holes - more of a very close weave. We managed to get most of them out but we quickly medicated to destroy them.

No, I don't have a net, but I see alot of free swimming lice. I will try and get something today. I will put some salt in later.

Salt will help with any of the wounds they leave behind and once you put the meds in, the lice should start to die within a few hours. Then you'll need to redose in 7 or so days to destroy any newly hatched lice.

Keep us posted

Hey I bought the Jungle Parasite Clear Tank Buddies, but I thought you can't use salt when adding meds? please help cause I also bought an air pump for 10-15 gals. It's an aquatic gardens 1000. Please tell me if an air pump will help the treatment or not. and also... yeah please answer my first question with the salt and meds. Thx.

If you have parasite clear then you don't need salt. Parasite clear contains an antibacterial med so go with excellent water and the tablets.

Let us know how you get on

But if I do use salt will it disrupt the tank or something? If I already put salt in there and then put the parasite clear thing... will it do something totally bizarre?

Sorry guys, when I went to the LFS, I totally forgot about the drop tests. I'm so sorry. I'll do all I can though.

I'd do a 50% waterchange before dosing the tank and the remaining salt is in your tank won't harm your fish nor will it react with the parasite clear

Are you sure? Thanks Jen sooo much, so I shouldn't replace the salt obviously right>?

Yes i'm sure - especially if it's diluted by 50%. Add your new air pump so there's plenty of oxygen in the water during medicating.

There's no need to replace the salt as the PC tablets eradicate the same things (and then some) so just do the meds. How much salt did you have in your tank?

All I had was 10 teaspoons. hehe, 0.1 salted. Thank goodness I didn't add more. Now I don't see that much gunk floating around and I don't think I see any lice on my fish at all! I think they're healing!!!! I'll triple the med in case, hehe I don't want to see any of those lice again!