Tag: goldfish diseases and information

What Is Anchor Worms?

Post author By GoldfishCare
Post date July 2, 2008

By Jamie Boyle

Anchor worms ( Crustacean parasite, Lernaea ) are small external parasites often seen on Goldfish, Koi and other types of fish. These anchor worms are small threadlike parasites that you often see them attached to goldfish on the body itself or close to the tail fin or dorsal fin. Once these anchor worms attach themselves to the fish it begins to feed on the goldfish body fluids and can destroy muscle and gill tissue. These external parasites can be seen quite easily seen as they are about 1/4″ long which is about 6-7mm. For this type of parasite you don’t need a microscope to see them at all.

As these parasites feed it can cause secondary bacterial infections to begin. Once you notice your goldfish showing signs and symptoms of anchor worms through flashing and scratching themselves on things you will need to learn how to treat anchor worms on goldfish and begin treatment right away. Goldfish will try and rub themselves against anything such as aquarium gravel, aquarium ornaments or decorations to try and rid themselves or knock off these external parasites causing irritation. The good thing with anchor worms is that it’s very easy to treat, just begin treatment right away to eliminate the chance of spreading these parasites to your other goldfish. Anchor worms ( Lernaea ) lay eggs so just so know you will need to treat your entire tank to make sure you rid yourself of Anchor worms. As I say it Anchors Away!

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy

How To Treat Ulcer Disease On Goldfish

Post author By GoldfishCare
Post date May 20, 2008
21 Comments on How To Treat Ulcer Disease On Goldfish

By Jamie Boyle

Ulcer disease on goldfish is something all goldfish and aquarium owners will come across some day and you will need to learn how to treat ulcers effectively. I just recently made two posts and talked about How Ulcers Begin On Goldfish and Ulcers On Goldfish – Red Sores Blotches which talks more about this subject. The best thing people can do as mentioned is to treat ulcers right away as it’s easier to correct the problem at the start and you will have much better luck in the treatment of ulcers.

What you need to learn now is how to treat ulcer disease on goldfish and there are several ways you can do so. One of the ways in which I use is Potassium Permanganate which works very well but you need to be cautious using this as it is a severely strong medication and treatment method for ulcers and should only be used by experienced people in the hobby. I won’t talk much on this as I have just learned just recently that Potassium permanganate is now illegal in Canada. I will update you more on this news later to let you know why.

Another method of treatment for ulcers is by using Melafix. Melafix treats ulcers and open wounds on goldfish healing them quickly and restoring damaged tissue. I know for Pond Care Melafix you use one teaspoon for every 50 gallons of water for minor injuries, wounds and fin damage you can use this dosage. For more serious and advanced injuries in goldfish double the dosage to two teaspoons for every 50 gallons. Melafix works very well in the treatment of ulcers on goldfish and is a all natural medication. When treating your goldfish for ulcers just remember to remove the activated carbon from your filter and turn off your UV sterilizers if you have one. Now with the Pond Care Medication this is a stronger concentration of medication, there is one that you can buy at local pet stores which is a lower concentration meant for aquarium use. See your local pet store for more details and follow the recommended dosage on the box.

Another method of treating ulcers is by by feeding your goldfish Debride Medicated Food for bacterial infections in combination with Debride Medicated Ointment. When you do these both it has an excellent result in the treatment of ulcers. Simply feed the medicated food to your goldfish for a full 14 days while applying a small bit of ointment onto the affected area on your goldfish body and you will see great results when you combine both uses.

Another way I treat ulcers on goldfish is by using the Kutsuri Wound Kit. This kit is meant for the treatment of wounds such as ulcers. All you do is put your goldfish to sleep using an anesthetic, use the sterilization solution, clean the wound, apply red solution which is iodine to the area, apply a medicated powder directly on to the ulcer, and then apply your water sealer to keep the medicated powder from being washed off when you introduce your goldfish back to your aquarium or pond. I personally like this method as you know for sure that the infected area is being treated for sure. I know I had a koi with an ulcer bigger then a loonie before and deep and this cured it good and fast.

