Fish Thread

[chicknmania]

Sorry, very long response here. TDLR at the bottom...

Changing the filters is actually one of the worst things you can do in a tank. That brown scum that builds up on your filter media? That's the beneficial bacteria that deal with your nitrogen cycle. If you had nothing but sponge in your tank, forget the charcoal and "bio-media" and all that stuff, you could have enough bacteria to maintain proper cycling in your tank without needing to change media. If the filter media gums up too badly you take half of it out and add in fresh, you never clean all the filter media at the same time. Charcoal is really only needed if you are trying to remove medications or other impurities like that, it doesn't do anything to help the cycling. And the fancy filter media with ceramic and plastic and all of that has less surface media than a proper sponge. I forget what type of sponge it is and the exact square inch ratio required. But if you're using a hook on the back (HOB) filter then those filter cartridges that they tell you to change every month are basically crashing your system every single time you swap unless you take some tank water, squeeze the old filter out into it until it gets brown and scummy, and then soak the new filter in it to seed it with beneficial bacteria.
Second, goldfish really should only live with goldfish. Introducing other fish species into the tank can introduce diseases that goldfish can be too inbred (low immune system) to withstand, stress the other fish since most are not cold-water species like goldfish, and if they're bigger than the goldfish they can maul the goldies, and if they're smaller the goldfish will try to eat literally anything they can fit in their mouth. That includes fins. On top of that goldfish put out a growth reducing hormone that builds up in the water and that can also cause distress to other fish.
I am not very familiar with the virus you're speaking of, but if you got a new tank I would just completely start over from scratch and reintroduce any new fish to the tank with a water acclimation drip from the new tank water to their old tank water, and then when properly acclimated just remove the fish from the old water and place into the new without adding any of the old tank water into the new system. Other components such as substrate and plants can be disinfected beforehand with hydrogen peroxide (for plants), or bleach solution (for other substrate/decorations) and rinsed very well.
According to once source:
There is no treatment for lymphocystis. Often, clinical signs of lymphocystis are exacerbated by other stressors in the tank, such as poor water quality, poor diet, or inappropriate temperatures.
Poor water quality is not just the nitrogen cycle. It's the levels of bacteria in the water column that you cannot see. Most of that should be taken care of by a properly functioning filter, but overcrowding and under filtering will cause imbalances. The goal is crystal clear water, not slightly hazy, but crystal clear.

TDLR: check your filtration setup, also no need to keep old water when switching to a new tank if fish are properly acclimated at a slow pace.

Thanks for all the information but weve had fish for about 20 years including having dojo loaches and goldfish living together which according to other resources is perfectly fine. We have a 55 gallon tank with two filter pumps. We never change both at the same time...neither do we ever vacuum more than a third of the tank gravel per water change. We also leave two thirds of whatever decorative fixtures we have in the tank and only switch out a couple at a time. And if we do change a filter its about every six to eight weeks average. We clean the tank every ten days to two weeks average...at least when there were five fish in there. So there should be plenty of beneficial bacteria in the tank. We dont have the best water for fish anyhow as it is well water...well filtered but still. Thats why we stick with the fish we have

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thanks for all the information but weve had fish for about 20 yrars and never hluding having dojo loaches and goldfish living together which according to other resources is perfectly fine. We have a 55 gallon tank with two filter pumps. We never change both at the same time...neither do we ever vacuum more than a third of the tank gravel per water change. We also leave two thirds of whatever decorative fixtures we have in the tank and only switch out a couple at a time. And if we do change a filter its about every six to eight weeks average. So there should be plenty of beneficial bacteria in the tank. We dont have the best water for fish anyhow as it is well water...well filtered but still. Thats why we stick with the fish we have

I do the exact opposite. I rinse my filters out quite often, and do big water changes with my goldfish. I vacuum the gravel too on a regular basis as goldfish poop a lot and I don't want it building up, because when I didn't in the beginning I got algae blooms.

I keep a few big decorative rocks in my tanks so bacteria can live on them, as well as the gravel itself.

I also have well water that is filtered and softened. Works for me, and my goldfish thrive. My tropical tank on the other hand I had to be careful not to change out too much water. They are more sensitive.

Find what works best for your water and your situation. I read up on everything, and did everything by the book originally but soon had to pivot and find what I needed to do here.

 

[chicknmania]

I do the exact opposite. I rinse my filters out quite often, and do big water changes with my goldfish. I vacuum the gravel too on a regular basis as goldfish poop a lot and I don't want it building up, because when I didn't in the beginning I got algae blooms.

I keep a few big decorative rocks in my tanks so bacteria can live on them, as well as the gravel itself.

