# Why is my goldfish still lethargic after treating for ICH?



## ~DnA~

Here are the details:

1)Fish has been home for about 2-3 weeks. Inside of 5 gal tank with pleco for a week with only a tank bubbler. After about a week, water gets murky, pleco shows no signs of illness but goldfish does. Pleco dies. I treat water for 5 days with multi purpose meds. Fish gets worse.
Symptoms:
-White spots. Some fine, others blotchy of bigger.
-Fin rot
-Little to no activity(lethargic)
-Not eating
-Labored breathing
- reddish gils


2)I educate myself on how to take care of fish. Move my goldfish to quarantine tank (10 gal) filter, bubbler, heater, thermometer.
Actions:
-Used poland spring water to start tank and take carbon out of filter.
-Raised water temp to 80 degrees(possibly did so too fast...)
-Added aquarium salt.
-Stopped using multi purpose meds and treated with "Quick Cure".(Formalin, Malachite green)
-Two days later, swimming again, all spots gone, fin rot improving, eating again.

3)Only a day or so later, fish returns to spending lots of time at bottom of tank, still eats and swims, fins not completely restored yet. Slight irregular swimming and appears to be scratching against glass rarely. No labored breathing. One gil still red.
Irregularities:
-After white spots were gone, I began to lower the temp of the tank to what is now 70 degrees via unplugging heater.

4) Total treatment with quick cure is at 4 days. Ive done two partial water changes in a week. PH levels, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels all normal and stable. WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM!!??

Concerns
-Treated for wrong disease? But why did the spots go away so fast?
-Dont think ICH causes fin rot. But he was in dirty water for 5 days.
-Were there too many temperature changes too quickly?
-Considering treating for fungus/bacteria. But what If I'm finishing the parasite treatment too quickly?
-How much time do I have to make decisions on what to do? Should I do more or less? Is it safe to take him out of quarantine and buy another fish?

Final notes:
I've tried not to miss any details, and I would really like to get this taken care of. I am new to this, but Ive been as proactive and preventive as can be. Please help any way anyone can. Thank you.


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## bmlbytes

Did you cycle the tank before adding the fish? This could have been the problem that started it all. Also, goldfish are very dirty fish, and will make their tank dirty very quickly. You may not notice right away because it could be the ammonia the fish is putting out. Ick and fin rot are both signs your tank is too dirty.

Also goldfish prefer cooler water than the tropical fish. Putting the tank up to 80 may have been too warm for him.

As far as treatment goes, follow the directions on the package exactly as they are. They should state how long you should treat for.

Also, you do not want to add fish until you are certain your fish, and your tank have absolutely no trace of any disease. Your new fish will just get it too. Although, I would not recommend any other fish in that aquarium. You will see that this little fish will quickly grow to a very big fish, and the 10 gallon tank will be too small even for the single fish. Goldfish can grow to be more than a foot long. Plecos are the same way, so do not add a pleco again.

Finally, do not waste your money on spring water. Use water from your tap and use dechlorinator in it to make it safe for fish. You will waste a ton of money if you keep buying it from the store.


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## ~DnA~

Are you saying I should have allowed the good bacteria to develop in my "sick tank" before I put him in it? I did a water test two days ago and the water readings all came out normal. There was no green on the test stick to indicate ammonia levels being high... he is now on his 5th day of post ICH treatment. 

I observed something new as well last night:

Current symptoms:
-Lethargic(sitting at bottom of the tank)
-Running into glass occasionly
-Reddish stool(long in size and were difficult for him to get out)
-One gil is redder than another
-Quick movement/fidgety swimming.

Should I continue to keep treating with "Quick Cure" to make sure the ICH is gone? Or should I begin a new treatment? If so... for what? Mind you "Quick Cure" just says treat until all fish are healthy.

P.S. I have lowered the water to stay between 70-75 only while he remains sick... is that a bad idea?


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## TheOldSalt

Quick Cure isn't very effective, usually, and ick isn't your biggest problem anyway. Your fish has some internal infections going, hence the bloody stool.

Lowering the temp for treatment was pretty much the opposite of what you should have done.

If the fish is still eating, switch to medicated fishfood pellets, or flakes if you can find them.


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## ~DnA~

TheOldSalt said:


> Quick Cure isn't very effective, usually, and ick isn't your biggest problem anyway. Your fish has some internal infections going, hence the bloody stool.
> 
> Lowering the temp for treatment was pretty much the opposite of what you should have done.
> 
> If the fish is still eating, switch to medicated fishfood pellets, or flakes if you can find them.



At what temp should I place the water at? And you mentioned internal... I dont know how I missed this before but I notice what appears to be a stick like looking abject sticking out of my fishes rear just under or beside the anal fin... possibility we are looking at anchor worm maybe?


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## TheOldSalt

Around 78-82 is good, and yes, any stick-like thinks protruding are going to be bad, be they anchorworms or callamanus worms.


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## ~DnA~

Updates:

The stick like object was indeed an anchor worm. It was brown like with a whitish/clear coating over it. I grabbed some tweezers and pulled it out. He still has another completely clear looking stringy object flowing along with his tail fin... doesn't look like the anchor worm but I'd like to know if it's anything? Or is it just something from the previous fin rot. Fish seems to have a better attitude now without a stick up its.... anyways... I'm realizing that fish are a lot like cars in the sense that when one problem is solved.. another arises. Firstly, he still swims rather quickly and slightly fidgety at times. Is this just normal swimming for a fantail? Secondly.. his gils are still red. He also has some about 2-3 black spots on him.. mostly on his fins and one above the anal fin. Don't know if that is just his natural color or not. I did another water test yesterday and my PH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are almost perfectly normal. 
PH- 7.6
Ammonia- 0 ppm
Nitrite- 0 ppm
Nitrate- 2.5 ppm

I followed this with a gravel vacuum and a weekly water change adding stress coat + and aquarium salt. Aside from the current symptoms he's showing, the water is starting to smell rank regard less of how well I'm treating it... this is the same thing that happened in the tank he originally was sick in... what is this?

Other than these things he seems to show other healthy signs. The biggest being his fins are flaring more and looking a bit more full. Any other thoughts.. thus far people have been helpful.


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## bmlbytes

The fact that the tank is smelling bad means it is dirty. Goldfish are very dirty fish, so they need more maintenance than other fish. Change 20% of the water until the smell goes away. You are not going to stop seeing problems until you have a clean tank.

As far as your comment about the car, once you get a stable tank, you will find this is not true at all. Fish are very easy to take care of and require little work. You really should just need to feed them and change their water every week. Stable water is the key though.


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## TheOldSalt

If you found one anchor worm, then there's probably plenty more you don't see yet. Get something like "Anchors away" and nuke them! Other types of things like flukes are very possibly irritating the gills, resulting in that redness in the area.


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## ~DnA~

TheOldSalt said:


> If you found one anchor worm, then there's probably plenty more you don't see yet. Get something like "Anchors away" and nuke them! Other types of things like flukes are very possibly irritating the gills, resulting in that redness in the area.


I am checking around after I read your response hear.. it looks like there may be something dangling off of his rear fin. I thought it was just deteriorated fin from his fin rot, but it looks like there may be a head of something in the fin. I can't judge too well because it loos the same color as the fin, a clearish white. I also saw something that didnt look lie poop dangling from his anus, but it appears to be gone now.. Are there different types of worms? And can they all be taken off without harming the fish?


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