These are several ways you can treat ulcer disease on goldfish. Some are easier then others and I suggest going with the one your more comfortable with. If your uneasy on putting your goldfish or koi to sleep to treat the ulcers then I suggest going with the Melafix which is a medication you simply add to the water. Quick, easy and efficient. Choose the right form of goldfish ulcer disease treatment for you.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy

How Ulcers Begin On Goldfish

Post author By GoldfishCare
Post date May 9, 2008
39 Comments on How Ulcers Begin On Goldfish

By Jamie Boyle

Today I received an email from one of my readers who is having a problem with her goldfish with some red blotches on her fantail goldfish. I asked for some more information so I could properly diagnose the symptoms that her goldfish is showing.

Here are the goldfish pictures that Michelle sent me so I can help her out:

As you see in the photos this fantail goldfish has red blotches by the back and tail. You see with ulcers it starts off almost like a rash with red blotches or red marks on the goldfish. As the ulcer disease in goldfish progresses scales will fall off and open the skin will open up to the tissue. Treating goldfish for ulcers is very easy at the early stages when they begin. When you see this happening begin goldfish treatment right away.

The more advanced stages of ulcers can be seen with this photo. Here you will see the extreme tissue damage done by ulcer disease. It has eaten away right into the flesh and body tissue of this koi shown here. If left untreated fish will die for sure. That’s why it’s very important to treat ulcers right away when you notice it. it’s much easier to treat in early stages.

Now when you see red blotches or red marks on goldfish doesn’t always mean that it’s ulcers, it could be bacterial infections. Sometimes bad water quality will cause hemoraging on goldfish. It then appears as red marks coming from beneath the shin which can be seen. Always make sure water quality is kept up to date and healthy for your goldfish. Sometimes there is just too much bacteria in the water causing irritation on goldfish. Just keep water quality in check and at proper levels. Doing water changes regularly and keeping goldfish aquariums and goldfish ponds not overcrowded will help heep their health in order. Overcrowded ponds and aquariums are one of the main reasons that ulcers appear on goldfish and koi.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy

Ulcers On Goldfish Red Sores- Blotches

Post author By GoldfishCare
Post date April 24, 2008
9 Comments on Ulcers On Goldfish Red Sores- Blotches

By Jamie Boyle

Ulcers disease among goldfish appear at the beginning as small red sores or blotches. These ulcers are usually caused by a parasitic infestation then a secondary bacterial infection has set in. These ulcers much like mouth rot will actually eat away the skin and flesh of your goldfish and if left untreated will actually eat away until it forms a hole in the goldfish showing the internal organs. Goldfish ulcers are annoying but they are treatable and are much easier to treat in the early stages when ulcers appear with the right fish medications. As I mentioned at the beginning they start off as small red sores but these sores will increase in size as this ulcer disease progresses.

Ulcers can happen from a variety of different reasons:

1. Poor water quality
2. Parasitic Infestation
3. Injury
4. Overcrowded conditions
5. Stress
6. Result of spawning injury
7. High count of aeromonas and pseudomonas in the water

These are some of the reasons ulcers will happen on goldfish. What you need to do is treat your goldfish right away. If left untreated death is sure to happen to your goldfish so be sure to treat your goldfish right away and learn how to treat ulcer disease on goldfish.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy

Black Spots On Goldfish

Many people have left comments on my goldfish blog telling me ” My Goldfish Has Black Spots, Help ! ” so I figured I would do a post on this. Black spots on goldfish is a result of poor water quality being that the ammonia level in the aquarium has spiked. When the ammonia level in your tank increases it causes black spots to appear on the goldfish body and black tips to appear on the tail, pectoral fins and dorsal fins. These black spots are a result of ammonia burn.

People should think of ammonia like acid, when the ammonia is extremely high it cause ammonia burn, just like acid would do to human skin. It causes discomfort in your goldfish and high levels of ammonia can kill your goldfish. As I’ve mentioned before people really need to take care of their goldfish properly. If you have an aquarium or goldfish bowl, you need to have water test kits around. This is a necessity if you plan on keeping your goldfish healthy and living a long life free of black spots.

Now don’t mistaken black spots on goldfish being ammonia burn all the time. Goldfish do change colour from grey to common colour orange so that may be the case as well. Even though your goldfish aquarium water may be crystal clear, doesn’t always mean that your water quality is perfect. Clear water could also contain high levels of harmful properties in water chemistry. Never rely on clear water being safe for fish. Check your water quality often to ensure that you don’t have black spots on goldfish and ammonia burn to happen.

Test often, perform regular maintenance such as water changes and have equipment working properly will be the first step to proper goldfish care and eliminating chance of black spots on your fish called Melanophore Migration.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
Goldfish Care Information Diseases & Treatments
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

Have your goldfish suffered from black spots and ammonia burn before?

Tags Black Spots, Goldfish, goldfish black spots, goldfish care, Goldfish diseases, goldfish diseases and information

Cloudy Eye Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Diseases Goldfish Medications

Cloudy Eye Goldfish Problem Treatment & Fish Medication

Post author By GoldfishCare
Post date January 14, 2008
91 Comments on Cloudy Eye Goldfish Problem Treatment & Fish Medication

Cloudy Eye Goldfish Fungus Disease - Fish Medication Treatment Required

Cloudy eye is a goldfish problem often affecting goldfish sometimes caused due to bacterial infections and there are symptoms, causes and treatments to get your goldfish health back to normal. The thing with Cloudy Eye or eye cloud this can be prevented by regular maintenance on your aquarium. Water quality is the #1 reason that goldfish diseases and bacterial infections occur and cause your goldfish to become ill, sick or even death.

What Is Cloudy Eye On Goldfish?

Cloudy eye is when a whitish film starts to cover the goldfish eyes. It may affect either one eye or both and the eye then has a cloudy appearance pretty much how this bacterial infection got its name. There are many possible causes of of how cloudy eye infected your fish. Like I said before mostly due to poor water quality and conditions is where most diseases and bacterial infections are all started. There is always a reason why goldfish get sick, just need search to find out why it happened and correct it. When goldfish have Cloudy Eye they sometimes show signs of distress like clamped fins or appear sluggish.

Treatment For Cloudy Eye

Cloudy eye can be treated and prevented by doing regular water changes and keeping water chemistry in proper levels reducing stress and chance of goldfish diseases and bacterial infections from occuring in the first place. By adding salt to your aquarium when performing water changes will help from goldfish problems from happening. Salt is a good prevention for Goldfish Diseases. What you need to do to treat Cloudy Eye is to find the appropriate medication for the problem. You will be able to find goldfish medication at any of your local pet stores or online as well. A good treatment for Cloudy Eye is MelaFix which is used to treat cloudy eye and other goldfish bacterial infections like fungus, red ulcers and fin and tail rot. This form of bacterial treatment will heal your goldfish quickly. Just follow the recommended dosage and instructions to treat your fish.

Perform regular aquarium maintenance and you’ll have healthier goldfish and much happier goldfish. This will definitely help ensure your goldfish health and stop problems like Cloudy Eye from occuring. I will post Cloudy eye pictures here a s well for people to see. Good luck with your goldfish and make sure they stay healthy.

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy

Breeding Tubercles Not White Spot Disease (Ich)

Post author By GoldfishCare
Post date October 14, 2007
4 Comments on Breeding Tubercles Not White Spot Disease (Ich)

Breeding Tubercles Goldfish Fantail Gill Plates Cover — Breeding Tubercles on Goldfish Fantail Gill Plates Cover

A common mistake that goldfish owners make which is quite easily done is treating their fish for ich when in fact it’s breeding tubercles. On the photo above you’ll see breeding tubercles on this goldfish fantail Gill plates cover. Proper diagnosis in identifying diseases can save you time, money, and eliminate stress on fish. These breeding tubercles that you see appear like pimples on the gill plates. Lots of people mistaken this for ich when in fact it’s not.

Male goldfish develop these breeding tubercles several times throughout the year. This symbolizes that the goldfish are ready to breed. A good way to tell whether it’s ich or breeding tubercles is to observe the rest of the body. If the white spots or pimples are only on the the gill plates then they are breeding tubercles. If there are spots elsewhere that appear on your fish then you have ich. If it turns out to be ich then I would suggest getting ready to start treating your goldfish for whitespot disease.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

Tags Breeding Goldfish, Goldfish Disease Ich, Goldfish diseases, goldfish diseases and information