Goldfish ich or slime disease?

[Aiken Drum]

And do you have any long term plans for these goldfish yet?

 

[goldfishgal123]

After the medication is done I was going to start the water change daily and testing. But if you think continuing the mediciation is not worth it I can just start the water changes

hi Andy! I got my water test results back. They look pretty ok to me but I would love your input and reccomendations!

As far as ammonia goes. Do any of you have any experience with this? (Attached a picture) I heard it could be helpful. I’m also not sure how to use it? I think you add some to a pouch and then rinse it? But you have to reactivate it. It seems confusing and I’m not even sure if it would fit in my 10 gallon filter. I was also recommended to get “API QuickStart nitrifying bacteria” do you think that could help?

 

[Aiken Drum]

Zeolite will absorb ammonia. It's good for a short term fix, but long term it will prevent your cycle from establishing.

If you are set on keeping these fish then don't use it. If you are planning on rehoming them in the next week or 2, then it should help with your ammonia problem.

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think zeolite will also absorb medication.

As for the quickstart. It's not a very good product. There are multiple products on the market that claim to help cycle aquariums, but most of then do nothing. I've used Dr Tims One and Only to some effect, and @Andy Sager recommends Fritz products. These products might speed up the cycling process from several months to several weeks. They aren't going to magically cycle your tank and given the small size of the tank, as previously said it may be impossible to cycle the tank with these large fish.

None of these products are going to overcome your issue that your setup is too small the fish. Absolutely the short term solution should be keeping the fish healthy in the environment you have, but after that you need to accept the fish won't be healthy long term if they aren't relocated.

 

[Andy Sager]

I agree, the ammonia issue is a bad issue. If you look at the graph I posted in comment #14, between the ammonia being high and nitrites being low/zero, it shows your tank is not cycled. That means to keep the fish as healthy as possible ( they will never be totally healthy in that small of a tank I'm afraid) you are going to need to be doing water changes to keep the the water as clean as possible vs adding medications. Even when the nitrites start to rise, the combined value for the ammonia and nitrite should not be more than .5 ppm for the water to be safe for the fish to be in. ( in other words, be prepared to do a lot of water changing ) As for using products like the quick start, I've not heard many people having success with most of them but I have had success with Fritzyme #7. That said, the best result I've gotten is by using either squeezings from an established sponge filter or filter material from a filter on an established tank. With these, you are adding the nitrifying microbes to the tank and all they need to do is multiply enough to catch up with the ammonia production.
That is where you are at. :thumb"

 

[Aiken Drum]

Even when the nitrites start to rise, the combined value for the ammonia and nitrite should not be more than .5 ppm for the water to be safe for the fish to be in.

Just to add to this. Every 1ppm of ammonia converts to 2.7ppm of nitrite. So when the ammonia to nitrite stage is working, but the nitrite to nitrate stage isn't, the water quality is going to be at its worst, and need the most water changes to keep it safe.

 

[goldfishgal123]

I agree, the ammonia issue is a bad issue. If you look at the graph I posted in comment #14, between the ammonia being high and nitrites being low/zero, it shows your tank is not cycled. That means to keep the fish as healthy as possible ( they will never be totally healthy in that small of a tank I'm afraid) you are going to need to be doing water changes to keep the the water as clean as possible vs adding medications. Even when the nitrites start to rise, the combined value for the ammonia and nitrite should not be more than .5 ppm for the water to be safe for the fish to be in. ( in other words, be prepared to do a lot of water changing ) As for using products like the quick start, I've not heard many people having success with most of them but I have had success with Fritzyme #7. That said, the best result I've gotten is by using either squeezings from an established sponge filter or filter material from a filter on an established tank. With these, you are adding the nitrifying microbes to the tank and all they need to do is multiply enough to catch up with the ammonia production.
That is where you are at. :thumb"

Thank you! Would you say I should do daily water changes, if so how much? Also, I have this ammonia neutralizer (pictured) can I use that daily? Will that maybe help a tiny bit too. I have no problem with frequent water changes

 

[Aiken Drum]

You need to do enough water changes to keep ammonia below 0.25ppm. If that's daily, do them daily. If it's 2 water changes a day, then do them 2 times a day. If it's needed every 2 days do them every 2 days.

You have been doing a water change every day and your ammonia is up at 1ppm. So a daily water change isn't enough and you probably need to do more.

The chemical you reference will temporarily neutralise ammonia for a day or so, but won't remove it. When the chemical wears off the ammonia will again become toxic to your fish. Your issues aren't going to go away by adding products. Only by doing plenty of water changes, and long term get the fish into a bigger home.

 

[Andy Sager]

What Aiken said.
You don't want to eliminate the ammonia artificially because the nitrifying microbes need ammonia in order to survive. By lowering the level to an acceptable level, both your fish and your microbes can survive.