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Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Diseases Ich Fish Treatment Ich White Spot Disease

Goldfish Disease- White Spot Disease- Ich (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis)

Goldfish disease are very common in goldfish and one of the most common goldfish diseases is white spot disease or Ich as a short version of the scientific name Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. Ich is very common and usually occurs from either due to stressful situations like poor water conditions or a sudden chill. You can usually tell when goldfish diseases occurs as they become ill or sick by symptoms like either rapid breathing or scratching on the gravel in the aquarium can indicate signs of white spot disease or ich.

When you notice this behaviour in goldfish, look at your goldfish closely and you will probably see white spots or like small grains of salt on your goldfish. These white spots, goldfish disease, are the parasites which are feeding on the goldfish’s body fluid. White spot disease or Ich can spread quite rapidly on the goldfish if left untreated.

Here is a picture of blue catfish which is covered with ich. These look like grains of salt which are the ick parasite. You can see all the white spots or cysts that are all over their body in this photo. The blue catfish is also showing signs of stress as you can see by the clamped fins.

Blue Catfish Heavily Infested with Ich Commonly Known As White Spot Disease - Ick
Blue catfish heavily infested with ich commonly known as white spot disease, ick.

The first thing you need to understand is how the parasites life cycle operates when attacking the goldfish itself. Each cyst or white spot is the parasite which is feeding off of the goldfish. It has attached itself to them by swimming as a small microorganism. These parasites need to find a host or they die. Once the parasite finds the host (goldfish) it hooks onto the skin and begins feeding. When they first attach themselves they are too small to be seen by the eye. As these parasites feed you will then see them as small white spots usually within a day or two covered over the body of the goldfish. Once this happens these cysts or parasites break free from the goldfish and begins to reproduce very rapidly. This goldfish disease spreads quickly and proper goldfish care needs to be done right away.

 

The reproduction phase of these parasites is when it infects goldfish very quickly. As mentioned above each cysts or parasite breaks free from the goldfish, when this happens each cyst that breaks open contains about 500 new parasites for ever cyst. The numbers can become quite significant and can literally take over the goldfish’s body if left untreated. When these 500 new small microorganisms become free swimming they need to find a host. When they do the whole process begins all over again.

Controlling the population of these parasites can only be done when the life cycle of these parasites are in the free swimming stage. They can only be killed during this stage with proper chemical or ich medications. The best thing to do when treating your goldfish aquarium for ich diseases is to treat it for at least 10 days. By doing this it will ensure you totally destroy all parasites as each parasite may be in a different stage at the time of treatment. Remember ich can only be killed during the free swimming stage so make sure you treat minimum 10 days. Each cysts must break open to be exposed to the medication to eliminate these parasites.

Treating ich or white spot disease in goldfish needs to be taking care of right away as it’s a very aggressive disease that attacks goldfish. Begin treatment right away for excellent results.

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Anchor Worms Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Diseases Goldfish Parasites

Can Goldfish Die From Anchor Worms?

Quick answer, YES! Goldfish can die from anchor worms if left untreated. If you notice that your goldfish has anchor worms attached to their body, you need to begin treatment. There are many fish medications on the market today used to treat against anchor worms on goldfish. I like using this Anchor Worm Treatment called Anchors Away.

 I’ve been using this for years at my business, Country Koi Fish Farm, and this fish medication for anchor worms works great!

Oranda - Fancy Goldfish

What will happen if you don’t treat your goldfish right away for anchor worms, is your goldfish will develop bacterial infections. This is what will kill your goldfish.

Do yourself a favour and always observe your goldfish at feeding time for any signs of goldfish illnesses, diseases or parasites. If you notice an issue seek advice from your local pet store or any online resources about goldfish care. The quicker you begin treatments the better chances you have of success!

Anchor worms is easily treatable for goldfish, act quick and you’ll see for yourself how quickly you get rid of anchor worms.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle

The Goldfish Guy

“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Diseases How To

How To Tell If Your Goldfish Is Sick? Signs and Symptoms of Illness and Disease

You take care of your goldfish on a daily basis but do you really know how to tell if your goldfish is sick or what are the signs of illness and disease? Knowing the signs of sickness in goldfish is your first step in saving the life of your pet fish. Through careful observation is when you can properly diagnose the illness to be able to treat the illness or disease effectively.

Here are some signs of sickness of illness among goldfish you should look for:

Shubunkin - Know The Signs and Symptoms of Illness or Fish Diseases1. Your goldfish has white spots covering it’s body. This goldfish disease is known as ich ( Ichthyophthirius multifiliis ) white spot disease and you will need to begin treatment right away.

