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Disease
There are many fish diseases
and the few cures for them. This is due to the fact that you can not treat what you
can not diagnose... and fish cant tell you that they have a headache or
sore stomach for you to diagnose. With a little care and
maintenance most diseases can be prevented. Things such as effective water
condition, pH, temperature etc., and checking fish that are to be introduced into
the existing tank first all help reduce the risk of disease.
There are some fairly common
diseases that if picked up early can be treated. These are the symptoms and the
potential cures although see you pet shop for advise as I take no responsibility for
these cures, they seem to work sometimes but maybe completely useless
.
- Fin rot: Symptoms include
ragged, inflamed "eaten" looking opaque fins. Cures include increasing
aeration, adding a multi purpose cure to the tank from the pet shop. If only
the tip of the fin is damaged, and just the very tip, it can be clipped off
if done quickly and with a household antiseptic applied to the scissors
before hand.
- White spot: otherwise known
as Ich. The symptoms are white spots covering the body, manifest itching on
gravel, rocks, or wood. Treat by increasing the temperature a couple of
degrees (28oC-30oC). Add appropriate drops, according
to the bottle, of methylene blue or a reputable brand of white spot
treatment.
- Fungus: Appears as cottony
body growths and can be treated using a mixture of malachite green and
methylene blue in appropriate quantities.
- Dropsy: Symptoms include
body swelling, protruding scales and can be helped by increasing the
temperature a couple of degrees and by adding a few pinches of sea salt to
the water.
Your local aquarium supplier,
vet, or pet shop, will be happy to help you with treatment if you tell them or show
them the effected fish and bring in a sample of tank water. | |
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