# Clamped Fins, Ich Treatments, and Activated Carbon



## Flying Unagi

I noticed today that my comet goldfish was sitting on the bottom of the tank, in the back corner, not really moving. His fins are clamped, and when he swims around, he seems lethargic and the fins are pressed tightly against his body.

Checked my parameters and they all seem fine. Temperature is 77 F (our apartment is always this warm, even with the aquarium lids open), pH is 7.4, no ammonia or nitrites, and nitrates are at 15 ppm.

I *think* there might be a white spot or two on his body, so I'm thinking it might be ich? I've never had ich in my tank before, so I'm not 100% sure - it seems like the most reasonable explanation, though.

My comet is in the tank with three other goldfish. Two of the other goldfish are beginning to show signs of lethargy and clamped fins, too, but no white spots yet. The tank is 55 gallons with filter, air pump, gravel, and decorations. I feed once a day with enough food for 5 minutes.

QUESTION: After doing a 20% water change tonight and getting ich medication tomorrow, is there anything I should do to prepare the tank for treatment? I heard that you should remove the activated carbon in your filter when using medication, but I really don't want to do this since I just upgraded my tank and it just finished cycling. I'm currently using Aqueon's large filter cartridges, and it says they contain activated carbon. However, if I remove the filter cartridges for the duration of treatment, wouldn't I get spikes in ammonia and nitrite? I really do not want to re-cycle my tank.

Are there any products that anyone can recommend that DOES NOT require removing the carbon from the filter?

Thanks for any suggestions! Long post, but I really really appreciate it!


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## Mr. fish

Hi,

Most fish medications require you to remove the carbon. What you can do is cut the back of the filter pad open and manually remove the carbon so you dont lose your ben. bacteria.

Your water temp seems too high which would cause a coldwater fish to be lethargic. Look online for pics of ich to identify. If it looks similar, treat the whole tank. Gradually lower your water temp to 70 and your goldfish will thank you for that.


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## Flying Unagi

Hi Mr. Fish,

Thanks for the reply! I know the bacteria's all over the filter pads, but if the carbon's a part of the pad, wouldn't I be losing a little bit of bacteria anyway when I take out the carbon?

I _did_ search for pictures of ich. There doesn't appear to be any ich-looking spots on their bodies, except for a couple small spots on my comet's tail fin. I think he's always looked like that, though, and none of my fish have ever had a problem until today. I've had three of the fish in the same tank for almost 9 months now.

Any tips on lowering the water temperature? Our place is really warm, even with the windows open. The tank is against a wall about 15 feet from the windows. Usually, I keep the tank lights off and the hoods up so the tank doesn't get as warm, but it doesn't seem to help much.

OH! Exactly how bad would it be to treat for ich if it turns out they don't have ich afterall? I don't want to sit around and do nothing, but I don't want to put unneeded medication in, either, if it's going to harm my fish.

Thanks!


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## Mr. fish

Flying Unagi said:


> Hi Mr. Fish,
> 
> Thanks for the reply! I know the bacteria's all over the filter pads, but if the carbon's a part of the pad, wouldn't I be losing a little bit of bacteria anyway when I take out the carbon?
> 
> I _did_ search for pictures of ich. There doesn't appear to be any ich-looking spots on their bodies, except for a couple small spots on my comet's tail fin. I think he's always looked like that, though, and none of my fish have ever had a problem until today. I've had three of the fish in the same tank for almost 9 months now.
> 
> Any tips on lowering the water temperature? Our place is really warm, even with the windows open. The tank is against a wall about 15 feet from the windows. Usually, I keep the tank lights off and the hoods up so the tank doesn't get as warm, but it doesn't seem to help much.
> 
> OH! Exactly how bad would it be to treat for ich if it turns out they don't have ich afterall? I don't want to sit around and do nothing, but I don't want to put unneeded medication in, either, if it's going to harm my fish.
> 
> Thanks!


Well you can gradually do 20-25% water change every 2 days with pure cold water to gradually bring the temp down (Make sure to dechlor). To keep it cool I would place a fan above the tank with the lid open so cool air is always hitting it.

As far as the carbon removal, that wouldn't effect your bacteria as long as you place the pad back into the filter.

Is there any way you can take a pic? We might be able to help identify.

Anything new you added to the tank? Any changes?

Ich treatment is int that bad or cost effective as other illness in my experience.


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## Flying Unagi

Mr. fish said:


> Well you can gradually do 20-25% water change every 2 days with pure cold water to gradually bring the temp down (Make sure to dechlor). To keep it cool I would place a fan above the tank with the lid open so cool air is always hitting it.
> 
> As far as the carbon removal, that wouldn't effect your bacteria as long as you place the pad back into the filter.
> 
> Is there any way you can take a pic? We might be able to help identify.
> 
> Anything new you added to the tank? Any changes?
> 
> Ich treatment is int that bad or cost effective as other illness in my experience.


Wouldn't the pure cold water put the fish in shock? I used slightly colder water (about 1-2 degrees colder) when I did my water change last night, but I woke up this morning and the fins are still clamped.

Well...I had two comets and one ryukin-fantail in a 20 gallon (cycled) tank for the last eight months. Then I moved about three weeks ago and upgraded their tank to a 55 gallon. I've been monitoring parameters and everything looks perfect, and my fish've looked livelier than ever with the increased space. Then about 10 days ago, I received an oranda as a surprise gift. The gifter purchased her from PetSmart, and he said that when he got her, she was sitting in one of those small holding tanks with another oranda and wasn't lively at all. She seems pretty perky in the tank, though - in fact, she's livelier than the other three fish. I checked her out for disease before adding her to the tank, and she looked fine minus some scarring on her tail fin and half a dozen missing scales.

