please help my fish keep dying

[k8bailey]

I have a 60L cold water tank and at the mo 6 goldfish/shubunkins I've had 2 of them for about 18 months 3 others for about 6months and one for just over a week the newest seems the healthiest and I'm worried he's infected the others. But what with? it seems to be whitespot because some are rubbing themselves aginst things and have spots but they're halfway thru a treatment for this and seem to be getting worse last water change was 10L 4 days ago also had to change the filter cartridge as it was v.clogged up.
I've just tested the water and it's not showing anything unusual.

another thing to mention is that since adding the newest fish one of the oldest two has gotten lots of rips in his tail.

all but the newest have their fins down and two are sitting on the bottom of the tank but will still get up if i stand nearby.

the newest fish was one of a pair, but the other one died after 8days for no apparent reason it just never looked that good and spent most of its time hiding in the ornaments with its fins down, and these two were to replace 3 fish which have recently died two became bloated and one just died.

sorry about the essay, but any suggestions would be welcomed!

[4GS]

http://www.wikihow.com/Treat-Tropical-Fish-Wit h-White-Spot-Disease-(ich)



hope it helps

[Avatar]

Always wise, but not always easy to quarantine new fish for a few weeks in a separate tank before adding them to your main tank.
Thats if you have a spare tank... Doesnt need to be that big.

[k8bailey]

you're right it would've been a good idea to quarrantine the new fish and with hindesight i wish I had but ... its a bit late for that now!

one of the oldest fish is sat on the bottom of the tank with rips in his tail and no other signs of illness, is there anything I can do? would it help to raise the temp for example? would another water change help at all? and if i do another water change can i treat the tank for whitespot again, even tho it was done yesterday? The pet shop advised me to simply turn off the filter for an hour when i treated the tank for whitespot, was this enough or should I have removed the cartridge for 8days as this is how long the treatment is?

[BIGDOGY]

Hi,
Just a thought, but torn fins are usually caused by attack from another fish.
It sounds as if you do have white spot but the new fish may be attacking the others as well.
This could be stressing them and hindering the healing process.
Might be an idea to take it out for a while and see if the others perk up.

[showcatbenga]

First check your water quality. Ammonia, Nitite & Nitate. Correct any problems. Fin clamping & sulking at the bottom can both be signs of problems.
2nd, the torn fins may be due to the fish flicking & scratching due to skin irritation, causes poor water quality or parasites. Watch your fish carefully - have a really good long look at each one. Look for ragged fins, spots or streaks of blood on fins or skin, clumps of cotton wool like stuff or a soft, raggedy patch on the skin. Anything which isn't a healthy, active, shiney fish.
An addition of aquarium salt (Very Important - NOT cooking salt.) can greatly improve & even cure ailing goldfish of all types.
1-3 grams per litre. Dissolve thoroughly, before adding gradually, stirring well to mix because the heavier salt solution will settle to the tank bottom & burn the gills & fins, to the fish. This dosage is often recommended for koi ponds as a prophylactic treatment over winter or on a permanent basis.
In the absence of a full examination, a salt bath is a good first choice treatment for fish that are off-colour. For a variety of reasons it is not always effective. If the fish doesn�t respond, further investigation may be required.

[k8bailey]

water quality is still good/within normal parameters I did another 10L water cahnge and added aquarium salts as per instructions on packet and a second dose of white spot treatment at 13.00 today

of all 6 fish one looks perfectly healthy,
one has mild white spot (3 spots on tail only)
one is definately recovering from white spot (looks better than yesterday)
one has suddenly got quite bad white spot on tail and body(since yesterday) and top fin is down.
one spends some time sat at the bottom of the tank with no visible signs of illness, but does move very fast sometimes, looks better since the treatment and salt were added
and the other one lies at the bottom of the tank more today than in previous days, no signs of illness other than rips in the tail and fins down

Can't see any of the other symptoms you listed is it possible for the last fish to be suffering from whitespot but not have any spots visible?

currently the temp is 20 degrees celcius would it help to turn it up and if so what temp would you recomend?