Hi Joe,
It's noticed that even though you described this disease's appearance, that
you haven't given a diagnosis. Your description of "some white fluffy
stuff" could fit body fungus quite well though, if by this you mean it looks
like a cottony-like growth (which I'd take your description to mean on the face
of it). There are other white colored body infections though -- not really
looking "fluffy" (although that description can be taken subjectively) --
and which may not necessarily be treatable with Tetra GoldMed. The bacterial
infection, Columnaris (Flexibacteria) is one example of this, so most
often, one medication goes not always treat the "majority" of goldfish diseases.
The ingredients of Tetra GoldMed (Formalin and Malachite Green) are most
often used for treating Ich (White Spot), offered under other labels as a
medication for this disease. This medication is effective against Fungus
though, and you were somewhat fortunate to use this med, if the cottony-like
description fits what you observe -- although it's harsher than needed. Besides
which, Tetra GoldMed has killed off your nitrifying bacteria, which will
necessitate your cycling this tank all over again. There are other medications
for treating Fungus which are not nearly as harsh, and which would not have
decimated your cycle, yet which would have been just as effective (if not
more) for treating Fungus.
Assuming this is Fungus -- as it would seem to be -- there's really not
much more you can do at this point except to follow the directrions on the back
of the bottle and redose as directed -- making a partial water change at
that time. Before the initial dose, and with an ammonia reading of 5 ppm, you
should have made a partial water change then -- which I'm assuming you did.
No amount of ammonia is good for fish, as it stresses them -- which may be
why your fish got taken ill. At your pH of 7.2, a 0.5 ppm level of Total
Ammonia would only result in a Free Ammonia level of 0.003 ppm at 70 o (and
0.005 ppm at 80 o, which you wouldn't maintain for goldfish) -- which would
be far less than the 0.020 ppm level of Free Ammonia that would start to be
toxic to fish. Still, if there's any small error on reading your pH test,
this Total Ammonia could be even more dangerous.
That your nitrate was not very high at that time, indicated that your tank
may not have been fully cycled yet -- unless you were making large and
frequent partial water changes to keep this nitrate down. But if you weren't, as
I'd guess, this points more positively to an insufficiently cycled tank --
undoubtedly due to the addition of the two other fish, increasing the
bioload (and increasing the ammonia load).
One of the best things you should consider doinng for proper fish
maintenance (and including disease identification) is to buy a good basic book on
fish keeping, as your knowledge of fish keeping is still somewhat lacking.
Please don't take this as a put-down, as it's certainly not meant that way;
this would be the best thing you could do for yourself and your fish. Please
know, that one goldfish needs at least 35 gallons (and 45 gallons would be
better) -- and that's if it's a round-bodied double-tail type. This ensures
that the fish will not be stunted and will provide it with the optimum
conditions for it to do it's absolute best. Round-bodied goldfish can reach at
least 8", and they're bulky. You haven't stated what kind of a goldfish this
is, but if it's a straight-tail goldfish, it needs even more room.
The Comet Goldfish (straight-tail) needs a minimum of 75 gallons if you
want to have it prosper to its max, as it can get to 14" long -- it's really a
pond fish. The Shubunkin Goldfish will get nearly this size, but at least
12" -- if you provide it with the right conditions, including water volume.
So, be prepared to upgrade to a much larger tank as the fish start growing.
Even now, as goldfish notoriously produce a lot of waste for their size, a
larger tank should be considered to best keep the organic wastes (ammonia,
etc.) down.
An excellent book on Goldfish, if you can find it on the 'Net, is Dr.
Innes' Goldfish Varieties and Water Gardens.
Ray .
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