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1. The Healthy Aquarium
For up to date, and immediate help with a
problem, please call the shop on 0121 373 1100 or email on the link below.
Aquarium Diseases If possible bring the affected fish into the shop for a microscopic diagnosis Fin Rot
Fin Rot is a very common
disease. It is almost always caused by poor water conditions. It is
contagious, but most fish are robust enough to resist it given good water
conditions. The primary cause is bad water conditions. The stress induced
by poor water quality, or other factors like aggression, weakens the
fish's immune system to the point where it can no longer fend off
attacking bacteria. The fins will begin to shrink, appearing ragged or
"bitten." Sometimes actual bites from other fish open up the fins to fin
rot.
Cause: Fin rot is caused by a normal bacteria in the water. It's
usually harmless, but can begin to grow on the fish if it overwhelms the
immune system, much like fungus on humans. Times of stress will reduce the
fish's immune system to the point where it can't cope. Flukes Skin & Gill Flukes Flukes are a parasite that attack the gills and skin of infected fish. Small numbers of flukes are pretty much harmless, but in bad water conditions, over crowding, or aquaria with high organic content, they can multiply at a fast rate. According to the fish doctor the only reliable way to diagnose is with a skin scrape. Symptoms: Fish will flash or scrape its self against aquarium décor, rapid gill movement, at a more advanced stage, the fish will isolate its self and lie at the bottom with fins clamped. Also cloudy skin due to excess mucus. Treatment: Flukes are hard to treat and complete eradication is virtually impossible. It is said that for individuals affected with flukes, consecutive salt baths over 2-3 days can be useful. There are commercial treatments available and well worth a try is Interpet Anti Slime & Velvet. Velvet Disease Type: Parasitic skin flagellate Description. The name sounds nice, but don't be fooled. Velvet is one of the more common diseases in aquarium fish, and can strike down every inhabitant in the tank before the hapless owner realizes what he or she is dealing with. Also known as Rust or Gold Dust disease, it is caused by one of several species of a tiny parasite known as Oödinium. Oödinium is a dinoflagellate - a creature that is classified by some as a protozoan, and by others as algae because it contains Chlorophyll. Oödinium doesn't care how it's classified - it's an equal opportunity parasite, striking both freshwater and saltwater fish alike. In freshwater fish either Oödinium pilularis or Oödinium limneticum causes Velvet disease. In marine fish Oödinium ocellatum causes the dreaded Coral Fish disease. All three species have symptoms and lifecycles that are similar to the well known parasite, Ich. Oödinium produces white pustules on the fish, however they are much finer than the spots seen in Ich - so fine that they are sometimes not seen before the fish perishes. Like Ich, Oödinium is present in most commercial tanks, but only becomes a problem when the fish are stressed by poor quality water, changes in the water temperature, or being transported. Velvet has a similar life cycle to Ich. Once it has found a host the parasite initially adheres by using its flagellum. It then forms rod like appendages called pseudopodia, which penetrate the skin and soft tissues of the gills. These pseudopods destroy the cells and feed on the nutrients contained in them. After feeding and maturing sufficiently, the parasite drops off the fish and begins to divide into dozens of new flagellated cells that are released into the water to seek hosts. The new cells must find a host within 24 hours, or they will die. Symptoms Scratching against hard objects. Fish becomes lethargic. Loss of appetite and subsequent weight loss. Rapid, laboured breathing. Fins clamped against body. Fine yellow or rusty coloured film on skin. In advanced stages skin peels off. Unfortunately the disease is often advanced before the appearance of the distinctive "velvet" on the skin. Initially the fish will rub against hard objects in an attempt to dislodge the parasites. As the disease progresses the fish becomes lethargic, the fins are held close to the body, appetite is reduced and the fish will lose weight. A key symptom of the disease is difficulty in breathing, resulting in rapid gilling. Perhaps the most telltale symptom is the appearance of a velvety film on the skin that resembles gold or rust coloured dust. The film may be difficult to see, but can be more easily detected by directing a beam of a flashlight on the fish in a darkened room. The parasite is most often seen on the fins and gills. As Oödinium destroys more tissue, pieces of skin will literally peel away. Velvet attacks all fish and will even affect fry that are only a few days old. Anabantoids, danios, goldfish, zebrafish, and killifish are particularly susceptible to velvet disease. Treatment. Raise water temperature. Dim lights for several days. Add aquarium salt. Treat with copper sulphate for ten days. Discontinue carbon filtration during treatment.Because Velvet is highly contagious and usually far advanced before being diagnosed, it is important to take steps to treat it as soon as possible. Treatment is targeted at the free-swimming stage of the parasite. Copper sulphate is the treatment of choice. It should be used according to the manufacturers instructions for a full ten days to ensure that the parasite is completely eradicated. Atabrine (Quinacrine hydrochloride) is another medication that can be used to treat Velvet. Because Oödinium is dependant on light, dimming the aquarium lights aids in eliminating the infestation. Increasing