Your first fish? you tend to fret a lot...something's not quite right, and you wonder and worry before asking anybody...
Or...you've been at this for years, you spot something, and you instantly make a 'let it be' or 'pull the fish' assessment.
..........
Here's a kind of a what to look for: [and let me say, first off, if you don't quarantine your fish, especially clowns, tangs, and angels, you're putting your tank at risk: if they're going to break out in something, they'll do it when they're transiting to new water.] So let's consider you've done that, and you now see something:
Case #1: you see flecks like white salt or pimples on your fish. Observation: pick one and watch it. If it moves: diagnosis: white sand has stuck to your fish's slime coat.
Observation: it doesn't move, and it's on fins and tail or body. Diagnosis: ich. Treat with hyposalinity or with copper. NEVER do either in your main tank. Use a qt tank for this and move fast. A new tank with newish water is the worst place for a fish with ich, and the parasite [it is a parasite] will multiply and spread to other fish. Treat every fish it has been in contact with, whether or not they show symptoms.
Case #2: you see a patchy white film on your clownfish. Observation proves it's not dust. Diagnosis: probably brook, a clownfish disease. Treat in qt. Can't remember the treatment for this: consult in Fish Diseases and report your symptoms. Move fast.
Case #3: you see a patchy white film on any other kind of fish.
Question one: is it on the fin ends or mouth, like cotton? Treat in QT, and do it fast. This is serious, and the fish is in weakened condition. Ask in Fish Diseases.
Question two: is it on an eye, AND do you observe any general wounding, like scratches, patches of abrasion, as if the fish had skinned himself up? Diagnosis: probably a small infection from a scratch. Observe, see if the fish eats and is finding food. Keep your water quality spot-on. If it gets better, fine, he'll likely heal with no help. If it gets worse over the next 8 hours, pull him and treat for bacterial infection.
Case #4: eyes swell alarmingly: Diagnosis: this is Popeye, an infection, and it is treatable, no matter how nasty it looks. Again, move fast, isolate and treat.
Case #5: fins are getting ragged or ripped. Diagnosis: most likely something is picking on this fish. Make a choice, and move somebody out if you can't solve it.
Case #6: fish just disappear. Diagnosis: test your water for every thing. If the water is good, you may have a predator in the tank. Search your tank by flashlight, or put a baited bottle in the tank. OR you might find your tank oxygen-depleted at night, if you have a lot of algae. If you are running a refugium, switch its photocycle to the opposite of the tank's. OR: certain fish are cryptic, ie, they burrow and hide in rocks. Gobies are very good at this. OR: look in your sump or downflow or [alas] on the carpet behind the tank: gobies are good at this one, too.
Case #7: fish hovers near surface gasping. Diagnosis: your tank may be short of oxygen. OR: if the gills are gaping and not quite closing with breaths, look for saltlike spots on fins; even in absence of spots, there may be an ich infestation in the gills. Assume ich, and treat.
This is a starter list, but you'll note how often I say move fast. If you have a sick fish, look for obvious injury: fish can heal fine from scrapes, bites, spines from bristleworms, and small injuries that look like just injuries. But when you see redness, swelling, rash [ich], general body film, or cottony stuff, move fast. 24 hours is too long to wait.
HTH. If you have ANY questions about a fish's condition, go ask in the Fish Disease forum.
Or...you've been at this for years, you spot something, and you instantly make a 'let it be' or 'pull the fish' assessment.
..........
Here's a kind of a what to look for: [and let me say, first off, if you don't quarantine your fish, especially clowns, tangs, and angels, you're putting your tank at risk: if they're going to break out in something, they'll do it when they're transiting to new water.] So let's consider you've done that, and you now see something:
Case #1: you see flecks like white salt or pimples on your fish. Observation: pick one and watch it. If it moves: diagnosis: white sand has stuck to your fish's slime coat.
Observation: it doesn't move, and it's on fins and tail or body. Diagnosis: ich. Treat with hyposalinity or with copper. NEVER do either in your main tank. Use a qt tank for this and move fast. A new tank with newish water is the worst place for a fish with ich, and the parasite [it is a parasite] will multiply and spread to other fish. Treat every fish it has been in contact with, whether or not they show symptoms.
Case #2: you see a patchy white film on your clownfish. Observation proves it's not dust. Diagnosis: probably brook, a clownfish disease. Treat in qt. Can't remember the treatment for this: consult in Fish Diseases and report your symptoms. Move fast.
Case #3: you see a patchy white film on any other kind of fish.
Question one: is it on the fin ends or mouth, like cotton? Treat in QT, and do it fast. This is serious, and the fish is in weakened condition. Ask in Fish Diseases.
Question two: is it on an eye, AND do you observe any general wounding, like scratches, patches of abrasion, as if the fish had skinned himself up? Diagnosis: probably a small infection from a scratch. Observe, see if the fish eats and is finding food. Keep your water quality spot-on. If it gets better, fine, he'll likely heal with no help. If it gets worse over the next 8 hours, pull him and treat for bacterial infection.
Case #4: eyes swell alarmingly: Diagnosis: this is Popeye, an infection, and it is treatable, no matter how nasty it looks. Again, move fast, isolate and treat.
Case #5: fins are getting ragged or ripped. Diagnosis: most likely something is picking on this fish. Make a choice, and move somebody out if you can't solve it.
Case #6: fish just disappear. Diagnosis: test your water for every thing. If the water is good, you may have a predator in the tank. Search your tank by flashlight, or put a baited bottle in the tank. OR you might find your tank oxygen-depleted at night, if you have a lot of algae. If you are running a refugium, switch its photocycle to the opposite of the tank's. OR: certain fish are cryptic, ie, they burrow and hide in rocks. Gobies are very good at this. OR: look in your sump or downflow or [alas] on the carpet behind the tank: gobies are good at this one, too.
Case #7: fish hovers near surface gasping. Diagnosis: your tank may be short of oxygen. OR: if the gills are gaping and not quite closing with breaths, look for saltlike spots on fins; even in absence of spots, there may be an ich infestation in the gills. Assume ich, and treat.
This is a starter list, but you'll note how often I say move fast. If you have a sick fish, look for obvious injury: fish can heal fine from scrapes, bites, spines from bristleworms, and small injuries that look like just injuries. But when you see redness, swelling, rash [ich], general body film, or cottony stuff, move fast. 24 hours is too long to wait.
HTH. If you have ANY questions about a fish's condition, go ask in the Fish Disease forum.
