black moore and calico fantails.

Question
Hi i think i have a really serious problem. I bought four fish- 2 black moores, and 2 calico fantails. For a while they were all active. always eating and everything i have had them for about 1 1/2 monthes. Recently( two weeks ago) one of the black moores got ick. I treated him and he got better. i then stopped treating him and he got it again. i treated all of them because they seemed to be all a little sick looking. I have a bridge inside my tank and all four of them keep going underneath it. They look like theyre dead. they're not eating either. The temperature is 78 degrees. I really want my fish to survive. The black moores are beginning to turn a goldish color on there stomachs and i had another black moore a while back and once he started doing that he died. so im assuming that there going to die to. i really want them to live. Please any advice would be greatful. i turn the light on only during the day and at night it turns off. Please send me information as soon as you can because i need help!!!! I dont want my fish to die! thanks so much for all your help!
Jessica

Answer
Dear Jessica,
I'm sorry to hear about your goldfish. Sounds like the ICK actually tricked you into thinking your fish were better. This happens to a lot of people. They see that their fish get ick, they medicate, and then the spots dissappear. Normally you'd think that your fish are better then right? Well, actually ICK has three life stages. First it lives on the fish for a while, then later it drops off and dissappears after several days. That's when many fishkeepers think their poor fish are finally better and they stop medicating. But unfortunately the parasites are actually in the gravel multiplying. In a couple of days they will start free-swimming and searching for a new fish to latch unto. And it's -only- in this free-swimming stage that the parasites can be destroyed by the medications. That's why it's usually best to keep treating your entire tank for the entire treatment period recommended by the medication's label. It's also best to treat for 3 more days after the last visible sign of Ick has been detected.

Another very important thing to do is to make plenty of frequent large water changes during treatment. It wouldn't hurt to do one as soon as possible right now. Ich Medications can destroy the beneficial bacteria in your tank which results in ammonia buildup and that could be what's happening to your goldfish. The best thing to do is to immediately do a 50% or larger water changes.

If you'd like more information about ich, here is a great article:
http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php

I really hope this helps! I hope I wasn't too late...
Best of luck!
Karen~