Urgent medication killing goldfish?

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by Nykhe, Jun 12, 2010.

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  1. Nykhe

    Nykhe Plankton

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2010
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    Location:
    new jersey
    hi, i'm new here and i'm desperate for help for my fishies!

    i set up a 40 gal tank about 1.5 months ago and have 6 fish. 3 are about 1 month old, 1 is about 1 year and 1 is almost 5 years old. the one that i'm most worried about is the 5 year old fish. it is a black moor goldfish. about 3 days ago his eyes got HUGE and started to jiggle a little when he swam. then one of them popped and there was a little red ball hanging from it that fell off about a day later leaving a hole in the lower part of his eye. i began doing treatments of maracyn powder to treat his eye and to stop any infection that could grow in the hole. the next day all the fish looked horrible! they have little white dots all over them and their fins are all stringy and ripped up and clamped down close to their bodies. the hole in the black moors eye seems to have healed up on its own now but it now has pieces of "skin" flaking off and it has lost the pretty shine on its body. he is also floating at the top of the tank and not really swimming too much, but he was so active just 2 days ago! one of the newer and smaller fish died today. after 2 days of the maracyn i really don't want to do it anymore. so i went back to the store and got lifeguard all-in-one treatment and api stress coat. i just did a 50% water change and took the carbon out of the filter. is there anything else i can/should do? any advice you have would be great. i really don't want my fishie to die...i love him!
     
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  3. sostoudt

    sostoudt Giant Squid

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    test your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. sounds like the medicine may have killed your filter.
     
  4. Nykhe

    Nykhe Plankton

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    Location:
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    after the 50% water change i tested the water with api 5 in 1 test strips.
    nirtate is at 0
    nitrite is at 0
    ph is at 6.5
    kh is at 120
    gh is at 120

    thanks!
     
  5. sostoudt

    sostoudt Giant Squid

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    well the fact that you have no nitrate is pretty much a bad sign in this situation. Nitrate is the end result of the nitrogen cycle, there should always be some amount in a goldfish tank. It leads me to believe ammonia is building up and not being converted to the less toxic forms(nitrite, nitrate). I would test your ammonia ASAP it is a fish killer.
     
  6. blackraven1425

    blackraven1425 Giant Squid

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    0 nitrate is usually something you never see in a freshwater tank.

    I would also test ammonia ASAP.
     
  7. smiley

    smiley Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    what is the temp of the tank? are you treating maracyn in the same tank with all the other fishes as well?

    I have used kanamycin before and it works well with Popeye
     
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  9. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    Increase your circulation and oxygenation. Your pH should be around 7.3 to 7.6.
     
  10. Nykhe

    Nykhe Plankton

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    Jun 12, 2010
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    Location:
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    thanks for your quick replies. unfortunately my guy didn't make it. :( i'm going to keep trying to save the rest of them though.