I also have well water that is filtered and softened. Works for me, and my goldfish thrive. My tropical tank on the other hand I had to be careful not to change out too much water. They are more sensitive.

Find what works best for your water and your situation. I read up on everything, and did everything by the book originally but soon had to pivot and find what I needed to do here.

I think you mentioned a while back that you switched yours to an outside pond for summer and used a sponge filter. Do you still do that? Or am i thinking if someone else? I do big water changes on our tank too. Ive always wanted to try an outside small pond or tank but i cant imagine theyd live long with all our wildlife passing through.

 

[Stravager]

I do the exact opposite. I rinse my filters out quite often, and do big water changes with my goldfish. I vacuum the gravel too on a regular basis as goldfish poop a lot and I don't want it building up, because when I didn't in the beginning I got algae blooms.

I keep a few big decorative rocks in my tanks so bacteria can live on them, as well as the gravel itself.

I also have well water that is filtered and softened. Works for me, and my goldfish thrive. My tropical tank on the other hand I had to be careful not to change out too much water. They are more sensitive.

Find what works best for your water and your situation. I read up on everything, and did everything by the book originally but soon had to pivot and find what I needed to do here.

I've heard someone say we are not fish keepers; we are water keepers. What works in one scenario with one type of water will not work for the next, or for that species of fish or even for that particular fish's immune system. And some of those books are written by companies that want to sell their products, not necessarily keep your fish healthy. Petsmart and their cheap, toxic painted aquarium decorations are one example - that Spongebob squarepants pineapple house has been involved in so many fish deaths I've lost count and yet they keep selling it and people keep buying it because Petsmart claims it's perfectly safe.
For me personally the biggest thing is the filtration. If you have the filtration down, then you can combat a lot of diseases in your tank and also reduce algae.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I think you mentioned a while back that you switched yours to an outside pond for summer and used a sponge filter. Do you still do that? Or am i thinking if someone else? I do big water changes on our tank too. Ive always wanted to try an outside small pond or tank but i cant imagine theyd live long with all our wildlife passing through.

My big single tailed goldfish do go out in an approximately 250 gallon raised pond that does have a big sponge filter which I rinse every week or two, and than top off the pond when I do.

They than spend the colder months in a 125 gallon tank with two whisper hang on filters. I rinse the filters every other day and do around 50-70% water changes every 1-2 weeks.

So far I've been lucky with no predators. It is in a sheltered spot, so hopefully that helps.

 

[chicknmania]

My big single tailed goldfish do go out in an approximately 250 gallon raised pond that does have a big sponge filter which I rinse every week or two, and than top off the pond when I do.

They than spend the colder months in a 125 gallon tank with two whisper hang on filters. I rinse the filters every other day and do around 50-70% water changes every 1-2 weeks.

So far I've been lucky with no predators. It is in a sheltered spot, so hopefully that helps.

I was doing a fifty per cent water change every 10 days to two weeks on average when I had five fish. I have a 55 gallon tank. I'm gonna wait for a month and see how everything plays out (after the virus issues) before I get any more fish, and then later see about getting a bigger tank. The remaining two seem very healthy except one still has lumps on his side but they are small and don't seem to bother him in the least. How often, though, should I do a water change/ gravel vacuum, rinse/ change filters (and we have two Whisper pumps) for just two fish in a fifty five gallon tank? I cleaned the tank, , and did a fifty per cent water change after losing the last three fish. So right now it's still pretty clean. I did not change either filter cartridge the last time, though.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I was doing a fifty per cent water change every 10 days to two weeks on average when I had five fish. I have a 55 gallon tank. I'm gonna wait for a month and see how everything plays out (after the virus issues) before I get any more fish, and then later see about getting a bigger tank. The remaining two seem very healthy except one still has lumps on his side but they are small and don't seem to bother him in the least. How often, though, should I do a water change/ gravel vacuum, rinse/ change filters (and we have two Whisper pumps) for just two fish in a fifty five gallon tank? I cleaned the tank, , and did a fifty per cent water change after losing the last three fish. So right now it's still pretty clean. I did not change either filter cartridge the last time, though.

As long as it's an established tank with lots of places that bacteria can live I do it as often as necessary. The more gravel, the more it sometimes needs vacuuming. It all depends on how much you are feeding and what you are feeding. Bigger goldfish are good at sifting through gravel, so I don't often bother in my big fish tank.

I have done water changes as often as every day when dealing with diseases. Best thing would to do some water testing to find out where your nitrate levels are. Keeping them low goes a long way towards keeping fish healthy. Higher nitrates can damage the slime coat on fish leaving them vulnerable to diseases.

I've been keeping goldfish for many years and have become familiar with the signs of high nitrates, and with fish that are unhappy in the water conditions. I personally haven't tested my tanks in a long time, but did test when I was newer in the hobby.