2. Your goldfish are usually active but now are sluggish. This could be due to a fish disease or poor water quality. Test your water quality right away such as pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

3. Your goldfish has bloody spots on the body. This could be caused by anchor worms which has now created a bacterial infection. It also could be ulcers forming. Observe goldfish, check for anchor worms and check water quality.

4. Your goldfish has bloody streaks on fins and tail. Check water quality immediately.

5. Your goldfish has ragged damaged fins. This could be caused by other fish nibbling at its tail and a bacterial infection has set it. Fin and tail rot is common among fish and you will need to begin treatment.

6. Your goldfish are seen gasping at the surface of the water. This can be either two things, lack of oxygen in the water or there could be parasites in the gills causing rapid breathing. Increase aeration in pond or aquarium and if this does not help seek fish medication for gill parasites. If left untreated your goldfish can die due to gill parasites.

7. Your goldfish has clamped fins. Clamped fins is a sign of stress in goldfish and other types of fish. Find out why your goldfish is stressed out. Is there bigger goldfish in the aquarium that is being aggressive? Have you tested your water quality to see if that may be the issue? Is your goldfish always fighting the current in your fish tank, does it have a spot to rest? By simply asking yourself some questions will help you discover the problem.

8. Your goldfish is scratching themselves on the aquarium gravel. This indicates the presence of parasites. Begin treatment right away.

9. You notice that your goldfish has one side of its stomach that is swollen. This may be goldfish dropsy a deadly bacterial infection and unfortunately it’s most likely that your goldfish will die from this.

10. Your goldfish has a white film on its eyes also known as cloudy eye. You will need to buy Melafix to treat cloudy eye in fish.

I hope these signs of sickness, illness or disease will help you in properly diagnosing goldfish that are sick. If you observe your goldfish while feeding them is when you can most of the time catch the early signs of sickness. Take this moment each day to see if your goldfish is acting normal, normal behaviour or any signs or symptoms of disease or parasites. Your goldfish can’t tell you that they are not feeling well so it rests on us through observation to properly care for them.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Body Fungus Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Diseases Goldfish Medications

Kordon Malachite Green Fish Medication For Ich and External Parasites

By Jamie Boyle

Kordon Malachite Green Disease Treatment is an effective fish medication used to treat a wide variety of fish diseases for both freshwater and saltwater. Malachite Green is a medication that I’ve been using for fish treatment for years due to it’s effectiveness at healing and treating fish diseases and parasites including ich.

Kordon Malachite Green treats the following common protozoan parasites: Ichthyophthirius (freshwater ich) , Chilodonella, Costra, Epistylis, Ambiphyra, Oodinium, Cryptocaryon (marine ich) and Trichodina. Malachite Green not only treats against ich and other external parasites but is very effective against fungal infections. Kordon Malachite Green Fish Medication For Ich and External ParasitesThis fish medication works well to control against fungus on fish eggs after fish breeding. By using Malachite Green it helps increase the hatching rate of fish eggs as left untreated the fungus would take over the eggs and kill the baby fry.

Directions: Use 1 teaspoon per every 10 gallons of water. Remove carbon from filter. Perform water 25% water change daily and repeat dosage until fish are treated. Kordon Malachite Green is a very effective fish medication for treatment of ich and other external parasites including fungus found on fish. This is one product that I recommend when fish treatment is needed.

Shop at PetSmart.com for Kordon Malachite Green , fish medications, fish supplies and other pet products including dogs, cats, birds, reptiles and more.

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Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Diseases Goldfish Medications Ich Fish Treatment Ich White Spot Disease

Maracide From Mardel Labs – Fish Medication For Ich, Velvet and Other External Parasites

By Jamie Boyle

Liquid effective fish medication used against ick, trichodina, chilodinella and related parasites. With Biospheres&reg spot-on technology so it is automatically attracted to the fish. Maracide makes use of a revolutionary technology that delivers the treatment directly to the fish. Multi-layered microspheres attach to the fish and break down one layer at a time releasing the treatment in a controlled regulated manner. A filming agent, Chitosan, which has a molecular structure similar to the natural mucous coat of a fish, seals the treatment in contact with the tissue surface. Active Ingredients: Malachite Green, Chitosan Additional Information: Maracide should be used when a diagnosis of the fishes illness indicates the presence of Ick, chilodinella, Velvet / Protozoan Diseases and other related freshwater parasites. Maracide contains Malachite green and Biospheres&reg technology. During treatment U.V. sterilization should be discontinued. There is no need to disconnect wet/dry or diatomaceous filters during treatment. Maracide may cause an adverse reaction with some sensitive invertebrates. Invertebrates without an exoskeleton such as jellyfish, anemones etc. should be removed before treatment. Maracide should not be used in conjunction with any other parasitic treatments. Because of the unique action of the microspheres contained in Biospheres&reg products, care should be used when combining Maracide with medications from other sources. Maracide is safe to use with plants. Care should be taken when treating scaleless fish due to the sensitivity of these fish. For use in freshwater only. Instructions: Shake well before use. Use 2 capfuls per 10 gallons of water. Treat on days 1,3 and 5. Size: 16 fl oz

