Disease, Diagnosis, & Treatment

Diagnosis

Physical Symptoms

Clamped Fins: Poor Water Quality, Velvet(Rust/Gold Disease), Ich

Black Spots/Smudges: High levels of ammonia, Ammonia burns

Bloating/Swelling: Dropsy

Grainy White Spots: Ich

Yellow or Rusty film on skin Velvet

Fine grainy white spots: Velvet

White fuzzy patches: Fungus

Eyes Protrude: Popeye

Shredded/Split Fins: Poor Water Quality, High Nitrates, high salt levels, damage from spawning activity

White Spots on Wen: Natural growth of wen, decaying food caught in wen, no need for alarm

White Spots on Gill Covers: Appears on males called breeding tubercles, no need for concern

Behavioural Symptoms

Swimming off-balance, upside-down: Swim bladder disease

Glancing off plants/decorations: Velvet, Flukes, Fish Lice, Worms

Not Eating: Septicemia

Skittish: Stress, Poor Water Quality

Flashing (rubs side of body against objects): dirty water, anchor worms, fish lice, gill flukes, skin flukes

Rapid Breathing: Gill Flukes, Worms, Ammonia Poisoning

Sluggishness:

Gasping at Surface: Lack of Oxygen, Temperature too high, Toxins in tank

Sudden/Rapid racing around tank: Flukes

Disease & Treatment

Ich

Ich (Ichthyophthirius multifilis) is the most common parasite infecting the home aquarium. It shows up as small white/grainy spots, about 1 mm in diameter. These spots are found on the fins commonly and also on the body. If left untreated, the parasite can multiply and spread to other parts of the body, including the gills. The parasites attach themselves to the fish's skin. They feed on the fish's bodily fluids. The good news is that Ich is relatively easy to cure if treated in a timely manner.
Treatment - When treating Ich, it is best to raise the temperature to 800F (or as high as tolerable), if appropriate for your community aquarium. The higher temperature will speed up the life-cycle of the ich parasite. The ich parasite feeds on the skin of the fish it infects. When matured, the parasite leaves the fish and reproduces on the aquarium substrates and plants. The new parasites then float through the water in search of other fish to infect. It is only during this "free-floating" stage that the parasite is vulnerable to ich treatments.