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Koi & Gold Fish Losing Scales (?'s Regarding Cause & Care)

Discussion in 'Fish Diseases & Cures' started by qwertus, Jan 6, 2009.

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  1. qwertus

    qwertus Thread Starter New Member

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    Hi can anyone give me advice to this situation?

    I have a small koi (about 5 inch) and 2 commets in a 55 gal temporarily. I recently add the koi and within a few days i notice the koi started to lose a few scales. Now the gold fishes start to lose scales too. The temperature is at 75 F atm and pH is around 6.5 from my most recent test today.

    Normally to cure ich i just add aquarium salt and raise temp to 80 F, but with the gold fish and koi, is it going to be a problem for them?
     
    qwertus, Jan 6, 2009
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  2. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    Please be sure to include all of the following.

    pH
    Ammonia Level
    Nitrite Level
    Nitrate Level
    Water Temperature
    Tank Size
    How Often You Do Water Changes And What Percent You Change

    Are you heating the water in the tank with a heater ? Goldfish are "cold water fish". Also, losing scales isn't a sigh of ich unless it's left untreated for a long time.

    Are the fish gasping for air, and do they have pale gills ?
     
    Anthony, Jan 6, 2009
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  3. qwertus

    qwertus Thread Starter New Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    pH 6.5
    Ammonia Level 0
    Nitrite Level 0
    Nitrate Level 20-40
    Water Temperature 75
    Tank Size 55gal

    Usually once every 2 weeks for 30-40% or if i have time once a week for 20-25% change.

    I'm aware that gold fish and koi are cold water, thats why im hesitating to raise the temp. I use the heater to keep the temperature stable at 75 F since the weather here aren't stable. I know that the scale loss isn't one of the symtoms of ich; just wondering what might have caused it?
     
    qwertus, Jan 6, 2009
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  4. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    There are a lot of diseases and infections that can cause scale loss. I wouldn't keep the temp in the tank that high. You're right at their limit for water temp. This is just a guess but Myxosporidiosis causes scale loss.
     
    Anthony, Jan 6, 2009
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  5. qwertus

    qwertus Thread Starter New Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    How do I test/cure it? Is it more serious that ich at this time? or should i wait until ick is gone then attempt to cure the other infection? I will do another water change today of about 30% then add aquarium salt. I was thinking about raising tank tempt to 78 within the next 3 days, is that a good idea?
     
    qwertus, Jan 6, 2009
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  6. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    There's no test for it, only the visual signs. You have ich in the tank as well ?
     
    Anthony, Jan 6, 2009
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  7. YellowCichlid

    YellowCichlid New Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    Can't ich if left untreated for a long time cause scale loss
     
    YellowCichlid, Jan 6, 2009
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  8. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    Yes it can. I took the "recently added" as within the past week or so.
     
    Anthony, Jan 6, 2009
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  9. qwertus

    qwertus Thread Starter New Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    It was 6 days ago, almost a week. All the fish in that tank i got it from was healthy. I didnt get the koi from a store, it was my friend's.
     
    qwertus, Jan 6, 2009
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  10. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    I think your best bet would be to treat the ich with meds, not the temp/salt treatment. Why are you adding aquarium salt ?
     
    Anthony, Jan 6, 2009
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  11. qwertus

    qwertus Thread Starter New Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    Doesn't salt kill ich when they detacth from their hosts?
     
    qwertus, Jan 6, 2009
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  12. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    In most cases. How long have you been treating the tank with the salt ? Have you read Understand Ich and Cure Your Fish ? Keep in mind, don't do the temp part with goldfish. If the ich is so advanced that it's causing scale loss you need ich meds, ASAP.
     
    Anthony, Jan 6, 2009
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  13. qwertus

    qwertus Thread Starter New Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    The gold fish has no ich, they only have minor scale loss, from appearance, the only fish with ich seems to be the Koi. I'm not even sure if the spot i saw at the koi's tale is scale loss or fungus (it hasn't grown enough to id yet); other than that spot it has no other scale loss. Those gold fish are feeders that i used to cycle the tank originally; they survived at 80 F for almost a year and grew to 5 inch from less than an inch. I didnt want to get rid of them so i kept them until now.

    I'll water change, add salt and increase temp to 76 for now.
     
    qwertus, Jan 6, 2009
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  14. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    Can you post a picture of what you're talking about ?
     
    Anthony, Jan 6, 2009
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  15. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    confused as to why there are so many problems
     
    Anonymous, Jan 6, 2009
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  16. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    Yeah, I was getting confused too that's why I asked for a picture to see exactly what the problem is.
     
    Anthony, Jan 6, 2009
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  17. qwertus

    qwertus Thread Starter New Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    I'll try to cure the ich first then, did a 30% water change today and increased temp to 76 F, and also added 3 teaspoon of aquarium salt. I'll gradually add 3 teaspoon per 12 hours over the next 3 days and wait for about a week to see if they get better.
     
    qwertus, Jan 6, 2009
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  18. qwertus

    qwertus Thread Starter New Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    Is it true that high concentration of aquarium salt can kill those ich organisms? Or they just help build up the immune of the fish.
     
    qwertus, Jan 7, 2009
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  19. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    Are you testing how much salt you're adding ? Adding it blindly will kill the fish.
     
    Anthony, Jan 7, 2009
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  20. qwertus

    qwertus Thread Starter New Member

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    Re: Koi and Gold Fish Problems

    The goal is getting it to 3 table spoon per gal right? I'll add 1 per day until it reaches that much.
     
    qwertus, Jan 7, 2009
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