Treating Cottony Fungus

[Eve00675]

My 15 year old daughter brought home a gold fish without prior consultation with us- (I thought it was against the law in the UK to sell pets to children under 16).

Decided to do a crash course in fish keeping - the internet is handy for this. As the comet goldfish looked lonely we got a second, I think is a fantail fish to keep it company. I bought a PF1 Interpet filter but there was a problem with the order and it arrived late. The first comet fish was in distress and floating near the top of the water on the day the filter finally arrived and was rapidly installed. Amazing transformation in the comet fish it went swimming happily around but I think it had been badly affected prior to the arrival of the filter.

A week later a cottony substance began to develop and sadly the first comet fish died most probably as a result of this although we had done regular, more than once a week, water changes and been fishing out the cottony substance and washed all the shells and decorations and removed a plant that had it on.

I have managed to find some finrot and fungus medication and added the appropriate amount to the water and as advised removed the carbon filter and cleaned the white sponge filter in old aquarium water.

My question is, for how long should I medicate and for how long should the carbon be left out of the filter?

To anyone who thinks looking after goldfish is easy, think again. It is like a science project which is never ending as the balance of various emissions and nutrients has to be constantly monitored and adjusted.

I do have a friend who will take the fish from us to put in her pond if it outgrows its tank.

 

[Eve00675]

Sadly the second fish died this morning.

I think we will leave this fish-keeping to the experts but don't quote me on that.

A shame we got no replies to our question.

Eve00675

 

[waterdrop]

Sorry you didn't get any replies yesterday Eve. It just happens sometimes. Everyone seems busy at the same moment and a query gets missed.

Its actually fairly rare that a newcomer is able to figure out so quickly that the correct maintenance and knowledge for the hobby is quite a bit more involved than the curious outsider realizes. You obviously figured that out pretty fast, and that's pretty impressive!

If you ever decided to come back a take a look at the real hobby (perhaps to make use of some of the equipment perhaps you've picked up) I think you'd make a good student of the hobby! It turns out that small tropicals are probably a fair bit easier and perhaps more rewarding than goldfish and its an extremely relaxing and enjoyable activity ultimately. If you're a gardener, it can be even more interesting if you involve aquatic plants in addition.

Anyway, sorry to hear of your experience and certainly hope for better next time!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Eve00675]

Its actually fairly rare that a newcomer is able to figure out so quickly that the correct maintenance and knowledge for the hobby is quite a bit more involved than the curious outsider realizes. You obviously figured that out pretty fast, and that's pretty impressive!

Thanks for the compliment.

I may look again at this as a hobby in the future once I've read up some more - my brother keeps a tropical fish aquarium so I may ask how he is doing with it. I would've actually thought that tropical fish would be more complicated as there is salt and heat and lighting to add to the equation. (We live in a rather large cold house, even when the heating is on.)j

It has been a little traumatic for my 7 year old daughter. We did find that even in such a short time, the two different type of goldfish seemed to bond, although I think they were the same sex - the eggs produced by the fantailed fish didn't hatch. Must admit I enjoyed watching them swim about too.

Thanks for your reply

Eve00675

 

[waterdrop]

Hi Eve,

Just to continue the thought.. Its not that goldfish are hard (they're a quite easy and hardy fish just as one might imagine from their widespread distribution) its just that they are a bit large for aquariums and need a lot of water volume. The minimum volume they need is 20g for the first goldfish and then another 10g for each subsequent goldfish. That equates to huge tanks in the house, which is why most hobbyists feel they are more suited to backyard ponds.

Tropicals, on the other hand, allow you to display communities of different species in a more manageable tank volume. Almost without exception tropicals do not need salt (there are species that live in brackish water but they are more the exception and I'm just leaving marine tanks out of the discussion.) Heating and lighting are not hard at all. They are something you learn a little about, purchase the right equipment, set it, and then forget it until it needs maintenance or replacement. The big area where knowledge is needed is with filters and this forum does a great job teaching people about that I think.

One of the things I think is great for elementary age children with this hobby is that it teaches some things about patience and ongoing maintenance and more relaxed and long-term enjoyment of the natural world at a time when so much of our world is all about cranking ourselves into more and more frenetic action for the sake of business.

~~waterdrop~~