the water temperature to 82°F will speed the process, and adding salt to the water will ease the labored breathing caused by destruction of gill tissue. As with any treatment, activated carbon should be removed from the filter, as it will remove the drugs from the water Prevention. Quarantine new fish for two weeks. Maintain high water quality. Provide fish with a nutritionally balanced diet Velvet usually only arises when poor aquarium conditions prevail and is highly infectious. Quarantine of new fish for two weeks will greatly reduce the likelihood of contaminating a healthy established aquarium. Any fish that appear to be ill should immediately be removed and kept in a hospital tank to avoid the spread of the parasite. White Spot The main symptom of this disease is the small salt-grain like spots which give the disease one of its common names. Fish may also be seen to rub against hard objects. Later fish may be seen to be gasping and gill damage could also be evident. However, you should have noticed Whitespot in your tank well before this stage. Not only is this disease unsightly to behold, but it causes the fish a lot of stress; which can kill a fish easier than the disease itself. This is also possibly the most common disease amongst tank fish today. When I first started keeping tropical fish in the mid 70s there were several diseases we had to be on our guard against. Since then these appear to have greatly diminished. But Whitespot is still around and just as annoying, both for the aquarist and the fish! The disease is caused by a protozoan parasite, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, and is very contagious. The parasites spend a portion of their life cycle embedded beneath the skin of the fish, where they feed from the body tissue. The white cyst in which they are enclosed gives the characteristic white spots. Adults emerge from these cysts and fall to the floor of the aquarium, where they multiply inside a protective capsule. Some time later, the capsule bursts, releasing hundreds of free-swimming infectious parasites which attach themselves to new hosts. Whitespot is often introduced with new fish which have not been quarantined. Outbreaks of whitespot often occur after fish have been exposed to cooler than normal temperatures. Clown loaches in particular are prone to whitespot. Introducing new fish to an established, generally protected, tank is usually the easiest way to transmit this problem.
Only buy from a reputable dealer who displays his fish in clean healthy tanks. Whitespot is one of the easiest diseases to "spot" on a fish so trust your own eyes when selecting a specimen for your tanks. There are two main approaches to curing whitespot, and opinions can vary from "expert to rank novice" on which is the more effective. There are several effective commercially available remedies, normally based on malachite green and formalin. Note that malachite green is hard on scale less fish like catfish and loaches, and also other fish such as tetras.
Some alternative
medications are based on copper and formalin. The other method employed is
to add salt to the tank (gradually), up to a level of 6-8 tsp per gallon.
Note that fish vary in their tolerance of salt, and for more sensitive
soft-water species, it may be better to use 3-4 tsp per gallon maximum.
Higher salt levels may also affect plant growth. This method is rather
aggressive, use sea salt, not table salt. In either case, increasing the
temperature should kill the parasite off more quickly, because it will
speed up the life cycle of the parasite, so that the free-swimming stage
is reached as quickly as possible - this is the only stage affected by
medications. However, increasing the temperature means there will be less
oxygen dissolved in the water (some medications can lower it too), so
ensure the tank is well aerated, and do not raise the temperature beyond
around 28oC (82oF). Due to the life cycle of the
parasite, the whole tank must be treated, in order to kill the parasites
which are not attached to fish. Therefore it is not appropriate to treat
only the affected fish in a separate isolation tank. But please please
please, follow the instructions on the bottle or accompanying pamphlet -
these are not there for nothing.
Effective commercial remedies include Protozin and Maracide. In my earlier days of fish keeping I trusted WS3 from King British. However, some obscure law in the early days of
Britain's European membership decided that the original medicine was far
too strong for our poor little fishes and it was effectively diluted and,
at the same time, it lost a lot of its effectiveness. At least that's how I saw
it at the time.
Eye Problems Symptoms: Cloudy cornea, opaque lens, pop eye, swelling, blindness. Cloudy cornea can result from a bacterial invasion. Antibiotics may help. Opaqueness can result from poor nutrition or a metacercaria invasion (grubs). Try foods with added vitamins and changing the diet to include variety. Pop eye (exophtalmia) can result from rough handling, gas embolism, tumors, bacterial infection, or vitamin A deficiency. Gas bubble or bacterial infection can be treated successfully with penicillin or amoxicillin. Blindness can be caused by poor nutrition or excessive light. Lowering the light level and a change of diet to include lots of variety may help prevent it. Non Infectious Maladies Tumours can be caused by a virus or a cancer, but most tumors are genetic. The genetic tumors may be caused from too much hybridization, common amongst professional breeders. Practically all tumours are untreatable. If the fish is in distress, it should be destroyed. Congenital Abnormalities usually occur when
professional breeders are trying to acquire certain strains in breeds.
Most are beneficial abnormalities like albinism or extra finnage. But
undesirable abnormalities crop up and are usually culled out by the
breeder. However, such abnormalities sometimes happen in the amateur
aquarium. Constipation. Some fish are more susceptible to constipation than others. Usually fish with more compressed bodies like angelfish and silver dollars. Symptoms are loss of appetite and swelling of the body. The cause is almost always diet. Usually, with a change of diet, the condition rights itself. But in stubborn cases try dried food that has been soaked in medicinal paraffin oil. Glycerol or castor oil may also be used. If the diet is changed on a regular basis and live foods offered occasionally this condition may never occur. Even in the best of aquariums under the
supervision of the most astute aquarists, injuries occur. As in the human
world, accidents happen. Cotton Mouth This is so called because it looks like a fungus attack of the mouth. It is actually caused from the bacterium Chondrococcus columnaris. It shows up first as a grey or white line around the lips and later as short tufts sprouting from the mouth like fungus. The toxins produced and the inability to eat will be fatal unless treated at an early stage. Symptoms: White cottony patches around the mouth and loss of appetite. Dropsy
Symptoms This disease is characterised by a swollen or hollow abdomen. Swollen areas may exhibit a 'pine-cone' appearance caused by the fishes scales sticking out. Fish may also appear off-colour and listless, and may stop feeding. The swelling caused by this disease may often be mistaken for a pregnant or egg-carrying fish. Gouramies and Cyprinids (barbs, danios, etc) are prone to this disease. Visible worms, flukes or lice on the body. Causes Dropsy is a condition with several possible causes. It may frequently be caused by internal infections by a number of different bacterial or parasitic species. Viruses have also been associated with the disease. Poor water quality and/or diet may trigger the disease. If the problem has been caused by permanent damage to the kidney, then treating the infection will not eradicate the symptoms. Possible cures. This disease must be caught early to maximise the chance of saving an affected fish, and even then the disease is difficult to cure. Previously, antibiotics prescribed by a vet were the only means of treatment for those countries (including the UK) where antibiotics cannot be purchased over-the-counter. There are now commercially available remedies which may help. These include Interpet 9 Anti Internal Bacteria and Waterlife's Octozin. The addition of salt (1 tsp/gallon) may also be beneficial. Dropsy is not usually considered to be particularly contagious, so it should not spread to other healthy fish - dead fish should be removed immediately however, to avoid cannibalism. However, bear in mind that there is more than one cause of dropsy, so in some cases the infective agent could be contagious. It is preferable to carry out treatment in a hospital tank where available. Treatment: Pick the visible parasites from the fish. Phone the shop for instant advice - if you can, bring the affected fish in for a microscopic diagnosis. Information: Parasitic infestation is perhaps the easiest to diagnose. The fish must be removed from the tank while the parasite is removed. Follow up treatment is essential to prevent fungal or bacterial growth. Fungus Body Fungus Body Fungus is just that, fungus. It will attack your fish's skin and cause ulcers or death in extreme cases. Large amounts of organic materials such as decaying food or fish waste can cause a breakout of fungus in your aquarium. Open wounds can develop fungus. The fungi feeds by excreting digestive enzymes which if it’s on the fish, slowly digests parts of the fish. Though cured easily, if the fish doesn't get prompt treatment it will surely die. Secondary infections are also common. Symptoms: White or greyish patches appear on the skin or gills that look like cotton or wool. Interpet Anti Fungus & Finrot is a very good medicine. Neon Tetra Disease (NTD) Symptoms This disease was originally described in Neon Tetras, but can affect many other species of fish. In Neons, one of the early signs of this disease is a loss of the red colour, and difficulty swimming Note that there is a so-called "false neon disease", which is bacterial, and shows very similar symptoms. It is impossible for the home aquarist to determine for certain the difference between NTD and false NTD on the basis of visible symptoms alone, without laboratory backup. This disease has also been confused with Columnaris. False NTD: The loss of the blue colour and pale skin patches. The disease is caused by a microsporidian parasite. The disease is most likely to be passed on from newly acquired fish, which have not been quarantined. These parasites are very resistant to medications, and there are no proven effective treatments. Some anti-parasite medications claim to treat this disease, but there effectiveness is debatable. Some apparent 'cures' may have been the result of successful treatment of false-NTD. The best course of action is to isolate sick fish quickly, and maintain good water quality to reduce the chances of more fish succumbing to the disease. The use of a diatom filter, which can reduce the number of free parasites in the water, may help.
For up to date, and immediate help with a problem, please call the shop on 0121 373 1100 or email on the button above.
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