OK its happened, ick??

[haver79]

Well I went out to work on the pond today. Got a close look at my fish and Im pretty sure they have ick. Little white dots on the area around the head and 2 of them also have it on their fins. I thought this am I only saw it on one fish but looking again this afternoon I see it on all but 2 fish. (I have 10 goldies and 1 fry) So far they seem to be acting normal.
Great, I was afraid sooner or later something like this would happened and I am not at all prepared.
What is my best course of action???? How does one treat a 3000 gal pond for ick??? I obviously need to buy some remedy to treat the pond but not sure what.
Suggestions please!!!!!!!!

Thanks!!

 

[Dave 54]

Buy a ich treatment then use the formula on the back to work out the exact dosage then treat them accordingly , if you cant work it out ask the fish outlet to do it for you, they should be more than willing too

Dave

 

[sissy]

You can also feed them medicated food or a supplement like I use.I buy my medicated food from dr foster and smith

 

[haver79]

Sissy do you feed that as a preventative?

I will have to go somewhere tomorrow and buy some ick cure stuff. Doubt any place in town has enough to do my pond so may have to drive a ways.

Is it necessary to treat the whole pond or remove the fish and treat in a smaller container? The only option I have is a stock tank but I know the water is colder there.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

By any chance are the white dots on the gill covers and the leading ray of the pectoral fins?

 

[haver79]

yes they are and I also notice very small patch of tiny dark specs on the gill cover of a couple of them.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Not sure on the dark specs but the white dots you are seeing may not be ich. Have you heard of breeding stars? Males will show them once they are mature.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

I just noticed them the other day on an oranda I got recently. Wasnt sure if I had a boy or girl until I saw they had developed : )

 

[haver79]

Sure looks like pictures of ick that I have seen. Will have to check out what breeding stars are. They seem to be acting normal for now. Look healthy otherwise.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

yea, check it out especially since they look good otherwise. No clamped fins, hanging at the surface, flashing?

 

[haver79]

Thanks Betta, I looked at some pics and still think its ick. A couple have some spots on their dorsel fins. Don't know how quick this can escalate but maybe I can order something and do overnight shipping. Not all showing signs but better get something to treat the pond anyway. My water is cool so not sure if the medications work as well in cool water. Temp was only 49 this am.

 

[callingcolleen1]

I would not treat the pond if at all possible as the treatment is bad for the balance of your pond. It would be best to treat in a separate tank if possble.

 

[Dave 54]

Haver79 do you have a quarentine setup plus can you post a photo of the goldfish please I've a feeling they may well be breeding tubercles which are found on the gill covers and leadingedges of the fins , people sometimes mistake these for Ich

Dave

 

[Dave 54]

You can also feed them medicated food or a supplement like I use.I buy my medicated food from dr foster and smith

sissy when you say medicated are we talking antibiotics here , you shouldnt really back up a treatment for ich because eventually your going to build up a resistance to certain anti biotics which when you eventually have fish come down with a bacterial infection will make it hard to treat.
in the last 27 years weve only had to resurt to antibiotics three times .

Dave

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Not sure which medication is best in colder water.

Ideally you would increase heat when treating for ich as it speeds up the life cycle of the parasite.

Personally I have never heard of a medicated food that treats ich. Not sure how that would work.

Your best bet is to remove fish to quarantine tank and treat there. The life cycle of the parasite will be broke when there is no longer a host in the pond (meaning your fish) and once treatment is done they should be safe to go back in the pond.

Not sure if this is even feasible for you? I would do a water change in the pond.