Hi all,
So in the last week I've lost 3 fish, and I'm not sure what the issue is. I'll start with the tank and water parameters, and then the deaths.
20 gallon long, heavily planted, driftwood, sandy substrate. I have 5 kuhli loaches, 1 bristlenose pleco, 3 cories, 5 cardinal tetras, and maybe 30+ red cherry shrimp (which will limit med choices). Last week I also had a pair of young german blue rams (6 or 8 mo old I think) and I pulled out the first dead kuhli just now. Testing with the API master test kit (not dip sticks) all my numbers look reasonable: pH 7, NO2 0, NO3 0, NH3 0, GH & KH reasonable (I forget the numbers at the moment), temp 78°. AC50 filter, weekly 25% changes, or often 40% changes every other week.
So last week my cichlids died. They were the newest to the tank, probably 4 or 5 months ago. They had tried breeding twice (eggs were eaten), and generally seemed happy (...they also helped keep my RCS population in check, keeping it around 30 or 40, whereas it was exploding over 100 when I got the pair, and I had to do too many water changes). First one cichlid lost her (?) vibrant colors and her appetite, and started gasping - not at the surface, but listless near the bottom. Day 2 the gills looked a little red, it started sitting on the bottom, and day 3 it was dead. The other cichlid followed a couple days later, same deal but was also swimming dizzily, head up, disoriented. When I scooped it yesterday, I saw on it's tail just before the caudal fin a tiny red speck that looked almost like a pimple. The kuhli was hiding, so I didn't see its decline, but it was belly up this morning, with blotchy red lines from around the gills streaking across its belly. For now I'm keeping it in a jar to see if it helps me answer any questions you all have or to see if any parasites leave the corpse or whatever.
So what is this disease? Flukes? What meds will work without killing the RCS?
Thanks in advance for any help!
So in the last week I've lost 3 fish, and I'm not sure what the issue is. I'll start with the tank and water parameters, and then the deaths.
20 gallon long, heavily planted, driftwood, sandy substrate. I have 5 kuhli loaches, 1 bristlenose pleco, 3 cories, 5 cardinal tetras, and maybe 30+ red cherry shrimp (which will limit med choices). Last week I also had a pair of young german blue rams (6 or 8 mo old I think) and I pulled out the first dead kuhli just now. Testing with the API master test kit (not dip sticks) all my numbers look reasonable: pH 7, NO2 0, NO3 0, NH3 0, GH & KH reasonable (I forget the numbers at the moment), temp 78°. AC50 filter, weekly 25% changes, or often 40% changes every other week.
So last week my cichlids died. They were the newest to the tank, probably 4 or 5 months ago. They had tried breeding twice (eggs were eaten), and generally seemed happy (...they also helped keep my RCS population in check, keeping it around 30 or 40, whereas it was exploding over 100 when I got the pair, and I had to do too many water changes). First one cichlid lost her (?) vibrant colors and her appetite, and started gasping - not at the surface, but listless near the bottom. Day 2 the gills looked a little red, it started sitting on the bottom, and day 3 it was dead. The other cichlid followed a couple days later, same deal but was also swimming dizzily, head up, disoriented. When I scooped it yesterday, I saw on it's tail just before the caudal fin a tiny red speck that looked almost like a pimple. The kuhli was hiding, so I didn't see its decline, but it was belly up this morning, with blotchy red lines from around the gills streaking across its belly. For now I'm keeping it in a jar to see if it helps me answer any questions you all have or to see if any parasites leave the corpse or whatever.
So what is this disease? Flukes? What meds will work without killing the RCS?
Thanks in advance for any help!
