Seeing your fish getting sick is not fun. Keeping a fish as a pet is not an easy job, but it is not that hard though. Maintaining its health and happiness is your job as its owner.
Once it is not happy with its surrounding, it will get stressed. Most fish diseases and illnesses are caused by stressed. So, one of the keys of keeping your fish healthy is making it happy. Check these reasons why your fish get stressed and how to overcome it.
What kind of diseases can infect a fish? You might start wondering about them. There are several common diseases that fish can get. They can be shown by these symptoms that tell your fish is sick. Let’s check the common diseases fish can have.
Fish health
is determined mostly by the quality of the water. Healthy water usually has
healthy fish. So, the main key of keeping your fish healthy is by paying closer
attention to the condition of your fish tank. Let’s take a look at the common
diseases fish can have.
Anchor worm is a small worm that burrows into the fish’s skin and muscles. It is usually caused by another infected fish that is introduced into the aquarium or fish tank. Anchor worms begin to develop and lay eggs before they die and once the eggs are laid, your fish can be infected.
Once your
fish is infected by anchor worms, you can easily notice the symptoms, such as frequent
scratching against objects, inflammation marks, and the presence of
whitish-green thread on the fish’s skin.
You can
simply treat this anchor worms by removing the parasite physically and treating
the wound by using antiseptic, such as iodine.
Dropsy is
caused by bacterial infection of the kidneys. This infection leads to fluid
accumulation that create problems in weakened fish. Your fish may seem to be
bloating and have swollen scales.
You can
treat this diseases by removing the filter carbon and turning off UV
stabilizer. You also can add one tablet of Tetra Lifeguard to each 5 gallons of
water. You can repeat this treatment for 5 days. You may stop once the symptoms
stop.
Lice is
commonly caused by a fish that lives in outdoor pond and be brought into the
fish tank or indoor aquarium. Wild fish also causes the presence of lice in
your aquarium. Lice is transferred from one host fish to another and spreading
bacteria and viruses.
If your
fish is infected by lice, you can see that your fish is restless and rubbing
against aquarium glass or other objects. Besides, you can see the lice as a
flat, dark oval dots crawling on the fish skin.
Removing the parasite and cleaning the wound caused by the lice with antiseptic like iodine will be useful to get rid of the lice.
Lice is also one of the common problems attacking poultry animals, such as elaborated in how to identify that your chicken is getting attacked by poultry lice.
Ulcers mostly
infect cold-water fish, specifically gold-fish. Ulcers are inflammation of the
external tissues that appears like sores. Physical injury, parasites and
bacterial infection are the most common causes of ulcers. This commonly happens
in a fish tank or aquarium with poor quality of water, such as high ammonia,
nitrate and high or low pH levels.
To treat
fish with ulcers, you need to quarantine that fish. Then, you can treat with
Melafix (by following the dosage instructions). You can also add aquarium salt
if your fish still can bear it.
Clamped fin
is a condition of the fins that is folded against the body and not in their
normal position which is fanned out. This clamped fish case can be a reflection
of some problems, such as the presence of parasites and bad water quality.
You can try adding 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt per gallon to your fish tank or aquarium to treat this disease. Salt is very beneficial for breeding catfishes. Check the complete benefits of salt for breeding catfishes.
Do you know
that fish can suffer from tuberculosis as well? Yes, they can. Tuberculosis in
fish is caused by Mycobateria. Besides, the condition that affects the
infection of TB in fish is the poor maintenance of fish tank, such as high
soluble zinc, low oxygen and low pH levels.
You can notice that your fish is infected by TB when your fish show lethargic behavior, hollowed belly, having skin ulcers, loss of appetite and refusing to eat. Another sign is the yellowish or darker nodules on the eyes or body may start to appear.
There is no treatment yet for this disease and as humans, it is possible to get infected by this disease when you are in contact with your fish. If you suspect your fish to be infected by TB, then do some precautions, such as wear rubber gloves once you want to put your hands in the tank. Besides, do not ever put your hands once you have scratches and cuts on your hand.
Keeping fish as a pet is not that hard and easy, one important thing is you need to keep your fish healthy. The key of having a healthy fish is by having healthy fish tank, good quality water and nutritional food you give to your fish.
You can apply some of the tips on how to keep your fish healthy and the essentials things for your fish tank to have healthy and happy fish.