Help! Red Blotches On Fish And Unable To Swim

[corkykelly]

hi my algae eater is unable to swim and has red blotches on his belly and back. about 3 weeks ago he was unable to swim up the tank just resting on the gravel on his side, i put him in a nurserie and after 6 hours he was fine. last week i noticed a few red blotches on him then the turned brown and dissapeared but now they have come back and alot worse, he is also not swimming again. please help.

 

[clgklg]

how long has your tank been established? It sounds like burns fom ammonia - the ammonia level is always highest at the bottom of the tank. There is a product out there to help repair the damage, Amquel I think? Do you have Prime you could add to get rid of the ammonia, of course if the tank is cycling it would only be a temporary fix. Maybe some pics can help determine what the problem is...

sorry just noticed the pic, are his gills blood red also?

 

[corkykelly]

hi its been established for a year now, not sure on the amonia levels, i will check them in aquatic shop tomorrow. he has died now but his gills was not red, i have another one of the same fish and just noticed his fins are slightly red. thanks.

 

[clgklg]

Just for future reference, I screwed up my good bacteria once on an established tank by cleaning the media a little too good and the tank basically had to start over again, don't know if that could apply to you but worth mentioning.
So sorry to hear about your little guy...it's always so sad to lose something when you try so hard to help them.

Good luck with the next guy. Also, if it is ammonia and you add prime that only gets rid of the ammonia overload, if for some reason your tank is recycling the only thing that I know of that would help is small water changes every day.

Wish you the best,
Katie