Identifying Diseases

Poseidon27

New member
Hi All,

Since I have started in this hobby I have had a few incidents with regards to my fish being ill and I have always found it difficult to identify what disease is what and how to treat it. Please feel free to add symptoms as well as treatments. This is to help people who may be having difficulties with identifying and treating sick fish.

Marine Velvet - Amyloodinium ocellatum

Symptoms:

Refusing to eat
Hold its fins close to its body
Scraping itself against rocks, PVC or anything else to attempt to dislodge the parasites
Gasping for air or hanging out at the tanks surface
Increased respiration
Bleeding gills
Lethargy (Laying at the bottom of the tank)
Gold, brown or rust colour patches
Cloudy eye

Treatment:

- Copper
- Chloroquine Diphosphate
- Formalin
- Acriflavine

Marine Ich "“ Cryptocaryon irritans

Symptoms:

Tiny white dots on body or fins
Ragged, torn or missing fins
Cloudy eye
Scraping itself against rocks, PVC or anything else to attempt to dislodge the parasites
Fish is swimming erratically
Folded or clamped fins

Treatment:

- Copper
- Hyposalinty
- Formalin

Gill Flukes "“ (Dactylogyrus trematodes / Monogenenean trematodes)

Symptoms:

Cloudy eyes
Excessive mucus on body or gills
Open sores or lesions on body
Scraping itself against rocks, PVC or anything else to attempt to dislodge the parasites
Rapid breathing
Fish is swimming erratically
Lethargic
Gill cover is clapped shut or permanently open
Discoloured gill filaments and swollen gills
Gasping for air or hanging out at the tanks surface

Treatment:

- Praziquantel
- Freshwater Dips
- Formalin
- Acriflavine

Bacterial Infections

Dropsy, Popeye, Fin/Tail Rot, Septicemia

Treatment:

- Kanaplex
- Improved Water Quality
- Paraguard
- Myxazin

This is everything I have been able to find online about the most common diseases in home aquariums and how to treat them.

Prevention is better than cure so it is essential to make sure of the following:

- All fish go into quarantine before being added to your main tank
- Reduce stress in the aquarium
- Maintain high water quality
- Provide fish with a healthy diet
 
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