a question about Melafix

[Heidi]

Hi everyone,

3 days ago I noticed my Lionhead goldfish hanging out by himself, but didn't think too much about it. Last night, right before bed, I noticed a quarter sized popped blister on his side (assuming an ulcer). I found a thread on the forum about ulcers and someone suggested Melafix, which I bought today. Since I put it in the water,ALL of the fish are hiding in their koi castle. Is this normal with this medication?

Here is their current living situation.
Inside in a 150 gallon stock tank, with maybe 100 gallons in it
2 small air stones
biological filter made out of mesh with 3 rubbermaid drawers.
3 - koi 8 to 10 inches
1- 4 inch goldfish
50% weekly water changes
330gpm pump
Today, I did my usual water change. I have not tested the water because I wasn't sure if the Melafix would mess up the results. I am aware that I have an overload of fish. I bought the koi in November and they were 2-3 inches long. I had no idea how quickly they would grow. I will move them to my outside pond, but thought I should wait until the weather warms up, so not to shock them. They do not show any signs of ulcers. Should I move these healthly koi into the outside pond now and keep the sick gold fish in the tank? The inside tank is 68 and the outside pond is currently 56.
According to the directions on the Melafix, I am suppose to treat the tank everyday for a week. Would you agree?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Heidi

 

[Waterbug]

68F to 56F is a bit much. Moving from warmer to colder is the more risky direction and 5F difference is what I've read as a kind of limit. Next water change you can add the colder water from the pond to the tank to slowly reduce temp. Some people bag the fish and floating them in the pond to even temp but I think that's a bit of a myth since the water in the bag reduces very fast.

I would be concerned with adding fish from a tank with problems to a pond. The problem could get added to the pond. Also, 56F is perfect for a bacteria like Aeromonas while Koi have virtually no immunity (white blood cells) below 55F and almost none at 56F. The fish would have fair immunity at 68F but I don't know how fast their white cell count would drop when added to the cooler water.

I would test the water after any water change Melafix, or not.

I would follow all the Melafix directions. Everyday for a week is what they say and you can treat longer. But if it doesn't work after a few days I wouldn't see a reason to continue.

In a perfect world there would be a second tank you could use to quarantine the healthy looking fish.