Maracide From Mardel Labs Fish Medication Used To Treat Ich and Other External Parasites

Maracide from Mardel Labs

Shop at PetSmart.com for Maracide From Mardel Labs, fish medications, fish supplies and other pet products including dogs, cats, birds, reptiles and more.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Diseases Goldfish Medications Ich Fish Treatment Ich White Spot Disease

Does Aquarium Salt Treat Ich On Goldfish?

By Jamie Boyle

Lots of fish owners have asked me “Does aquarium salt treat ich (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis) White Spot Disease on goldfish?” The answer is yes! You don’t always need to treat ich/ick with fish medications. There are advantages and disadvantages to both and I will talk more about them.

Treating ich on fish using aquarium salt is a much safer approach to eliminating ich from your aquarium. The only thing is that ich can only be killed in high temperature levels. Ich commonly known as white spot disease can not survive in temperatures of 86 degrees Fahrenheit as they cannot reproduce. Channel Catfish With Severe Ich Infestation Noticed On Fish As Like Small Grains Of Salt Which Are Attached ParasitesBy using aquarium salt and heating up your aquarium water using a heater, you can speed up the life cycle of ich so that the aquarium salt can kill the parasites. This combination of heat and salt treatment for ich works great but be aware that sometimes you can find a resistant strain of ich which can survive temperatures above 86 degrees Fahrenheit. In such cases that heat does not kill ich, you will need to use salt or an ich treatment medication. So really heat can actually kill ich from your aquarium alone, as well as salt and fish medications.

Destroying Ich With Heat

Aquarium HeaterIn order to treat ich using heat you will need to gradually heat up the water in your aquarium not too fast to eliminate white spot disease from your aquarium. To do so you will need an aquarium heater to increase the temperature in your tank. You can buy various size aquarium heaters at your local pet store or you can buy them online. Buying aquarium supplies online is a lot cheaper most of the time then pet stores. When you have your heater all set up and begin raising the temperature in your tank, make sure that you have maximum oxygen in the water by the use of an air pump. What happens when the temperature of water is high there is less readily available oxygen for your fish. At high temperatures with less oxygen fish can become stressed, so make sure your air pump is working efficiently and slowly raise the temperature of the water about 1-2 degrees an hour. You don’t want to raise the water temperature to quickly which can shock your fish and stress them. Raise the temperature of the tank to 86 degrees Fahrenheit and keep it here for approximately 10 days to make sure all ich has been eliminated. When treating fish always observe your fish for any signs of stress and correct them if needed. Getting rid of ich using heat alone should work unless you found a resistant strain able to withstand higher temperatures. In case of such event you will need to try another form of ich treatment medication to cure your fish from ich.

Treating Ich Using Aquarium Salt Treatment

Aquarium SaltThere are many methods of treating ich on fish and aquarium salt is just another way it can be done. What you would want to do here is do a combination treatment of both aquarium salt and heat. Heating the water in your aquarium will speed up the life cycle of the parasite making the treatment quicker using aquarium salt. The reason for wanting to speed up the life cycle of ich is that ich can only be killed during the free swimming stage. By heating up the tank it will make them reproduce faster speeding up the time when they are vulnerable. You should add about 2-3 tablespoons of aquarium salt per every 5 gallons of water. What you should do is mix the aquarium salt in a container of water first then slowly add this to your aquarium. You should keep the temperature up to 86 degrees Fahrenheit along with the aquarium salt for 10 days to make sure all ich has been killed in your tank. If by chance that ich is still there you should try treating your fish with an ich medication.

