problems with sick goldfish/cycling/ medications

Question
Hello, my tank is 10 gal. It has been running for about 1 1/2 years. I have 1 bubble cheaks goldfish and 2 snails but had 2 little feederfish and 5 snails in it a week ago. I have a Waterworld/caribbean ac110v-120v/ 60 Hz Ipx8. I do not have a testing kit yet. I change the water e.o. week (only 25%). I change the filter once a month.
Here is what is happening... I noticed that my pump was not cleaning the water as well as it had been. Probably due to the extra (feeder fish) that my kids wanted to add. Also the extra snails. Five in all. I was told that my pump has a small propeller that was perhaps not spinning so I took my entire pump apart and cleaned it with tap water. In the pump on the bottom of the tank I opened a flat black box holding a dirty slimy sponge that i had never seen before. Little did I know that this sponge was holding all of the beneficial bacteria I needed to keep my tank healthy and clean. Soon after rinsing that sponge I started to notice alot of cloudiness and 3 fish that had red spots on their fins with small patches on white. A friend told me it was a parasite and I bought a solution for ick. That only made my bubble cheeks pop his cheeks. I talked with a pet store and purchased another solution made of teatree oil for the redness on the fish. In the mean time the 2 feeder fish were taken out of the tank along with the 5 snails. I understand that I am basically starting my tank from scratch. The cloudiness is part of the cycling. I don't know what to do about the sick fish. What meds are to be used? Do I have micro organizams in the tank that should be treated? Thank you for your help! I'm very discouraged but want to learn what to do so that I can have a cristal clear healthy tank again.

Answer
Hi Todd;

You are probably quite right, your tank is trying to restore it's balance. It was from the addition of more fish. Your little ten gallon is only large enough for one goldfish. Rinsing the filter sponge did retard the development of beneficial bacteria but there was already too much waste for it to handle anyway. Rinse it again in the future when things are settled down, but rinse it gently in a container of tank water. It will preserve the bacteria but get rid of the waste.

Your fish may have a bacterial infection from the stress of excess toxins but he may be able to fight it off without medication. Make a series of water changes right away. It will reduce any toxins that are in there but still allow the system to stabilize, as well as boost his immune system too. Change 50% today and change 25% every day for another week. Be sure to add water conditioner. You don't need any special products to get the system stabilized. It needs to do that on it's own. The Tea Tree product is probably "Melafix". Use the Melafix and also get some aquarium salt. They both inhibit infection and aid in healing.

If he doesn't look better in a day or two, get an antibiotic for fish called "Maracyn Two". Use it along with the Melafix and salt, continuing to make water changes.

About dosing the medicines; Dose the 'Melafix' and 'Maracyn Two' daily according to package instructions. The water changes are fine to do, just add the day's medication right after the day's change. They decay after several hours, that's why we have to add them daily. So don't be worried that you are removing anything important with the daily change.

About dosing salt; The initial dose for the whole tank on the first day should be 5 teaspoons, for a strength of 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. Every time you change water only treat the new water. For instance, if you replace 5 gallons add back 2.5 teaspoons of salt. If you replace a couple of gallons, add back one teaspoon of salt. This maintains a certain concentration of salt without it getting beyond your control. Once the crisis is over and your fish doesn't need the salt anymore, just do your weekly 25% water change (as should be done in all tanks) but add no more salt. It will slowly be removed over time.

I hope your fish feels better soon. Let me know how things are going...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins