Tropical Fish
Maintaining Health
Preventive medicine encompasses a proper diet, maintaining a healthy environment, and managing other risk factors for preventing diseases.
Tank Set-up Setting a tank up properly to contain fish is critical in maintaining long-term health. Tanks that are set up within southern or western exposure windows can suffer from severe algae problems along with unhealthy temperature changes. Aquarium heaters may stabilize a tank in a cooler environment, but not too many systems encompass the chilling equipment necessary to keep water temperatures from rising in the summertime. Moving these tanks prior to their becoming established can help avoid many problems. The proper use of blinds or curtains will assist if moving the tank is not one of your options. Tanks that are placed too close to radiators or other kinds of heat exchange could experience similar problems. Assess the air quality in the area where you are planning to locate the tank, particularly the air quality that will be close to any remote air pump. The set-up of a tank will have a great influence on its carrying ability. Aquariums that are tall with low ratios of surface area to water volume are more difficult to maintain. Many folks who are setting up an aquarium for the first-time want to start out very small and eventually progress in tank size. Oddly enough though, smaller tanks are much more difficult to maintain than the large ones are. The least little shift in water quality can result in incidents that can very quickly turn out to be fatal. The larger tanks react more slowly. It would take more doses of toxic substances to reach toxic levels, which would give the owner much longer to observe the problem and quickly respond to it.
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It is advisable to start out with a tank that is at least twenty to thirty gallons in capacity. The tank should also be built from materials that will not be toxic to your fish. Glass aquariums are built from both glass and a very high-grade silicone rubber.
A lot of older tanks or some times very ornate ones may contain metals or other materials that could potentially be a source of chronic toxicity. Also, exotic substrates such as sands, rocks and decorations all need to be checked to make sure that none of them will leak toxic substances.
Water
The most important thing to see to in preventative medicine for your fish is the quality of the water. Misguided filtration set-ups could result in ammonia and nitrite toxicities.
In a lot of older tanks improper systems for water-changing are often cause build ups of toxic wastes or contaminants.
A proper water change entails removing water and then replacing it to the original level (0.75% change daily, 10% every other week, or 20% per month and this should work well in nearly all cases).
PH Level
The PH level of
freshwater aquariums is between 6.5 and 7.5.
Marine tropical fishes will thrive at a pH of between 8.0 and 8.3.
Temperature
The perfect temperature for nearly all freshwater tropical fish is in the range of 76 and 80 Fo.
Abnormal Behavior
As happens with most terrestrial pets, fish behavior too can be an indication of trouble as well as a cause of trouble. Below is a list of many of the common behavior patterns that are displayed by stressed or diseased fish in an aquarium.
Aggression
A common behavior problem in pet fish is aggression. This aggression is most often displayed as chasing or fin-nipping. When these undesirable behaviors are seen in your fish, it means that the "social structure" of your tank must be evaluated and proper steps be taken to isolate the fish with the undesirable behavior.
Chasing
The rapid movement of a fish in pursuit of another one. The dwarf Gourami is one territorial species that will routinely chase all other fish away from his established place in the tank. Also, the hovering angel fish may chase more peaceful species that are housed in the same tank. These situations could cause active fish like guppies and tetra to hide and refuse to eat, making them more susceptible to any pathogens in their environment.
Fin-Nipping
Torn or damaged fins and the surrounding tissue are sites that are open to bacterial infections.
Bottom-Sitting
Resting on the bottom of the tank is perfectly normal behavior for the more sedentary species and also for fish that are sleeping.
Bottom-sitting could be a significant sign if demonstrated by a normally active species. Even if there is only one fish affected, you must pursue a bacterial or parasitic disease. If the whole tank is affected then contamination of the entire environment should be investigated.
Circling
This could possibly be a sign of one-sided blindness or one-sided fin damage. Circling typically becomes more noticeable just before you recognize the fin damage.
