Are Your Fish Sick?

Keeping a fish tank is a wonderful and relaxing hobby, but it can turn stressful if your fish start to die off. The most common cause of fish disease is poor water quality so it is vital that you perform regular maintenance on the tank, making sure you do a partial water change periodically and clean out any waste or uneaten food so it does not decay and poison the water.

Many fish disease can be halted if you provide treatment as soon as you see any signs of your fish being sick. Therefore, it is important that you monitor your fish each day to see if there are any signs of illness.

Some common symptoms of disease are listed below.

White dots ? sometimes fuzzy looking, almost like grains of salt on your fish. This disease is called Ichthyophthirius), or simply Ich. It is a rather common disease and is caused by poor water quality or can effect your fish when it's immune system is not functioning up to par due to stress. It can be treated easily if you catch it in time. There is a special solution you can buy at the pet store to medicate your tank and, hopefully, get rid of this problem.

Gray patches on the skin, looks cottony and can be around the gills. This is a fungus also caused by excess fish waste and food decaying in the bottom of the tank. You can buy treatment for it and it should clear up easily unless you have let it go too far. In the future remember to clean the tank each week so you do not have a reoccurrence.

If your fish seem like they are gasping for air, this could be simply due to lack of oxygen in the water and not necessarily a disease. You could add an airstone to see if that helps the problem. Make sure you do not overcrowd the tank with too many fish.

If you see your fish scraping itself agains the bottom of the tank or the decorations, it's possible that he has a parasite called Flukes. These attack the gills and skin and are rather difficult to get rid of once your tank is infected. Again, poor water quality will make this much worse. They do sell medication for the tank and you may be able to clear it up if you treat the tank at the first sign of trouble.

Rotting fins are sometimes seen if the fish is under stress and also if the water quality is substandard. It is a bacteria that is attacking the fins and you must treat the tank at the first sign of this problem. If possible, isolate the affected fish to another tank to prevent the bacteria from spreading.

To insure that you always have healthy fish, you should keep the tank clean and religiously perform partial water changes. This will not only keep your fish happy but will make for a better looking tank as well!

Lee Dobbins is a pet lover and owner of Fish Tank Guide.com where you can learn to setup your freshwater aquarium. Visit the site and learn more about fish disease.

---

What You Need to Know Before Adopting an Older Dog

Newer doesn't always mean better.Adopting an older dog may be... Read More

Tropical Fish Breeding for Beginners - Guppies and Swordtails

Breeding tropical fish can be a lot of fun. Try... Read More

Providing The Best Care For Your Goldfish

Goldfish care is critical for the health of your goldfish.... Read More

Healthcare for Your Goldfish

Goldfish HealthcareYou would think that it's unfair that such a... Read More

The Artful Dog Shopper

I am a dog lover by nature. I have just... Read More

Seven Ways to Boxer-Proof Your House

You are ready to bring your Boxer home? First, you... Read More

Puppy Basics: Potty-Training, Reprimanding, and Rewards...

Potty Training Your Puppy:Make sure you feed your dog at... Read More

How to Deal With a Noisy Dog - Curing Uwanted and Excessive Barking

Contributed with the help of Karen L Overall of the... Read More

Horse Training Techniques From The 1800s

Was he the world's greatest horse trainer of all time?... Read More

Crate Training Dogs: The Right Way and the Wrong Way - Part Two

Part2: Does your puppy want to be crate trained?Yes! in... Read More

All Natural Dog Cookies ? Because Your Dog?s Health and Happiness is So Important

Traditionally, a doggie treat was just that, a treat that... Read More

The Cat Learned How to Work the WHAT?

When I carried him home, he was this tiny little... Read More

Managing Horse Pasture

A major part of a horse's diet is hay or... Read More

Winterizing Your Dog

It's beginning to get cooler and as such it is... Read More

Disaster Preparedness for Pets - A Guide for Pet-Care Business Professionals

June is Disaster Preparedness for Pets month ? but if... Read More

Golden Moments and Dog Training

Let me introduce my dogs. I have 3, Nikki and... Read More

Introducing a New Puppy into a Home with an Existing Pet

It was November and I had spent 3 months searching... Read More

How To Know What Your Cat Wants When It Talks To You - Cat Communication Explained

Many people think cats are asocial, but in fact they... Read More

Weaning Puppies Is Only Natural

Weaning puppies is a perfectly natural process. Mamma dogs have... Read More

What Rabbit Noises Mean

a) GrowlingIf your rabbit growls or grunts at you, she... Read More

How to Ensure that Your Cat is Healthy and Lives a Long and Happy Life

Incredible advances in veterinary medicine are making it possible for... Read More

Westie Puppies For Sale ? 7 Important Questions To Ask Your West Highland Terrier Breeder

Let's say you've made up your mind on the breed... Read More

Help Your Dog Become a Good Canine Citizen

Is your dog a gentleman or lady? If so, you... Read More

Why the Heck Would You Have a Pet Snake (or lizard, crocodile, monitor, frog, turtle etc)?

This is a question that has been asked of me... Read More

The Wonderful Siamese Cat

This mysterious cat is originally from the country of Siam,... Read More

Acclimating New Birds

Now that my services have expanded into the "matchmaking" business,... Read More

Keeping Discus Fish Disease Free

So you want to keep discus fish or are already... Read More

Pet Bird Home Hazards - Keep Your Feathered Friend Safe

Interacting with a pet bird outside of it's cage is... Read More

How to Litter Train a Cat

For most cat owners, training their cat to use the... Read More

Essential Oils and MRSA

Natural preventative pet care isn't a new thing but it... Read More

Your Kids Want a Pet, You Dont Want To Pet Anything

"Mom, can we get a puppy?" Who hasn't heard that... Read More

Is Dog Dental Care Necessary?

Caring for your dogs teeth is a vital part of... Read More

Flea Control

Last summer, we added a new pet to our family... Read More