Little moving red dots in my tank??

[lisadigz]

Hello, I'm new to this site so please forgive me if I've posted in the wrong forum. I have had a tropical fishtank for many years now, but recently have noticed little red moving dots about the size of a grain of sand. I do not know what this is, and i have lost several fish over the last few days can someone please give me some guidance on what this might be. Thanks

[vinz]

Hi, welcome to AQ.

Are the dots free swimming or do they crawl around the surfaces. Did they appear after the fish starting dying off or before? How big a grain of sand? There are many grades of sand and can be as fine as under 1mm or as large as 2mm. Are you able to see any features, like legs, tails? Do they wiggle? How long ago did you notice them? Weeks? Days?

Pictures, if possible, would be great.

[lisadigz]

Hi the dots crawl around mainly on the filter,I can't see any features, but it doesnt look like they have any legs?. They have been there since before the fish died, approx a month. they are approx 1mm

[vinz]

I don't know what they are. They may not be the cause of the fish deaths, but may be an early symptom of whatever is causing the fish death. The fish don't try to eat them?

When was the last time you cleaned your filter and changed the media inside?

What symptoms do the fish display before they died? Gasping at surface? Bloating?

Tell us about you tank setup. Is it fully/partially/not planted, what type of filter, any gravel, etc. Telling us more is better.