Telescope Gold fish that is 2 yrs old stopped eating

Question
QUESTION: Dear April,
       I have a telescope goldfish that I have had for approximately 2 yrs that has stopped eating....I just recently placed "Chester" in a brand new 20 gallon tank that has all new accessories, a brand new whisper 20 power filter and he has an air pump suppling him with air bubbles as well, the temperature of his tank is 70 degrees. I had this new tank set up and running for 5 days and placed both AquaSafe and Stress Zyme in the water to treat it before I placed him in it.
    Chester was in a 10 gallon tank with proper filters and air bubbles and started to exhibit unusual behavior like swimming for hours in the upper corner of the tank, he also had a very mild case of Ich that I treated him for in his new tank (I used Quick Cure for 3 days then did a 25% water change and treated him for 2 more days which is what the directions said to do, he only had 2 spots of Ick behind his right eye and 1 on his chin, all of these spots were extremely small, after treatment he only has a barely noticeable speck left behind his eye, this left eye also had a film on it that has now disappeared after his treatment.)
   I stopped the Ick treatment today and replaced his carbon filter. The other signs "Chester" is showing is he seems very lazy, he gets up and swims in his bubbles from time to time but he used to swim around happily several times a day, he also Knew it was time to eat when I open his tank lid and eagerly waited to be fed. I fed him small amount about 3 to 4 times a day and he always ate what I gave him in 5 minutes or so.
 Now when I feed him he doesn't seem interested, he doesn't swim to the top and the few times I have seen him up at the top I offered him food and he doesn't eat it and swims back to the bottom and just sits there. He doesn't exhibit any kind of breathing trouble but does like swimming in his bubbles from time to time, most of his time he just sits on the bottom, which is something he used to do only mainly at night.
  It has been 4 days since he ate and that was the 4 days he was being treated for Ick. I tested his water for ammonia and pH and the reading s are normal.
  I hope this was enough information for you and you can give me some suggestions on what to do next for him, "chester" may be just a goldfish to some people but he is a beloved member of our family.
         Sincerely Yours
         Linda McLellan
         &
         Chester

ANSWER: Hi Linda,

Goldfish really do need 20 gallons for one and 10 gallons for each additional so I'm glad to hear that is now in the appropriate sized home.  I also always recommend double filtration.  So, if you have a tank of 20 gallons for one, a 40 gallon filter is recommended.  I recommend Hagen's Aqua Clear filters, they never need new disposable cartridges so you will never toss out your beneficial bacteria.

Have you checked the water parameters?  Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates?  They must be flat 0.  Even a trace will stress a fish out.  It's possible that as Chester grew in the too small 10 gallon that he was putting off much more waste over time.  This may have backed up a bit, especially if he had a 10 gallon filter as well, and caused him to get ich.  Ich is a parasite that attacks when fish are stressed or the water quality is off.  Too much ammonia or nitrites (should always be 0) will cause this and overfeeding or under-cleaning at routine maintenance time can also cause ammonia and nitrites to spike.  It's also possible that with a filter where you throw out the cartridge and replace with a new one that this can happen.  

If it's not possible to upgrade the filtration unit I would at least add a Hagen Biomax filter insert.  This looks like a mesh bag with white rocks.  This will host the beneficial bacteria and you never replace this and you never rinse it in tap water.  At routine cleanings you simply rinse it in a bucket of water that came out of the tank and put in your new disposable cartridges.  This keeps the balance of the good bacteria high so that ammonia and nitrite spikes are less likely to occur.

At this point, if your ammonia and nitrites are 0 and nitrates 5-20 ppm as they all should be, then add 1 tsp. per 5 gallons of aquarium salt.  This will reduce stress.  Meds are hard on them and he could be stressed from the new environment coupled with the fact that he just got over ich.  Hold off on all foods for 3-4 days.  This will help purge his system.  When you do feed, try a fresh orange slice or a thawed, fresh, skinned pea.  You can also try fresh spinach leaf bits.  All fish do well on a varied diet so he should be regularly getting these plus high quality flake, pellets, brine shrimp and such.  Don't feed him more than 2 mouthfuls per day, even when healthy.

Please let me know if his condition changes.  I have a big goldfish tank myself, I love them so I know how you feel.

Good luck : )  April M.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear April,
 Thank you for your timely response. "Chester" has developed another 2 spots, 1 is in the same area as before and there is a new 1 in the exact same area behind his eyes on the top of his on the opposite side. This time the spots are small and transparent, the almost look like skin sluffs, one of them had a minute hair that sluffed off when he swam, could he not have Ick after all and have some kind of fungus instead? The use of the Quick Cure helped but apparently it didn't solve the problem. I do not want to treat him with any more meds until I get the ok from you on what to treat him with. I live in a rural area and the nearest pet store is 30 miles away but I am willing to make as many trips as needed for the supplies/meds you advise. As you suggested I am going to get the aquarium salt and the filter you suggested today.
     I checked his nitrate and ammonia levels and they are at the correct levels. His water is a bit cloudy today this occurred after I put his carbon filter back in yesterday. I don't know if I should do a 50% water change and will wait for your answers before I do any thing else to his tank.
     I will follow all your advise and appreciate your time and your help, I will be eagerly awaiting your next response.          Gratefully Yours
         Linda

Answer
Hi Linda,

As long as his ammonia is 0 and nitrites are 0 and nitrates are 5-20 ppm the water is good.  He could be stressed as a result of the Quick Cure (meds are harsh on fish although sometimes necessary) and the new home.  Stress causes illness too.  The salt should help this.  If water is in check I would only do a 25% water change after meds.  50% is only for emergencies if the water is off and doesn't sound like it is.

Quick Cure will only cure a parasitic infection.  It won't do anything for bacteria or fungus.  Fungus is white and hairy or fuzzy looking patches.  This doesn't sound like a fungus from what you've described and fungus is usually secondary to a bacterial problem.  if it is white and fuzzy then it is definitely fungus.

It's hard for me to say what it is without seeing him.  Two little white spots could be ich (it's difficult to completely get rid of) but ich is small, like salt sprinkles.  It could also be fish pox (not treatable, goes away on it's own and is from stress) and it could be ulcers from bacteria but unlikely if they aren't red or inflamed.  Can you try and photograph him and attach it?  What other symptoms does have at this time other than the two white spots?

I can give you a better idea then.

Good luck : ) April M.