Sometimes healthy fish are prone to disease. Some of them are easy to care for, while others are deadly. It is for this reason that many aquarists install a quarantine tank, setting it aside (subjected to nitrogen cycles and kept with very few decorations). There may be cases where in the main aquarium it is necessary to administer drugs (most of them kill the real vegetation), so if you love the plants you have set up, you will have to replant them again after inoculation.
Keep this item and the veterinarian's phone number next to the aquarium at all times in case the tank becomes infected.
Steps
Step 1. Know the symptoms of diseases
If you notice any of the following symptoms, take a water test. If anything is out of place, do a 50% water change. The following are just a few of the many symptoms.
- Falling fins
- Wheezing
- Inactivity
- Lack of appetite
- Scratching on rocks, decorations and whatever they come across
- Scales facing outwards like a pine cone
- Swollen belly
- Loss of color
- Dull eyes
- Viscous or cotton-like stains all over the body
Step 2. Make a preliminary diagnosis
If the fish has any of the above symptoms, try to find out what disease you are dealing with. Before using the drugs, remove the charcoal from the filters, as it can absorb the medicines and will not be useful for the treatment.
- Fungal infection. It appears in the form of viscous or cotton-wool-like spots on the skin of the fish. To cure it, add an antifungal.
- Decomposition of fins and tail. The tail and / or fins of the fish begin to shorten. This disease is more common in long-finned fish such as fighting fish (bettas). To cure it, do a 50% water change and add an antibiotic such as ampicillin. In mild cases you can try Maracyn I and II together, at half dose each.
- White spot disease ("ich"). It appears in the form of white dots all over the body of the fish. It is contagious, so it is necessary to treat the whole tank before raising the temperature to 29 ° C. Add a little salt and Aquarisol to the aquarium.
- Small velvety gold-colored spots on the fish. Treat it in the same way as itching.
- Exophthalmos. One or both eyes protrude from the eye sockets. To cure it, add ampicillin.
- Dropsy. The scales of the fish protrude outward like a pine cone. Treat it with Maracyn 2 and clean water.
- External parasites. The fish lunges to scratch anything it encounters. Treat it with a drug like BettaZing (even if the fish is not a fighter) or Clout.
- Internal parasites. The fish may lose weight even if it eats. You can administer BettaZing.
- Bacterial infection. It is found by inactivity and red spots on the body. Treat it with ampicillin.
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Tuberculosis. It resembles many other diseases, so it is difficult to diagnose. If you find a large amount of dead fish in the aquarium, it could be tuberculosis. There is no treatment, so you will have to throw away all the aquarium and the kit.
If someone gives you this advice: "Don't worry, the worst thing that can happen to you is a skin infection, but nothing worse", it means they don't know the problem. Tuberculosis in fish is extremely contagious to humans and causes similar symptoms
- Inflamed gills. The gills of the fish do not close all the way or they can turn red. Treat it with ampicillin.
Step 3. Proceed to sanitize the aquarium
Before moving all the fish to the quarantine tank, rinse the gravel under warm water using a colander. Fill the aquarium with tap water, put the plastic seedlings, the heating device and the filter. Add a solution of Formalin-3. Leave it for a couple of days. Rinse everything, also replace the filter cartridge and activate a nitrogen cycle before adding the fish.
Step 4. Prevent Common Illnesses
It is always better to be safe than sorry. Feed the fish by giving a varied diet, changing the water frequently and keeping a fish first aid kit on hand at all times.
Advice
- Have a simple first aid kit available at all times.
- Prevention is better than cure.
- Sometimes, even if the fish is freshwater, the symptoms may only go away with the addition of aquarium salt (not cooking salt!). Ask at the animal husbandry store where you stock up on whether fish and invertebrates can tolerate some salt.
Warnings
- Be very careful with medications and NEVER overdo it when using them.
- Make sure the plant food you use (if you have real vegetation) doesn't have the side effect of killing fish.