Color change
A fish may become pale and lose it's intensity of color. This is usually seen in situations of stress such as cold shock or low levels of dissolved oxygen. A specific paleness of the lateral line in neon tetras is suggestive of infection.
On the other hand, a noticeable increase in color intensity or the developing of new colors may be seen during periods of courtship.
Drifting
This is described as aimless motion through the water. This is most likely an indication that a fish is dying.
Flashing
This describes a fish that will turn on his side and make a quick semicircular swimming movement. The fish will often rub on objects inside the aquarium as well. Flashing is a sign of an "itchy" fish. Ectoparasite infestation is the most common cause of this symptomatic behavior.
Head-Standing
Head-standing is just exactly that....when the fish appears to be standing on his head. This is a very serious sign which indicates a loss of control of equilibrium or buoyancy. It is secondary to gas accumulation in the abdomen or under the skin. This is very common in catfish.
Hovering
Hovering is swimming in a way in which the fish stays pretty much in the same place in the tank. This can be a normal behavior for angel fish, hatchet fish and Siamese fighting fish, some of the fancy gold fish can display this behavior as well.
Piping
This is when a fish gulps air up at the surface of the water. It is a sign of severe hypoxia. There are several normal behaviors which may be confused with piping, they are:
1. Air breathers are fish that normally breath air right from the water surface. Lungfish and certain eels typically will display this behavior. Leaf fish, also surface dwelling fish, can be confused as displaying this behavior.
2. Bubble-nesters are fish that build a nest for their eggs from the bubbles they make and are often thought to be piping.
3. Hypoxic fish typically act very nervous and aren't concerned with anything going on around them. Piping may be also be secondary to low oxygen levels or to gill parasites.
Tail-walking
Tail-walking is a swimming motion in which the fish does not swim in a normal horizontal plane, but in an oblique position with the head directed toward the surface. .
Ich (White Spots)
If any or all of your fish start to get small white spots on their body and fins then they could have contracted this disease.
This very common ailment could cause a fish to begin to scratch against rocks and gravel.
The parasites causing the disease could have been laying dormant in a membrane somewhere at the bottom of the aquarium just waiting to strike any weak fish.
The treatment for ich is a chemical treatment which is aimed at fighting the disease in its dormant phase wherever it is at the bottom of the tank. Be careful though, clown loaches and scaleless catfish are sometimes sensitive to the chemicals that are used in this treatment.
The ich parasite is immune to treatment once it is attached to the outermost layer of the host fish/fish's skin. In order to control it's growth you must raise the temperature of the tank water to 90 degrees Fahrenheit for several hours every three to five days. If you empty the aquarium of fish for at least a week at 68 F this will get rid of it as well.
I have also heard that putting a few copper pennies at the bottom of the tank helps, of course along with the chemical treatment recommended!
(This tip came from DHobbit....thank you Ma'am!)
External Parasites
When your tank is experiencing a protozoan outbreak you will need to find the source of it. This will most often be the addition of an fish that has not been properly quarantined to the tank or the presence of overcrowding or poor water quality.
Protozoan diseases need to be treated with a medicated bath. Fish treated in this manner should be removed from the tank and placed in a treatment tank. The treatment tank should be very well aerated and any carbon filtration should be discontinued.
Any fungal diseases are normally external and usually secondary to a break in the integrity of the epidermis and associated mucus coating. If the infection is not too severe most fish will heal with the right treatment and support. The fungus can be removed very gently with a cotton swab and the underlying wound can be treated topically with a disinfectant or antibiotic cream.
Infections
If a diagnosis of bacterial disease has been confirmed, or is at the very least suspected, a treatment plan should be set up. Oral Antibiotics can be mixed into a gelatinized food or given by force.
Take Notice:
Anytime there is display tank treatment, carbon filtration should be temporarily discontinued because it nullifies the treatment. If the tank contains a viable biological filter, this too should be halted during the treatment to protect nitrifying bacteria. After the treatment is discontinued, 30% to 50% of the tank water should be changed.
Good luck keeping your fish healthy!
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