Treating Ich With Fish Medication

Kordon Aquarium Rid Ich Preventative - Ich Treatment MedicationSometimes the above methods for ich won’t always work. In this case you will need to treat your goldfish with ich medication. Treating ich with heat and aquarium salt are safer for your fish as it’s more of a natural way to treating ich. Using ich medication can sometimes add more stress on your fish and can sometimes harm the biological filter depending on fish medication. Myself I’ve always used Malachite Green to treat ich as it’s very effective. The only thing is which ever ich treatment medication you decide to use always observe your fish for any signs of stress. If you see stress, such as gasping at top of the water immediately add activated carbon back into your filter and perform a water change right away. Never add more then recommended dosage for treatment of white sot disease. Adding more is not better, and can actually kill your fish. There are many ich medications on the market to choose from. For more information on what medications to use to treat ich and other fish diseases and parasites please visit this post Goldfish Medication Treatments For Illnesses, Diseases and Parasites Including Ich Treatment Medications

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

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How To Treat Anchor Worms On Goldfish?

By Jamie Boyle

As you seen on my other post What Is Anchor Worm? you will need to learn how to treat anchor worms found on your goldfish. Anchor worms are quite common and the good news is that anchor worms are very easy to treat with the right medication treatment.

The first thing you will need to do is buy some anchor worm treatment medication. Some good ones that I’ve used and work effectively to eliminate these external parasites are Anchors Away, Dimilin, ProForm LA, and Potassium Permanganate. Sarassa CometsAll of these parasite medication will kill anchor worms on your fish. The only suggestion I would do is use Potassium Permanganate as the last resort as it’s a very strong chemical and if improper measurements are made for the amount of medication to add to your pond or aquarium can possibly kill all your fish.

I would stick with Anchors Away, Dimilin, or Proform La. These ones will work effectively at getting rid of anchor worms for sure. Just follow proper dosage as recommended and never add more then what is suggested. More is not always better. Follow the instructions and your pond or aquarium will be anchor worm free in no time.

Anchor Worm On GoldfishAs far as using Potassium Permanganate to treat anchor worms you can do this with a 10-30 minute bath of a solution concentration of 10 millgrams per litre. You will need to observe your fish during treatment for any kinds of stress. You can also remove anchor worms by using tweezers. I’ve done this many time it is best to put your fish to sleep using an anesthetic to eliminate any pain or discomfort to your goldfish or other type of fish. Once your fish is asleep gently remove the anchor worm with your tweezers. Make sure you get the whole parasite including the anchor that is embedded deep into the fish tissue. It is also known as well if you apply some potassium permanganate to the anchor worms itself it can cause the external parasite to release it’s grip or hold of your fish. To do this take a cotton swab and dip it into a solution of potassium permanganate. Then apply the cotton swab to the goldfish parasite and it should release it’s hold and make it easier for removal. If you have no cotton swabs on hand just use your pair of tweezers and dip this into the solution of potassium permanganate once the solution touches the anchor worm it will release its hold allowing the whole parasite to be removed.

As mentioned earlier, using potassium permanganate to treat anchor worms is much more work but it’s effective. For a much easier alternative you should use the other anchor worm medication treatments as mentioned. Less work and just as effective. I hope this helps people learn how to treat anchor worms on goldfish, koi and other types of fish.

anchor

You can tell by the above photo and see how anchor worms actually got its name. It is very similar to the anchor found on the boat as seen above. It’s a splitting image!

Have your fish ever had anchor worms before? Till next time Anchors Away!

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy

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What is anchor worms?
How To Treat Anchor Worms On Goldfish

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Uncategorized

What Is Anchor Worms?

By Jamie Boyle

Anchor worms ( Crustacean parasite, Lernaea ) are small external parasites often seen on Goldfish, Koi and other types of fish. These anchor worms are small threadlike parasites that you often see them attached to goldfish on the body itself or close to the tail fin or dorsal fin. Once these anchor worms attach themselves to the fish it begins to feed on the goldfish body fluids and can destroy muscle and gill tissue. These external parasites can be seen quite easily seen as they are about 1/4″ long which is about 6-7mm. For this type of parasite you don’t need a microscope to see them at all.

As these parasites feed it can cause secondary bacterial infections to begin. Once you notice your goldfish showing signs and symptoms of anchor worms through flashing and scratching themselves on things you will need to learn how to treat anchor worms on goldfish and begin treatment right away. Anchor WormGoldfish will try and rub themselves against anything such as aquarium gravel, aquarium ornaments or decorations to try and rid themselves or knock off these external parasites causing irritation. The good thing with anchor worms is that it’s very easy to treat, just begin treatment right away to eliminate the chance of spreading these parasites to your other goldfish. Anchor worms ( Lernaea ) lay eggs so just so know you will need to treat your entire tank to make sure you rid yourself of Anchor worms. As I say it Anchors Away!

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy

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What Is Anchor Worms?
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