My original guess was that _maybe_ my oranda brought something into the tank, even though I netted her for the transfer? 

Then my boyfriend suggested maybe it was just the temperature since it IS on the higher end and I don't see any spots. If it is, it may explain why the oranda is faring better than the other three fish since I've heard fancy goldfish can tolerate warmer temperatures.

I'll try and post a few pictures after work today. Might stop by the pet store to pick up some ich medication just in case, too...


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## Mr. fish

Whenever I do my water changes for my Goldfish I use pure cold water. But, then again my tanks stays consistent at 70-72F. I've noticed during the summers when doing less water frequent water changes that the tank would rise all the way up to 77-78 and my goldfish were not moving as much. But no signs of clamped fins. 

You may be right since your tank is already pretty high just use slighter cooler water each few days till you reach your temp. Placing that fan would work wonders.

It could be very well that the oranda brought a disease into your tank. Even tho you netted him in, its always best to keep a QT tank on hand to observe for a few weeks before actually placing into your main tank.

W/out pics its hard to go by...


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## Flying Unagi

Mr. fish said:


> Whenever I do my water changes for my Goldfish I use pure cold water. But, then again my tanks stays consistent at 70-72F. I've noticed during the winters when doing less water frequent water changes that the tank would rise all the way up to 77-78 and my goldfish were not moving as much. But no signs of clamped fins.
> 
> You may be right since your tank is already pretty high just use slighter cooler water each few days till you reach your temp. Placing that fan would work wonders.
> 
> It could be very well that the oranda brought a disease into your tank. Even tho you netted him in, its always best to keep a QT tank on hand to observe for a few weeks before actually placing into your main tank.
> 
> W/out pics its hard to go by...


I'll try and get a small fan ASAP to keep the temperature down. It's only about 60 outside most days, so I don't even want to think how bad it's going to be once summer hits...

I came back from work today and immediately noticed the white spots on all my goldfishes' tail fins - to me they definitely look like ich. Maybe it was better lighting today, or maybe something happened overnight. At any rate, I did another 20% water change, removed the carbon from both filter pads, stuck them back in, and began dosing with Rid Ich+. Also increased the air flow to my second air stone. It's been about 30 minutes, and nothing significant has happened...

Here's a picture I took about two hours ago when I got home. I had a couple of the whole fish with his clamped fins, but they wouldn't upload.

Thank you so much for all your advice!! I really appreciate it since fishkeeping is still relatively new to me.


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## Mr. fish

Yea, thats definitely Ich.

Its a good thing you started dosing already, you're doing the right thing... Just follow the instructions and let time take its course. We dont cure of a cold as soon as we take a single dose.. Although at times we wish we did 

Keep us posted for the next few days and let us know how it turns out.

Good Luck!


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## Flying Unagi

Mr. fish said:


> Yea, thats definitely Ich.
> 
> Its a good thing you started dosing already, you're doing the right thing... Just follow the instructions and let time take its course. We dont cure of a cold as soon as we take a single dose.. Although at times we wish we did
> 
> Keep us posted for the next few days and let us know how it turns out.
> 
> Good Luck!


The cold analogy is a good one! They kind of remind me of how I look when I get sick - sitting in bed wrapped in a blanket, slow when getting off the couch, and very mucous-y, lol. Oh yeah, and cold germs everywhere in the apartment.

I'm very lucky to have a pet store just blocks away since I have a feeling I might need a couple bottles of medication. Rid Ich+ didn't really specify how many days treatment should last, only a vague "continue treatment for three days after all visible signs of ich have disappeared". Oh well. Hopefully sooner than later of course.

I'll keep you posted!!


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## Flying Unagi

UPDATE: I did another 25% water change tonight and added a second dose of Rid Ich+. Goldfish seemed to handle the stuff okay - no additional signs of stress.

However, I woke up this morning and the amount of ich on them seemed to have doubled overnight. Not only are their fins covered, but now their bodies. Is ich supposed to get worse before it gets better? I know I've only been treating for 25 hours, but I'm worried my fish might die before the ich has run its course.

Came home from work this evening and notice tiny RED spots on my fish as well. They're as big as ich spots, if not a little bigger, and are scattered on the fish's body and fins. I'm not 100% sure, but they look internal? Kind of like bleeding under the skin when you suffer extreme bruising. I'll try and get pictures up.

Lastly, I know ich is not supposed to survive above temperatures of 86 F, and I've heard heat can speed up its life cycle. Since goldfish like temperatures in the upper 60s to lower 70s, would raising the temperature to the mid-80s be fatal?

Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks!


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## Mr. fish

I dont think you should be doing water changes while using the treatment... its suppose to build up in the water.

Hopefully they arn't developing bacterial hemorrhagic septicemia. Any pics?

I wouldn't raise the temp...its too stressful to goldfish...with tropical fish yes, not goldfish.


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## Flying Unagi

Mr. fish said:


> I dont think you should be doing water changes while using the treatment... its suppose to build up in the water.
> 
> Hopefully they arn't developing bacterial hemorrhagic septicemia. Any pics?
> 
> I wouldn't raise the temp...its too stressful to goldfish...with tropical fish yes, not goldfish.


I would rather not do daily water changes, either (bathroom is on the opposite side of the apartment), but the bottle says, "As with most medications, a partial water change before each treatment will ensure more effective results". Maybe it's an old bottle? The copyright is 2004. Do fish medications expire like human medications?

I'm attaching three pictures of my ryukin-fantail below. I wish I had better pics, but he swims around really fast for the camera.

Pretty much my fish are still pretty active and have good appetite. Just...lots of spots.


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