Help me save this goldfish ? cotton fungus or bacteria?

[Laaf]

This was a donated pond goldfish that seemed healthy when I got it. I have had it about 2 months now.

About 1-2 weeks ago I saw something white and fluffy on it's tail. But it swam away and I had not seen it until today when I was able to catch it.

I was able to get it into a 5 gallon "hospital tank" by itself today.

I did run my fingers over the white fluff when I was transferring it. In my mind I thought maybe I could gently rub some off between my fingers. But it felt attached and rubbery, not cottony, and I didn't want to injure the fish scraping it off.

It is in a 5 gallon tank with aeration and filtration. I also moved some algae covered rocks from the pond in with it, with pea gravel from my bog.

How would you treat this?

(The second pic was when I first put it in the hospital tank and it was still scared and hiding and the water was still settling. It has been swimming around since then)

No other fish are sick or have any similar growths. I am watching closely.

 

[Tula]

It appears to be some kind of fungus.

 

[GBBUDD]

Looks like fin rot . A sign of a water quality issue . If no other have it then possibly some potassium pergonite can kill off a bacterial infection with a dip you'll have to find the ratio online i forget what it was. that and a water change may help

 

[Laaf]

I have it in a 5 gallon isolation tank. I added aquarium salt per the label and I'm trying a medicine that claims to help bacteria or fungus. 1 tablet/ 5 gallons x 5 days. Today is day #2.

 

[WaterGardener]

Be careful with combining salt with medications. With some treatments, salt is not advised.

I agree that this looks fungal and is usually a result of water quality issues. What are your water test results?

 

[Laaf]

No other fish are showing similar or any concerns.

Water test results:
nitrate and nitrite zero
pH 8
Carbonate hardness 120
General hardness 120

(We have hard alkaline water)

I tested the pond water. This am I tested the quarantine tank. They are the same other than temp. ( I can not measure the salinity which would be different)

Yes it was "only" test strips.

Note outdoor pond temp was 46 degrees when I caught this fish.

I filled the quarantine tank with that water.

Current temperature of water in quarantine tank has come up to 68 degrees in my house. I'm thinking this one fish can be my indoor pet until spring if I can keep the water parameters good in the small tank, so I don't stress it with a return to the cold pond.

The medicine I am using is "Tetra Lifeguard all in one treatment. Attacks a broad range of disease causing organisms: bacterial,fungal, viral and parasitic"

The active ingredient is 1- chloro-2,2,5,5 - tetramethyl- 4 - imidazolidinone.

It claims to be " a broad spectrum non-antibiotic agent" with "no need for time- consuming guesswork"

I picked this since I am not sure if this is fungal, bacterial, or both and no one has made a specific suggestion other than potassium pergonite for bacteria. This claims to cover bacteria and fungus.

It doesn't say anything about not using with salt. And low salt seems recommended for all health issues. I figure if this medicine doesn't help I can try increasing salt per the salt directions of increasing if not helping to stage 2,3 or even more strong short term salt bath. But I wanted to try the 5 day course of this med per the label.

 

[WaterGardener]

No ammonia test?

It's not unusual for only one or two fish to be affected. Some fish are more susceptible to problems than others or are more stressed than others. Since that fish is the newest and looks thin in the first picture, it may not have as strong an immune system as the others.

You are probably aware that antibiotics are not effective for treating funguses.

 

[Laaf]

My test strips do not have ammonia measurements.

This fish came with 18 from my mom's pond she wanted to shut down. Yes they are my newest addition.

Tetra lifeguard claims not to be an antibiotic.

I did see this fish eating algae of the rocks yesterday. I put in some floating food and it wasn't interested.

 

[WaterGardener]

Kind of confusing that it says it it is for bacterial infections then says it's a non-bacterial agent.

 

[Laaf]

It says non antibiotic. I wonder what the technical definition of "anti-biotic" is. I assumed it is a DEA or FDA definition?

 

[Laaf]

I think it is indeed improving. The blob fell off it's lower tail and it is chasing food when I put it in.

Day #3 of Tetra Lifeguard

 

[Laaf]

Continued improvement. Tail is ragged and has redness. But all of the cottony blob has fallen off and it actively swims around to chase food. My current plan is to let it be an indoor fish to give it time to heal and recover before it joins it's pond mates in the spring. It is by the kitchen sink so it will get a lot of human interaction.

 

[GBBUDD]

glad to hear its doing better

 

[Laaf]

Update on fungus/cotton tail goldfish. It is still alive with a shorter tail.

It seemed better after a few weeks and I put it back in my cold pond (acclimating it to the temp over hours). But within a week I saw new cottony growth and it was acting lethargic. I brought it back to my hospital tank and redosed it with the all in one treatment for 5 days. I thought it was too late because the fish just held still at the bottom of the tank for several days. (I felt so guilty for putting it back in the pond) But, it perked back up and has been living inside ever since.

There is no evidence of infection and it is fat a sassy and begs for food multiple times a day. The second bout of infection ate away more of it's tail as you can see in the pics. This fish used to have a long flowy tail.

I was worried it was lonely so I bough it a friend, a feeder goldfish that has changed from solid white with an orange eye to having orange specks. I plan to return both to the pond when it is warmer.

 

[GBBUDD]

I don't see anything in the photo if you had fin rot by the sounds of it thats a sign of water quality issues. Most issues we have with our fish / pets can usually be attributed to water quality.

If that is an aquarium it looks like you have a bit of an over abundance of nutrients or waste in your water having that much hair algae. Water changes ALONG with vacuuming the gravel is a place to start,