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 It is important that you feed your fish every day, once a day. A little pinch is all they need. Pouring in lots of food will cause ammonia levels to rise (which is toxic to your fishes), and you will be sorry on cleaning day. 1) Feed fish. 2) Observe the fishes for signs of disease. (See Diseases and Other Disasters) 1) Use a siphon (gravel cleaner) to remove 1/4* of the water. (*Not everyone agrees on this amount) 2) Replace the water taken out, and add some de-chlorinator. 3) Add a disease preventative. (Optional, but recommended) There are many common diseases and other disasters that may occur with your fish. In most cases, fish diseases can be cured if caught in time. Most aquarium hobbyists don't hear about these diseases unless their fishes get one. Familiarize yourself with them now so that you won't be in complete shock if one of your fishes gets sick. There is one thing you are probably wondering about. Can people get these diseases? No, people cannot get diseases such as Ich or Cotton Fungus. However, people can get a minor infection if fish tuberculosis is present in tank water and it makes contact with a cut on your hand. Fish tuberculosis in humans will cause a small bump that doesn't want to heal. The very simple solution for this is: Wear gloves to clean your tank if you have a cut on your hand! Many books and other hobbyists recommend the use of a hospital tank. Personally, I would rather treat the entire tank because all of the fish in the tank of been exposed to the virus, bacteria, or fungus and can easily become infected if stressed. Something I would suggest doing, however, is using a quarantine tank. New fish are put into the quarantine tank for a few weeks so that they can be monitored for signs of disease. The fish in your community tank wouldn't be exposed to the same diseases that the new fish may carry. is a parasite that can swim freely through the water. Ich can be introduced into a tank by a host fish or by store water. Ich is very easy to cure in the early stages. After the first few days, a cure is unlikely. A fish infected with Ich has lots of little white dots resembling salt all over its body. I suggest using Jungle IchGuard for the treatment of Ich. Following the directions on the bottle, give your fishes a dose every day until the Ich is completely cleared up. is a bacterial infection. Fish with dropsy are usually sluggish, have protruding scales, and won't eat. I have never had a fish with Dropsy, so I help you much here.. is a true fungal infection, unlike Columnaris which is called "Body Fungus", but is actually a bacterial infection. Fungal infections usually look like cotton patches found on the fin, tail and body. Fish normally get this infection on or near injuries. Because knowing the difference between a Fungal Infection and a Bacterial Infection can be difficult, please see Columnaris (below) to determine which of these two diseases your fish has. is also called "Body Fungus". Columnaris, however, is not a fungal infection at all, but rather a bacterial infection. Knowing the difference between this and "True Body Fungus" can sometimes be difficult - especially for the beginning hobbyist. Columnaris is generally a lot of greyish white string-like material covering most of the body in patches. Please see the description of a Fungal Infection (above) to decide which of these diseases your fish has. usually infects fins that have already been split, frayed, or nipped. A fish infected with Fin and Tail Rot has rotting fins (hence the name ;) and a whitish band along the edges. Sometimes the fin(s) may be stuck together. In the past, I have treated this with Maracyn Tablets. normally appear as small, white worms crawling on the glass of your tank. Planaria are not harmful to fish, (Bettas will eat them) but it isn't very nice to look in your tank only to see worms. If your tank has Planaria, this is a sign of poor water quality and/or overfeeding. Planaria reproduce very quickly, so gain control over them quickly! Change the water every day until they are gone. As a last resort, empty the tank and start over. If you take good care of your tank; you will never have a problem with Planaria. Diseases are caused by shock, sharp drop or rise change in temperature, or contact with another fish that is sick! When using a disease preventative, or any fish medicines, be very cautious. Many of the products on the market today have not been properly tested, and may do more harm than good. Make sure that you carefully diagnose the disease your fish has. Giving it a medicine for something it doesn't have will do more harm than good. Should you choose to use a disease preventative, try Aquarisol. Use it whenever cleaning the tank, adding new fish, or in any other times of stress. So what else should you do to prevent diseases? Only buy healthy looking fishes. (Don't buy any that are not swimming, have clamped fins, ich, cotton-like growths, or frayed/split fins) When changing temperature, do it gradually. Do not stress your fish. Remember: Successful prevention is 110% better than an inadequately tested, unsuccessful cure. |
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