ammonia - .25-.50 but i do daily water changes 30-40% and treat with prime so it's been ok
nitrite and nitrates 0
ph is low 7.something
29 gallon ran for 2 weeks
aquatech filter
3 goldfish and an apple snail

ok here's the deal... we lost ippo and got sunshine to replace him an red oranda... he's been picking on the snail and the little black moore...well today double trouble... the black moore has white on the top fin and on some of his scales... I THINK its because the orange one has been picking on him since the orange one is new and he's the smallest... i quarantined the snail and am using quick cure in case it is ich, since it is white... can i also use melafix with it in case it's his fins?

as for the snail... he crawled out last night... found him behind the dresser all closed up... we aren't sure if he's dead or not but i put him in a treated 2.5gal with no filter for now with an algae wafer to see if he'll come out and if he's alive...

im so worried... what to do about the little black moore, it's my wife's favorite fish. please advise!

anyone?

Hi dcninja, not all the helpers and mods are on the forum all day, so give them some time.

In the meantime, please describe the white that you're seeing on the black moor. Is it like small white dots, or is it more like a soft fungus? Pictures of the problems will definitely help.

You may be having a lot of trouble with your aquarium because 1) you are still cycling and 2) you are overstocked. What type of filter do you have? What is its turnover (GPH-- gallons per hour)? Each fish needs 10 gallons, so having a 29 is pushing it without adequate filtration. Your snail also needs about 2.5 gallons.

My (inexpert) advice is not to treat with harsh medicines without knowing what it is. You can add aquarium salt (rock salt works, too; just make sure there are no additives in it) to a 0.3% solution to treat for possible ich and ease the stress. The formula is 1 TSP per 1 gallon (29 TSPs in your case) for a 0.1% solution. Add 29 TSPs every 12 hours until you are up to 0.3%.

The white was little white spots... after i put in the quick cure, they started to disapear as quickly as they came, literally within minutes... it was strange...

Hi there.

I think you did the right thing to remove the snail. Unfortunatly, if you have a snail-loving goldie he'll probably pick on the snail until he eats/kills it. If I were you I'd just set up a permanent tank for the snail and keep him there (if he's still alive, which I think he may be, they can be out of water for quite some time).

As for the moore, I don't know if it is ich. It sounds more like possible fungus or wounds from nips from the oranda. If you could get a pic that would be great. I'd definatly go with the salt as thoughtsofjoy suggested, and keep up on doing big water changes while you're cycling. Prime can neutralize ammonia, but it will keep building and stressing the fish.

i've been doing 30-40% water changes daily since what happened to my last oranda...also the snail crawled out of the tank and fell behind the dresser... not anything to do with the goldfish, he's in a seperate tank moving really really really slow... can't tell if he's gonna make it, took a long fall...

I can't help you will your snail except to tell you DO NOT SALT YOUR SNAIL TANK. Salt is pretty much a poison to them.

If you're salting your goldfish tank (which will help with the ich and stress problems) and doing 30-40% daily changes, then you need to ADD BACK the salt that is taken out to maintain the 0.3% solution. That's why I recommend pure rock salt or canning/pickling salt, because it's much less expensive than "aquarium salt." Also, any medications you add will be removed with the water changes, so they will need to be added back as well--- but I would WAIT for a mod/helper to help you diagnose and treat before adding medications-- many of them are quite harsh and can hurt your fish more if it is misdiagnosed. Salt is pretty much harmless, so it's a good first step.

Keep a CLOSE eye on your water parameters. The better condition your water is in, the better condition your fish will be in. Think if the air around you were slightly toxic! You wouldn't be doing so well, either. Keep ammonia down through water changes and salt to ease the cycling stress.

Quick Cure is a formalin based product. I have read that you should NOT use salt with formalin, or it will burn the gills of the fish. You should get all of the Quick Cure out with water changes before adding any salt to your tank.
I believe this is also supposed to be used with no lighting, and with carbon filters removed.
It would be great if you could get a picture. If it was ich, and they have fallen off, you still need to vacuum up and treat for the eggs that may still be in the tank.

If you need help with your snail, perhaps you should make a thread in the Snails and Crustaceans forum. I hope it'll be okay.

Debbie

I got that, but you removed him because he was being picked on by the goldie right? If so I'd keep him seperate if he recovers. I hope he does

no he fell out of the tank and was behind my dresser this morning...

Oh I see... You had quarantined the snail, so you don't think he brought the ich. Is that what you're saying?
You said that you quarantined the snail, so we thought you had it in a separate tank.

Debbie

sorry...

snail is in a seperate tank because he fell onto the floor and stayed there overnight and was all closed up... he does look well...

the black moore had white stuff on his side, looked like ich, used quick cure... (also had to remove the snail for that also, so it worked out i guess)

i also think the new goldie nips at his fins on top of that...

How are things now, Dcninja?