Ick Fish

Question
QUESTION: Hi Chris
I have a 20 gallon fish tank.  I just bought two small gold fish yesterday.  They were doing find until when i fed a little food to them today.  After that i start seeing ick on their eyes and bodies.  What should i do?
ANSWER: Hi Lisa;

What does the "ick" look like? White dots or more like patches of whitish slime? It may be something else. Could it be air bubbles? Does it go away if disturbed? If the tank is new air bubbles getting stuck to fish is pretty common. Are there other fish in the tank? How long has it been set up? Let me know...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

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

QUESTION: Hey Chris
I just bought a new tank yesterday and a new fish.  The fish i mention they all died.  So i decided to buy a new tank since i got my old tank 15 years.  So when i bought the new tank i clean everything out.  Today my fishes still have the ick but i bought the ick removal solution and it clean my fish out but i am not sure how long it will last.  Thank you for yout help

Answer
Hi Lisa;

What did you use to wash the tank out? Plain water? Cleaner? Soap?... This can be very important in solving your problem.

If your fish are sick in your new tank after only one day, you are buying fish that are already sick at the store and that's where they should have stayed. Buy only healthy fish that are active and have bright eyes.

I still need to know what the disease looks like too. Does it look like the fish are sprinkled with salt? If so, it is ick. If not, it is something else that we need to figure out.

Many times fish are treated for ick when it really isn't ick at all but another disease, water problem or toxin problem. Treating fish that aren't sick but are suffering from other problems can make them worse because the medicine burns the skin and eyes even more.

Here is a web site about goldfish and what they need;

http://www.firsttankguide.net/goldfish.php

Here is a link to my article about new tanks;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins