Hi - new to the site, but I've joined because I seem to have a big problem on my hands. In the past week I have had at least one fish die per day in my 20 gallon freshwater tropical tank. The tank has been in operation for the past 3 years, with no remarkable deaths or problems. I do a 20% water change about once a month, change charcoal filters with each water change, and change airstones about every other month.
I had a few cories, striped skirted tetras, Glo-Fish skirted tetras, neon tetras, a couple of "ghost fish", an algea eater, and recently added dannios (there are also a ton of snails in there, much to my chagrin...) Prior to the addition of the newest fish, about 10 days ago, one of my skirted tetras was not able to swim upright, and eventually died - looked like his gills were red. subsequently at least one fish has died the same way each day. The little Neons have really taken a hit, and when the ghost fish got sick, since he's virtually transparent, I was able to see that he had a considerable amount of bleeding up around his gills and "chest" area.
I read through the instructions in fish diagnosis charts, assumed this is either red gill disease or septicemia, did a 20% water change, and started treating the tank with Maracyn 2 a few days ago. I've tested the water for ammonia - no remarkable ammonia level, but I added some ammonia lock just in case. I've just removed yet another dead neon, and I'm wondering if I'm treating the tank correctly? Should I change the water again? Is treating with Maracyn 2 the right thing? If so, how long should it take to start having an affect? The first dose was four days ago. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
I had a few cories, striped skirted tetras, Glo-Fish skirted tetras, neon tetras, a couple of "ghost fish", an algea eater, and recently added dannios (there are also a ton of snails in there, much to my chagrin...) Prior to the addition of the newest fish, about 10 days ago, one of my skirted tetras was not able to swim upright, and eventually died - looked like his gills were red. subsequently at least one fish has died the same way each day. The little Neons have really taken a hit, and when the ghost fish got sick, since he's virtually transparent, I was able to see that he had a considerable amount of bleeding up around his gills and "chest" area.
I read through the instructions in fish diagnosis charts, assumed this is either red gill disease or septicemia, did a 20% water change, and started treating the tank with Maracyn 2 a few days ago. I've tested the water for ammonia - no remarkable ammonia level, but I added some ammonia lock just in case. I've just removed yet another dead neon, and I'm wondering if I'm treating the tank correctly? Should I change the water again? Is treating with Maracyn 2 the right thing? If so, how long should it take to start having an affect? The first dose was four days ago. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated.