Fish disease are issues for most freshwater aquarium. The disease of fish can often be identified by observing the fish for certain physical symptom. Many fish diseases is caused by parasite, many fish diseases are caused by bacteria, and some fish diseases is caused by fungi or environmental factor.
In most instances, you can identify the disease of fish by looking for certain signs of the disease, and treating the identified disease by employing certain medication or making certain changes to the aquarium. Using a reference chart to understand the different disease of fish is helpful in recognizing the symptoms of those disease, the cause of those symptom, and the treatments that can be used to eliminate those recognized symptom. Parasitic disease are especially common in freshwater tanks.
How to Spot and Treat Sick Fish
One example of parasitic disease is Ich, which often cause white spot to appear on the fish scale and body, as well as make the fish rub against the gravel or decoration in its tank. You can treat Ich by increasing the water temperature in the tank to 86 degrees, or by using copper sulfate to treat the fish; however, you should monitor copper sulfate concentration so as not to harm the tank snail, as copper sulfate is toxic to snail. Another parasitic disease is velvet disease, which make the fish look like it have a layer of gold dust adhering to its scale.
Velvet can be treated with copper based medications that will kill the free-swimming stage of the parasite. Bacterial disease are also very common. Bacterial disease can affect the fin of the fish or the internal organ of the fish.
Fin rot is a bacterial disease that cause the fin of the fish to become ragged and frayed, which poor water quality in the tank usually causes. You can treat fin rot with antibiotics like kanamycin or Maracyn. Another bacterial infection is dropsy, which cause the scale of the fish to stick out from the body of the fish like a pinecone.
Dropsy is usually a result of organ failure in the fish. Viral disease are not common in aquarium fish. However, viral disease can cause the fish to develop hemorrhaging spot on its body, and there is no cure for viral disease.
Besides the factor that relate to the health of the fish, there are also environmental and physical factor that relate to the health of the fish. Swim bladder disease is a physical ailment that make it difficult for the fish to maintain there position in the water; they may appear as if they are floating sideways or sinking to the bottom of the tank. However, using Epsom salt can help to draw fluid out of the body of the fish, which will help the fish to regain their physical ability to maintain their position in the tank.
Additionally, any bloating can be treated with Epsom salt to help reduce the amount of fluid in the body of the fish. Always use a hospital tank to treat your sick fish; the hospital tank should include a heater, a sponge filter, and a lid for the tank to prevent the fish from jumping out. Prevention is the best way to ensure that your fish are healthy.
To prevent illness in your fish, you must maintain the parameter of your fish tank. Test the water in the tank each week to ensure that the ammonia and nitrite level are at zero, the nitrate level are below 40 part per million, and that the pH level are between 6.5 and 7.5. Additionally, avoid overcrowding the tank.
Finally, always quarantine any new fish for four to six week prior to adding them to your main aquarium. Maintaining a consistent routine for the fish is another way to ensure the health of the fish. Follow a routine of changing 25 percent of the water in the tank each week and cleaning the filter with tank water to avoid killing the beneficial bacteria in the filter.
Additionally, feed the fish a variety of high quality foods each day to provide proper nutrition to the fish. Finally, observe the fish each day for any abnormality; observing the fish each day will allow you to catch any fish illness before they becomes severe. You should of watched the fish closely to recieve early warning signs.
Its important to make sure the water is naturaly clean and not too much different than your previous setup. To avoid alot of trouble, dont forget to check teh fish scales.
