So after 3 years of successful fishkeeping I've finally had disease strike and wipe out 1/3 of my tank and counting.
40 gallon planted freshwater
PH 7.0
Nitrite 0, Ammonia 0
temp about 80 degrees F.
water changes generally between 1-2 weeks about 15%
Biowheel filtration
2 yellow rainbows (1 the first and 1 most recent to die.)
8 yellow Congo Tetras (all but 1 have died)
1 siamese algae eater (clinging on for life right now but i don't think he'll make it)
5 rummy nose tetras (all fine)
5 corydoras (all fine)
5 small otocinclus (all fine)
1 large otocinclus (fine)
1 Singapore shrimp (still very shy but alive)
I took 4 dead Congo's into my very expert and reliable LFS here in San Francisco and his diagnosis was gill disease. Gills were pink and he says basically eaten away by bacteria.
I asked if it was parasites, (suspecting a batch of bad live worms) and he said no.
I dosed the entire tank with Penicillin yesterday evening and will continue for 5 days.
I guess my shock is just how there appeared to be nothing wrong and suddenly they are all dying very quickly. I would love to save the Siamenses because he is one of my old favorites but it doesn't look good.
So from reading on the web, here are the possible causes...
- chemical irritants such as ammonia and nitrite or high pH
- high levels of parasites such as Trichodina, Chilodonella, Flukes or Costia
- high levels of dissolved or particulate organic solids
- low levels of oxygen or overcrowding
It's possible I let the water get too dirty for one week, but I really don't think so. I did have an equipment failure of the water pump 2 months ago and left them low on oxygen for a day. But I got it fixed and they all survived. I don't think they are overcrowded. (Edit) and I'm sure people will ask... the only creature added recently was the Singapore shrimp.
The questions I have are these. Could this have been caused by an outside contaminent in the water? i.e. soap, hair product, human not washing hands? or could this have been caused by a bad batch of worms?
Any other ideas so I don't have to go through this again.
Here's my last picture from a few months back (pardon the specs of brown algae i've since scraped off)
40 gallon planted freshwater
PH 7.0
Nitrite 0, Ammonia 0
temp about 80 degrees F.
water changes generally between 1-2 weeks about 15%
Biowheel filtration
2 yellow rainbows (1 the first and 1 most recent to die.)
8 yellow Congo Tetras (all but 1 have died)
1 siamese algae eater (clinging on for life right now but i don't think he'll make it)
5 rummy nose tetras (all fine)
5 corydoras (all fine)
5 small otocinclus (all fine)
1 large otocinclus (fine)
1 Singapore shrimp (still very shy but alive)
I took 4 dead Congo's into my very expert and reliable LFS here in San Francisco and his diagnosis was gill disease. Gills were pink and he says basically eaten away by bacteria.
I asked if it was parasites, (suspecting a batch of bad live worms) and he said no.
I dosed the entire tank with Penicillin yesterday evening and will continue for 5 days.
I guess my shock is just how there appeared to be nothing wrong and suddenly they are all dying very quickly. I would love to save the Siamenses because he is one of my old favorites but it doesn't look good.
So from reading on the web, here are the possible causes...
- chemical irritants such as ammonia and nitrite or high pH
- high levels of parasites such as Trichodina, Chilodonella, Flukes or Costia
- high levels of dissolved or particulate organic solids
- low levels of oxygen or overcrowding
It's possible I let the water get too dirty for one week, but I really don't think so. I did have an equipment failure of the water pump 2 months ago and left them low on oxygen for a day. But I got it fixed and they all survived. I don't think they are overcrowded. (Edit) and I'm sure people will ask... the only creature added recently was the Singapore shrimp.
The questions I have are these. Could this have been caused by an outside contaminent in the water? i.e. soap, hair product, human not washing hands? or could this have been caused by a bad batch of worms?
Any other ideas so I don't have to go through this again.
Here's my last picture from a few months back (pardon the specs of brown algae i've since scraped off)
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