Goldfish losing scales

[susanp]

I have 2 10 year old "feeder" goldfish in a 40 gallon breeder tank.  The gold colored fish has always been very robust, and the white one more prone to illness and smaller.  The white fish has been gradually losing scales, and though I didn't worry too much at first, I now see that most of the scales are missing over the back end, hear the tail.  Is this a sign of illness?  If so, what kind of illness? 

[Mollielover]

Could be a few things first off can you tell us a little bit about your tank maintence?  How often and how much water is changed.  Also have you tested the water parameters?  Water quality comes to mind, could be a skin infection, or is there anything the fish could be rubbing on and get hurt?

[susanp]

I confess it's been awhile since I tested the water, since the fish were doing well (I thought).  It's a 40 gallon tank with 3 whisper filters running.  Only gravel and java fern and fish.  I change 1/3 of the water once a week.  I'll do some water testing today once I get the kids to school.

[Mollielover]

Thats ok ,I hardly ever test my water anymore unless there are issues that I'm dealing with. 

[susanp]

Ok, here are the test results:

NitrAte---may be 80 (or between 40 and 80. I'm not great at reading the color matches.  kind of high, right?)

NitrIte---approaching .25 (a little high, right?)

PH---6.0  (a little low?)

Ammonia--- 1.0.  (high! )

What am I doing wrong?  I last cleaned the tank 4 days ago!  Help?

[susanp]

I should add that I pretreat the water with Seachem Prime.

[susanp]

Well, I realized "what should I do?" was kind of a stupid question.  So while I wait for your reply, I'm doing a 1/3 water change.  But I mean beyond this water change, what should I do?

Note to self:  Don't try to type on petfish.net while changing fish water unless I want a flooded floor (again!)

[RinsMom]

One thing... don't panic TOO much...

When using Prime, the ammonia will still show up on the typical drop test kit.  It has been bound up, but is still available for plants or your tank's biological filter to use. (Is your tank planted?)

Sometimes, if you do TOO many water changes, you do mess with the tank's cycle.

Did you change the filter cartridge?  If so, you've sent it into a mini-cycle.

Prime also helps bind up the nitrites and nitrates.. but I'm not sure how much you need to use...

Most people on here do not change their filter....  the brownish gunk you see is the bacteria you need.  If it is restricting water flow, rinse the filter in a bucket of tank water.. never chlorinated water, as that will kill off the bacteria you need.

http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Prime.html

This link has some information on Prime... but as you see, they don't really understand it either.

[susanp]

Well, I rinse out the filters when I do a water change (in the tank water) and replace them *until* they are really, really yucky and tattered.  I did replace them recently.  But there is also a little sponge filter in the Whispers that I do not replace.  Wouldn't that keep enough bacteria in there?  Can I add bacteria?  I bought some TheraP as an experiment once and still have some.

I have a few Java ferns stuck in the gravel, but that's it.  The goldies are just too hard on other plants, and the lighting isn't that great.

Should I add some aquarium salt?

The larger, healthier gold fish does frequently chase the white fish around, always has.  Could he be knocking scales off?

Can missing scales ever be normal?

[susanp]

So, I guess my last question is, does the fish need medication of some kind or just a more stable water environment?