My Goldfish Has A Fungus Problem, But...

[littleprince]

UPDATE: HELP! My comet seems to have gotten much worse. All of the fungus is gone but now it is swimming vertically and backwards, won't eat, and is settling on the gravel. I added a little bit of aquarium salt and checked the water specs which are all good. What should I do for my poor lopsided fishy?

Hi there! I have a 20 gal. tank that is very new (3 days). I've only had my two goldfish (a comet and a shubunkin) for about two days. Today I purchased two gold dojo loaches for the same tank. I do not intend to add any more fish.

Here's the problem: My 4" comet goldfish appears to have fungus spreading over its body. The fungus started yesterday. It is hiding in a corner and won't eat. I don't think I've seen it eat at all since I brought it home but the other fish will all eat. My little 1.5" Shubunkin is perfectly healthy, as are my dojos. I did a 25% water change yesterday and had my water tested today. Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, pH and everything are all where they should be. I conditioned and added a good bacteria supplement to the new (filtered tap) water when I did the water change. The tank is at a constant 69.5 degrees.

I know that there are medicines that can be used to clear up the fungus but I heard somewhere that those medicines are not good to use with scaleless fish like dojos being in the tank. Does anyone know anything about this?

Also, if I do need to put my comet in a treatment tank, would a tall 5 gal. plastic bucket be okay? I do not have any other tanks.

I would greatly appreciate any help that you can offer. I've never had fish before.

Oh and I'm not seeing any redness or other symptoms on my comet, just the fungus issue. Thanks!

Also, before you say anything about the tank being too small, I do intend to get a larger or second tank later this year or early next when my fish have outgrown this one. I just couldn't afford anything bigger at the time.

 

[spectrum]

To start with the tank is overstocked, you need to get rid of at least a goldfish, a general rule for gold fish is 1 fish/20g, 2 fish/30g, 3 fish/40g.
I take it you did not fishless cycle the tank if you got fish two days after setting it up, I don't really understand how the water parameters are as they should be if you didn't cycle it. Next time you set up a tank research cycling.

In answer to your question however it should be OK in a 5g bucket temporarily.

 

[littleprince]

To start with the tank is overstocked, you need to get rid of at least a goldfish, a general rule for gold fish is 1 fish/20g, 2 fish/30g, 3 fish/40g.
I take it you did not fishless cycle the tank if you got fish two days after setting it up, I don't really understand how the water parameters are as they should be if you didn't cycle it. Next time you set up a tank research cycling.

In answer to your question however it should be OK in a 5g bucket temporarily.

I stated at the bottom of my post that I already know it is overstocked. I'm getting a larger tank.

As for cycling, when I bought the tank and fish, the people at the store (Petsmart) never mentioned having to cycle it so the two small fish I got originally died, mostly likely of the temp shock while the tank was still settling down. After the tank cycled for about a day and a half I went to a professional fish store and got the two goldfish. I did not add the dojos until the next day.

Thanks for your help, though!

 

[loraxchick]

a bucket would be fine as temporary treatment tank. sounds like the fish has columnaris if it is white "fungusy" and spreading rapidly across the body. can also be a slime coat disorder (which can occur in overcrowded, stressful conditions). bottom line is LOTS of waterchanges. keep the substrate clean. i would suggest a bigger tank (as you said you were getting) and maybe rehome the loaches until that time. some meds can be iffy with scaleless fish so half dose is recommended.
for now, lots of waterchanges and try to separate the sick fish and treat with antibiotic for the full course of the meds (even if it starts to look better-have to use a full course.). not eating and hiding are not good symptoms so id treat right away.
hope things get sorted for you.
cheers