Very Sick Fish, Desperate for help

Question
QUESTION: Hi Chris,
I have been on this computer for days trying t o find help, I am dealing with Ich and Fungus and there is quite a story as to how they got there, and I have read some of your answers to people and you sound so very knowlegeable, so what I need to know, before I write the story down, is Are you there? Thank you so much, as I have wrote to other people and I get no answer, I think they must be on vacation .

ANSWER: Hi Judy;

Give me all the details you can and I should be able to help you. Sometimes a question can be overwhelming or require too long an answer for some experts. The volunteer has the option to pass on questions if it's too much for them. Some of us just don't have a lot of spare time in order to answer really long questions that require detailed answers. Or, they simply can't help. Hopefully I can...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

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

QUESTION: Hi Chris, So glad you are there, I am not sure how to use this service yet, so we'll see what happens, I'll have to send you several of these messages as the writing space is not to big, so bear with me.There are two aquariums not doing great, mine and my friends, But his first, It's a long story, but i'll skip it, I now have the 20gal, tank up here, the fish, one 5" gold fish, one three in Black Moor, one very large black moor, all have Fungus and Ich, they are in newish terrible water, Nitrite 0.1 Ammonia 0 PH 72, and soft water, A HUSH 20 filter, I have started treating them for ich, everything I have read says,one teaspoon of salt per gallon,  every 12 hours for three treatment, temp. 82 degrees or higher, I have finished adding all the salt, but having trouble with the temp. lots of fiddling. So am I doing this right. How can I fix this water,? I added some water yesterday to top it up, these fish have be moved three times in the past week, Two are now up off the bottom of the tank, Big moor still on bottom, Can you treat Ick and Fungus at the same time. Out of room. Hope to hear from you, Thanks

Answer
Hi Judy;

Are you sure the fish have ick? Ick looks like the fish has been sprinkled with salt. Elevated nitrites can cause skin deterioration that looks like a fungal or bacterial infection too. Let me know what it looks like.

It actually sounds more like a water quality issue than a disease. If the tank is fairly new or because it was moved so much it is going through the break-in period. The break-in is very hard on the fish. Beneficial bacteria colonies are very unstable right now so they can't consume all the toxins. The toxins have risen and partial water changes are the best way to lower them safely without stressing the fish further. With so many large goldfish in there, trying to get it through this tough time is going to be especially hard on them. Change 25% of the water every day for the next 3 or 4 days and keep measuring the ammonia and nitrite to be sure they are staying down.

We are limited as to how many questions we answer in a 24 hour period. Between other questioners and several of yours I could be maxed out before your next question. We may not be able to correspond fast enough to get this done efficiently through the system so write to me at my email instead;

AllExperts_Fish_Guru(a)yahoo.com

I usually try to check it twice a day when I am expecting mail...  

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins