Ick in Fish

Ich in fish is contagious, I believe. I would sanitize the inside with, like peroxide, and rinse it clean. Also ask the experts at a pet/fish store.

Thoroughly empty the tank and clean everything with fresh clean water... NO SOAP. If you want you can use vinegar or a very dilute solution of bleach water. If you use either, rinse all gravel, fake plants, etc. thoroughly.

Set up your tank again and let it get "established."

New filter catch, new carbon, fresh clean water from the tap.
Let it run for about 48 hours. There is a fish conditioner you can buy from the store. Add it to the water (there are directions on how much to add based on the size of your tank).

Then add the fish.

Definitely better to get fish from Petco, Pet Supplies Plus, Petsmart, etc. They have a guarantee on their fish. If they day within "x" amount of days after buying them you can return them (with a separate water sample) to get more or a refund.

Hope this helps!

I would call a pet/fish store to see what to do about that problem.I'm sure they have something to put in the water or you may even need to drain then wash the tank if you have pebbles and other things you'd have to wash those as well.

Good Luck

K. ~
It's been awhile since I've had a fish tank, but...
You can't use any soap in the tank when you clean. I used to use warm water and some salt, scrub it out with the salt, and make sure I rinsed it really well. I had lost fish to ick a couple of times, so I got to where any time I got a new fish, I would put some ick guard in the water just in case. You can get it anywhere. It turns the water blue and fades over a few days. I would think that you could use it before you even get the fish if you wanted to.
Good Luck!
D.

What size tank do you have for you goldfish? 1 goldfish requires 2 gallons of water for every inch that the goldfish is long (ex. a 2 in. goldfish requires a 4 gallon tank). Goldfish produces much more ammonia than other fish, which is why the requirements for their tanks are much smaller. Other tropical fish are 1 gallon per in of fish. You also want to see how big the goldfish is going to get when full grown. A regular comet ($.12-$.24) fish can get to be 6-12 inches long and would then require a 24 gallon tank when the fish got full grown. It is highly not recommended for goldfish to be in bowls. Bowls are really only for betta fish (which are much easier to take care of). Goldfish do better in a tank with fitration and an air source.
Clean the tank out really well. You can use vinegar and water, just make sure that you rinse it out really well. When you set up the new tank, you are going to want to get 3 things if you don't have them already. 1.) water conditioner (to remove the chlorine in the water) 2.) beneficial bacteria (to get the good bacteria growing in the tank that help break down the fish waste) and 3.) aquatic salt (to help keep the fish less stressed and keep their slimey coats healthy). YOu want to add all of these things to your water and let the tank run with filter and everything going like you already have fish in there for 24-48 hours before you get your fish. Once you get your fish and bring them home, let the bag of water and fish sit in your tank for 15- 20 minutes, so the fish can get acclimated to your water temp. Pour most of the water from the bag out, leaving only a little in the bag and then dump the fish into the tank. This way the pH levels won't be disturbed. If you dump all of the water from the bag into your tank, the pH levels could be really different and stress out the fish. When you put the fish into the tank, you can also add more water conditioner. This will help the fish to not stress from all of the moving. You can never add too much water conditioner or beneficial bacteria.
With goldfish, you are going to want to do a 50% water change every week to week and a half. Never take more than 50% of water out, otherwise it's like you are starting your tank all over again, because you are taking all of the good bacteria out of the water. The fish can stay right in the water while you are doing the water change. This way they won't get stressed as much.
The goldfish can also eat canned peas and orange slices. The vitamin C helps with their color to make it brighter. They can also eat frozen fish food (brine shrimp and blood worms) and you can keep vacation feeder in the tank all the time in case someone forgets to feed them and because they are always hungry. This just gives them a variety in their diet to keep them happier. If you give them orange slices, be sure to take the rest out after a couple of hours. Otherwise, the pulp will start to accumulate on the top of the tank.
Ick is always present in the tank. It only presents itself on the fish when the fish become stressed. Setting up the tank before hand, making sure the tank is big enough, using water conditioner, good bacteria and salt will help keep the stress levels low for the fish. If they develop ick anyways, there are products at the pet store to help clear it up.
Good luck and if you have any more questions, feel free to write to me and ask. I used to work at PetSmart.

My dad aways kept fish and if I remember right, you HAVE to clean the tank! I'm not sure if there is something you can get from a pet store especially for that or not, but call. I think you have to clean everything in the tank as well or throw it out and get a new filter.

ICK is always present in fish tanks. Fish sometimes get infected with it if they are stressed. There could be other reasons too. There is a number of things you can do to prevent any future fish from becoming First of all, NEVER add the water from where you buy the fish to your tank, simple pick the fish up with your hand or a net and put them in your tank. I have had fish develope Ick and I never lost a fish to it. There is medicine you can buy at the pet store to treat it, and it usually clears up in about a week. Don't add any new fish to the tank until the current fish show no signs of being infected if it happens again. There is many different names of the medicine that gets rid of Ick. Just ask a pet store clerk and they will give you the right thing. Also as preventative measures....when you buy new fish, you can add a stress guard medicine to the tank water.
I am an avid fish tank person, I have a 29 gallon tank that I absolutely love....although it does need to be cleaned right now lol) If you have anymore questions, I'd be happy to help if I can.

Happy "fishin" hopefully Ick free!

Shelly

You probably already know, but ~ there is a product in pet stores (even Walmart) that cures that.

Good luck!

S.

What kind of tank/bowl etc? Do you have undergravel filters, how many gallons? Since you are getting new fish it wouldn't hurt to do at least a partial water change and aggitate the gravel with a tank vacuum. When you refil it, make sure it is running for a day or so with some water conditioner in it. Something else, whenever you buy fish from stores, it is a good chance that they already have ick so best to treat your tank with some stress coat, or rid ich or something that helps protect their slime coat.
Let me know if you have anymore questions. we have a 55 gallon tank so I've done most of it to maintain it. Make sure if you are using goldfish, you don't put other community fish in with them. They change the water ph so that other things in with them will die, so it had to be one or the other.
Good luck
C.

I'm not really a fish expert, but when this happened to our tank, we emptied out all the water, changed the filter, and when we replaced the water, we put in some of the liquid ick medication to clean it just in case. We then let it sit for a day or two before new fish were put in, and we've had no problems.
I would say, at the very least, change the water and get a new filter.

There are different ick be gone things on the market but ususally that is for when the fish are still alive. However, be very cautious where you buy your fish. We have learned our lesson. We no longer buy fish from Wal-mart, because their tanks seem to be infested with fish that have ick. We haven't lost a fish since June. We stopped buying fish there and now all is well. Just a tid bit of info. I would just clean the tank/bowl good with soap and water. Good Luck!
K.