You can do daily water changes that are smaller. Smaller changes are always better than larger changes because water in the tank is different than out of the tap sometimes. Goldfish tolerate shifting water conditions better than most fish.

Replaceable filters I rinse often, as well as the bacteria filter, and I replace the cartridges every few months as needed. I haven't seen any crashing of the system personally. I don't normally clean out the whole filter box unless I'm taking a tank down, just the removable filters, and the intake tube.

I hardly ever clean decorates. Plastic plants get exchanged as they break down. Those can hold a lot of bacteria, and I often use them to seed to new tanks along with handfuls of gravel.

Two fish in a 55 that aren't fed more than once a day I would change 30-50% every 2 weeks. When I had my tanks crowded I changed more water.

Not sure if I answered your question. I do like rambling on at times.

 

[chicknmania]

As long as it's an established tank with lots of places that bacteria can live I do it as often as necessary. The more gravel, the more it sometimes needs vacuuming. It all depends on how much you are feeding and what you are feeding. Bigger goldfish are good at sifting through gravel, so I don't often bother in my big fish tank.

I have done water changes as often as every day when dealing with diseases. Best thing would to do some water testing to find out where your nitrate levels are. Keeping them low goes a long way towards keeping fish healthy. Higher nitrates can damage the slime coat on fish leaving them vulnerable to diseases.

I've been keeping goldfish for many years and have become familiar with the signs of high nitrates, and with fish that are unhappy in the water conditions. I personally haven't tested my tanks in a long time, but did test when I was newer in the hobby.

You can do daily water changes that are smaller. Smaller changes are always better than larger changes because water in the tank is different than out of the tap sometimes. Goldfish tolerate shifting water conditions better than most fish.

Replaceable filters I rinse often, as well as the bacteria filter, and I replace the cartridges every few months as needed. I haven't seen any crashing of the system personally. I don't normally clean out the whole filter box unless I'm taking a tank down, just the removable filters, and the intake tube.

I hardly ever clean decorates. Plastic plants get exchanged as they break down. Those can hold a lot of bacteria, and I often use them to seed to new tanks along with handfuls of gravel.

Two fish in a 55 that aren't fed more than once a day I would change 30-50% every 2 weeks. When I had my tanks crowded I changed more water.

Not sure if I answered your question. I do like rambling on at times.

Our well water is always higher nitrate than it should be. We live in farm country, (at least we're trying to keep it that way)...so not much I can do about it. I quit testing water quite some time ago for much the same reasons as you. Thanks for the information.

 

[chicknmania]

As long as it's an established tank with lots of places that bacteria can live I do it as often as necessary. The more gravel, the more it sometimes needs vacuuming. It all depends on how much you are feeding and what you are feeding. Bigger goldfish are good at sifting through gravel, so I don't often bother in my big fish tank.

I have done water changes as often as every day when dealing with diseases. Best thing would to do some water testing to find out where your nitrate levels are. Keeping them low goes a long way towards keeping fish healthy. Higher nitrates can damage the slime coat on fish leaving them vulnerable to diseases.

I've been keeping goldfish for many years and have become familiar with the signs of high nitrates, and with fish that are unhappy in the water conditions. I personally haven't tested my tanks in a long time, but did test when I was newer in the hobby.

You can do daily water changes that are smaller. Smaller changes are always better than larger changes because water in the tank is different than out of the tap sometimes. Goldfish tolerate shifting water conditions better than most fish.

Replaceable filters I rinse often, as well as the bacteria filter, and I replace the cartridges every few months as needed. I haven't seen any crashing of the system personally. I don't normally clean out the whole filter box unless I'm taking a tank down, just the removable filters, and the intake tube.

I hardly ever clean decorates. Plastic plants get exchanged as they break down. Those can hold a lot of bacteria, and I often use them to seed to new tanks along with handfuls of gravel.

Two fish in a 55 that aren't fed more than once a day I would change 30-50% every 2 weeks. When I had my tanks crowded I changed more water.

Not sure if I answered your question. I do like rambling on at times.

Also you mentioned not cleaning your decorates, maybe that had something to do with it because only recently..in the past couple of months I started rinsing them off more often and placing them out in the sun and rain for a few days, because they reeked of fish and some had algae I couldn't get off. I never did more than rinse them occasionally before that. I read somewhere that was the thing to do...putting them out in the sun certainly did get them clean though.

 

[Evadig]

Update on Charles Carroll: He’s eating again and way more active than he used to be. He’s still in recovery mode but hopefully with the assurance of living the rest of his life in bottled water with a filter, he will regain full health. Thank y’all so much for your help!