Black ich on goldfish?

[Master of Disaster]

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

They don’t get the same turbellarian worm that causes black ich. They do get digenean trematodes that cause black spots, but you don’t need to treat those, because they have at least one other host, like a bird, so unless the fish is in a pond, no worries.
That all said, this looks like black melanin pigments, not sure why, these sometimes develop at the site of a previous infection.
Did they show up suddenly, or have they been there for a while?
Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

I recall when i had my pet store this happening at wholesaler and it was due to infection from tank water and lack of water changes as they are messy housekeepers and likely the tank has incurred high ammonia levels or low ph or a combination of both

 

[Master of Disaster]

They don’t get the same turbellarian worm that causes black ich. They do get digenean trematodes that cause black spots, but you don’t need to treat those, because they have at least one other host, like a bird, so unless the fish is in a pond, no worries.
That all said, this looks like black melanin pigments, not sure why, these sometimes develop at the site of a previous infection.
Did they show up suddenly, or have they been there for a while?
Jay

Thanks Jay. About three weeks ago I noticed two black spots. Within the next three weeks, these have virtually taken over his face and head. Tried salt bath, prazi, kanamycin and melafix/pimafix with no results.

 

[Master of Disaster]

I recall when i had my pet store this happening at wholesaler and it was due to infection from tank water and lack of water changes as they are messy housekeepers and likely the tank has incurred high ammonia levels or low ph or a combination of both

 

[Master of Disaster]

With water changes weekly, I would have expected spots to reduce rather than continue to increase. Test strips show water in good balance but more alkaline. Ammonia tests high and doesn't want to come down after water changes, ammo chips and ammolock. Added some small amount of salt to 50 gal tank. Everyone else seems fine in tank but have had snails die off. Thanks for the help.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

What is that orange stuff at the bottom in the last picture? The gravel seems really congested with silt or something. Salt will help mitigate the nitrite toxicity, but you need to get the ammonia level down below 0.25 ppm
Jay

 

[Master of Disaster]

Orange is a shrimp pellet for cities. Will do another water change in the next 24 hours. Should I dose Kanaplex after water change? Or Maracyn2 ?

 

[Master of Disaster]

Autocorrect.....cories...not cities...doh !

 

[Master of Disaster]

Gravel is silty. Crushed coral is probably one third of substrate.

 

[Master of Disaster]

This is latest progression....

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Well that went south really fast. I wondered if that orange stuff was uneaten food, you need to get that all cleaned out in order to try and manage the ammonia. The cory cats won't starve, I've seen them go to the surface and grab food (grin).

What is your ammonia testing at? The alkaline/high pH will make even a small amount of ammonia much more toxic. I don't know if the black spots are related to ammonia burn, but I am really worried about the ammonia itself, not so much the spots.

Jay

 

[Master of Disaster]

I only have strips for ammonia and they have read as highest on strip. All other tests show zero nitrate, zero nitrite, 7.5 ph and 180 in hardness. In the morning I'll gravel vac 50% of water out and get down into the substrate a little deeper to clear out uneaten food and debris. Then stresszyme and equilibrium for good bacteria rebuild. Have to pick up a ppm kit for ammonia numbers too. Thanks, Jay.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Going back to water quality. . . . This fish is suffering from ammonia or ph being off.

 

[Master of Disaster]

Thank you. With zero in nitrates and nitrites, I'm guessing my good bacteria have fallen off greatly.

 

[Master of Disaster]

Thanks, V.G.

 

[Arthurfarris]

We have three goldfish in our 30 gallon aquarium. We did a water change the day before, as it started to turn that lovely green. However, shortly after adding the necessary chemicals to the dechlorinator, we noticed that the smaller of the three now had black on top of its fins and a black patch under its right eye. The cause of goldfish discoloration may be due to blackhead disease. This disease can be transmitted by snails living in the aquarium. In mild cases, only a few pimples appear on the body of the fish, but in severe cases, the whole body of the fish can be black.

 

[brandon429]

The prior posts here from last year look like an exercise in keeping goldfish in the worst sustainable conditions possible, then tracking its demise in a perpetually unclean tank via pics.

Thought: what if cleaning effort was sustained, and compounding rotten waste wasn't a 24x7 factor...I know the op's fish is long gone by now but cleaning an aquarium at least once in its life span is an awesome effort

The only way the living conditions in the original tank here could be more cloudy is if milk was dripped in constantly. The cross section of the sand in post 6 shows not once had the tank been cleaned since setup. Not one time

 

[Arthurfarris]

We have three goldfish in our 30 gallon aquarium. We did a water change the day before, as it started to turn that lovely green. However, shortly after adding the necessary chemicals to the dechlorinator, we noticed that the smaller of the three now had black on top of its fins and a black patch under its right eye. The cause of goldfish discoloration may be due to blackhead disease. This disease can be transmitted by snails living in the aquarium. In mild cases, only a few pimples appear on the body of the fish, but in severe cases, the whole body of the fish can be black.

There are many reasons why does a goldfish turn black. The cause can be natural, which is okay, but if it is not a natural cause, you will need to do a lot of maintenance stuff in your aquarium. Meanwhile, learn how to appreciate the beauty of the goldfish while they are healthy.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

We have three goldfish in our 30 gallon aquarium. We did a water change the day before, as it started to turn that lovely green. However, shortly after adding the necessary chemicals to the dechlorinator, we noticed that the smaller of the three now had black on top of its fins and a black patch under its right eye. The cause of goldfish discoloration may be due to blackhead disease. This disease can be transmitted by snails living in the aquarium. In mild cases, only a few pimples appear on the body of the fish, but in severe cases, the whole body of the fish can be black.

Can post a picture of your fish?
Jay