Tried just about everything! Need help!

Question
Hello. We have been treating a tank full of goldfish with ick for months already. Our tank is 46g and has been set up for a little over a year. We have 5 goldfish, 2 fantails, 1 comet, 1 red cap oranda, and 1 lionhead. Our fish range between 3 and 7 inches each. We have 2 Penguin 350 Bio Wheel Power Filters set up, and the pH level is at 7.2 but we're unsure of the ammonia and nitrate levels. We do have an ammonia reducer in the tank since we've had to remove the carbon. The last three months our fish have been cycling ick. We have been doing 25 - 50% water changes every other day with the treatments. It just seems to be getting worse. We've also tried salt dips and adding salt to the water. Their fins are ripping and deteriorating. In the beginning of the treatments it was only one fish that was sick and now it's three. We've hospitalized them in a seperate tank individually. We've treated for ick, fungus and bacterial infections. Nothing is working and we've run out of options, or atleast the options we're aware of. Please help. Thank you for your time.  

Answer
Hi George;

It sounds more like a chronic case of fin rot and perhaps toxins are elevated such as ammonia and nitrite. Get a test kit that tests; pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Let me know what the numbers are and we might find a clue there. Vacuum the gravel when you make water changes too. Goldfish are pretty serious waste producers.  

Sometimes a case of parasites can lead to secondary bacterial infection that doesn't respond to the antibiotic you are using. If you could tell me what medicines you have already used and for how long I might be able to give you a better choice. Also, there are other parasites that aren't killed by traditional anti-parasitics. Some of those bugs can be pretty nasty and resilient.

Diet is also very important in healing sick fish. Goldfish are mostly vegetarian so they need more than just a basic flake or pelleted food. Offer them veggies to nibble on such as sliced raw cucumber, raw romaine lettuce, cooked peeled peas, cooked green beans, and shredded slightly cooked carrots.

If all the fish aren't sick I would suspect maybe there is a bully in the bunch. Is there one fish that chases the others? Perhaps it is a male in a tank full of females?

Let me know if any of these situations seem plausible and/or you think of any other clues and we can go from there...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins