Fin Rot Help

[dzap79]

I just came back from Vacation and it looks like my two goldfish have fin rot.

I have a 20G tank with two goldfish only. I generally change about 20% of the water once per week as well as adding algae remove, organic waste eliminator, and stress zyme. I follow the proper doses according to the manufacturer.

Now it looks like I have caught in time. However one of them has red marks on the end of his tail fin where it is rotting. Not sure if this is an0other symptom or possibly something else?

I just bought some E.M. Erythromycin and just started treatment today. I removed the activated carbon from inside the tank and also removed the carbon from the filter that hangs on the back of the tank. Do I need to remove the Ammonia as well?

Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated.

[lindsayanng]

the red marks are LIKELY due to the fin rot. The EM is very dangerous in too high of doses, so start slow.

Also, you can add Sea Salt to the water, the fish store people should be abel to tell you how much. This will help any rot heal faster.

You dont really want to REMOVE anything,y ou just want to balance. You SHOULD NOT have removed any part of the filter. The filter holds the good bacteria that keeps your tank in balance. the most you should ever do to it is rinse (not scrub) it in room temp water just to get out any big chunks that could clog it. I'm not entirely sure, however, what you mean abotu REMOVE ammonia. Do you mean use balancers, or do you have another contraption in your filter/

[dzap79]

What I meant to say was should I take the ammonia remover out of the filter. I was told that you should always remove the activated carbon as it will remove the medicine from the water. Sorry for the confusion.