sick fish

[julesm]

i have a 3mx1x1 pond, fairly new 2 months old. i have good quality pump and uv filter. i introduced fish (10 mirror carp, 10 goldfish, 2 x koi all small, 10cm max) a month ago. all was well until this weekend when 3 x goldfish died. now the mirror carp are sick and covered in white slime.

i have gone to local world of water and they tested water and said all fine. they said prob parasite infection, so i've given dose of malachine green 36 hrs ago, but fish seem to be getting worse, thy hide all day and v inactive.

anybody got any advice re this white slime??

thanks in advance

 

[anitapond]

Fish produce excess slime coat because something is irritating their "skin." First cause is poor water quality, i.e., ammonia. Second cause is ph (too high, too low). If those two levels are fine, it's most likely a parasite. You said you treated with malachite green. What product did you use? Did it have formaline in it? Do you have any carbon in your filter and did you turn off your uv during treatment? Do you have enough oxygen? Has any salt been added to the water? Did you only treat 1 time? If you can't identify the parasite under a microscope, I would perform at least a 25% water change and treat the pond again. Different parasites have different life cycles, and depending on the water temp, ph, etc., sometimes one treatment is not enough to kill both the egg and adult stages.

 

[anitapond]

Also, don't always trust other people testing your water, especially if they don't give you the numbers or show you the tests. It is important to have a test kit so you can check your water parameters anytime you need to. I highly recommend the liquid tests and not the dip-stick types.

 

[julesm]

thanks anitapond

the fish are looking better, moving around now rather than dormant/hiding, although mirrors still have lots of white marks/slime on them. i have ordered a test kit, so will do the tests myself in future. the products didnt have formaline in. said it was uv friendly. no salt added. would u recommend salt and formaline treatment??

i will do another mg treatment and change water today.

 

[fishin4cars]

Nothing gripes me more than taking water to be tested and the person testing says all is fine. fine for what? discus, goldfish, african cichlids, acid cleaning metal, or fine for the septic system. Seriously, water testing really needs to be done right at the pond. first off, water can actually change some just being closed up in the bag for longer than a hour, PH, and ammonia readings can change significantly. My suggestion right off the bat, change out 1/4 of the water in the pond and get as much oxygen going as possible. white slime coating on a fish is more often than not a water quality issue. did they even tell you what water test they did? You also state it's fairly new with a pretty heavy stocking load, did it completely cycle before stocking? if the pond is less than 2 months old, you can still be going through cycling, what are the temps of the pond? is it fluctuating much? last what is it lined with, liner, cement, other? if it's a cement pond did you seal it, alkline in water can cause the same thing, heavy white slime coating.

 

[julesm]

ph = 7.6
high ph = 8
amonia = 1
nitrate o2 = 1
nitrate o3 = 20
bear in mind the pond had a mal green dose yest, so may have impact on tests.

 

[anitapond]

Very glad you got your own test kit. Your problem is ammonia. The ONLY acceptable level is zero (0). Malachite green would not affect the ammonia test results. I suggest a water change very quickly!

 

[fishin4cars]

Ammonia is not good/fine, that needs to come down, .25 is the highest i would call exceptable after a medication dosing. PH, you have two readings, which is it? 7.6 or 8.0? if it's fluctuationg that much from low reading to high reading in a 24 hour period that's to big a swing, however I bet your using a test kit that has a low range and high range test. need to use the one that is NOT reading at the max end of the chart. the one that is reading in the center range of the chart is the one that will give you the correct reading.
Nitrite is No2
Nitrate is No3
nitrite needs to be as low as possible, preferably 0 as well as the ammonia,
Nitrate is the final breakdown, readings of 20 or less are acceptable, readings of 20-40 ppm need water changes but not death threatning, over 50ppm needs addressing with aggressive water changes.
What is your hardness,( GH, KH ) these are very importanat, to high and it can cause health problems, to low and the PH can fluctate which can cause seriuos health and stress issues.

 

[baeya]

Most test kits don't come with the GH and KH tests in them. You'll have to get a set for that as well. Keep up with your water changes. Good Luck.

 

[julesm]

Very glad you got your own test kit. Your problem is ammonia. The ONLY acceptable level is zero (0). Malachite green would not affect the ammonia test results. I suggest a water change very quickly!

a 100% water change or in stages?? (ive done a 25% already)

 

[julesm]

, however I bet your using a test kit that has a low range and high range test. need to use the one that is NOT reading at the max end of the chart. the one that is reading in the center range of the chart is the one that will give you the correct reading.

correct, understood!

 

[anitapond]

A 25% water change every day until the ammonia level comes down would be good. However, this can be stressful for the fish. In the US, they make products that "lock up" the harmful ammonia in water (Ammo-Lock, ammonia chips) that could be added, but I'm not sure if you have these products where you live. Please note that ammonia might still test positive with some testing kits after you use these ammonia-locking products. Your bio filter is what breaks down the ammonia in the pond (and eliminates the "locked-up" ammonia if you use a product), so you really need to insure that your bio filter is established and doing its job. Overfeeding, over stocking, and open surface area of the water also can contribute to higher ammonia levels.

 

[julesm]

did more tests this eve

ph = 7.8
amonia = 0.5
nitrite o2 = 0.5
nitrate o3 = 20

then ive done a 20% change, added 1kg of salt and ammonia remover.

fish much more active than yest

 

[addy1]

great you are going the right direction! good job

 

[julesm]

did more tests this eve. same results as last time.
ph = 7.8
amonia = 0.5
nitrite o2 = 0.5
nitrate o3 = 20

ive put in 2.5 kg of salt and ammnoiia treatment. several water changes. the fish are looking much more active and feeding better, although the mirrors still look in bad condition re the white clime. maybe it just looks worse with them as they are dark and the slime shows up easier.

do i need to continue with the water changes and how long will it take to get the mirror's slime gone?? any sugguestions anyone??