Freshwater Fish Illnesses

How to determine if your pet fish is sick

Just like any other creatures in the animal kingdom, fishes also get sick in some point. But unlike other animals, like humans, some of the diseases that are being encountered by fishes underwater are quite difficult to diagnose.
When you are sick, your doctor would usually determine what type of illness you are enduring by monitoring your laboratory results, and checking your vital signs. When pigs are ill, there are veterinarians or experts on hog care that would usually perform tests to rule out their disease. But for fishes, you can’t just tell that they are ill through laboratory results and series of tests, because you can’t easily determine if they are weak or not. The next thing you notice is that they are floating dead above water.
To help you determine if your freshwater pet fish is sick or not, these vital informations on freshwater fish illness based on the research studies of some experts on fish care can aid you in your quest in providing a better and healthy life for your pets.
The most common freshwater fish illness is the Ich. It is caused by a protozoan, specifically the Ichthyophthirius. One of the major manifestations of the disease is that you can notice white spots on the fish’s body. Eventually, when left untreated, small cysts may develop and your fish will die soon if symptoms progress too much. To help avoid this illness to proliferate, you need to increase the temperature of the water a little warmer, and thoroughly clean the aquarium at least once a week.

Another freshwater fish illness is the Argulus or commonly known as fish lice. These are parasites that feed on your pet fish as their host. The worst thing that can happen is when these parasites increase in number that will make your fish or fishes to be seriously dead.
A similar disease to humans is tuberculosis, but for this instance, it is called the fish tuberculosis or the fish TB. The cause of this disease is the Mycobacterium marinum that can make your fish to suffer spine deformities, scale loss, and color fading. A drug of choice to treat this is called Kanamycin, and it is usually administered for a maximum of three months.
The next freshwater fish illness is the Hole-in-the-head disease. This is usually diagnosed when your pet fish present symptoms, such as soft spots in the head that will eventually progress to a small wound, and soon will have a crater appearance. The cause of this disease is believed to be a deficiency in essential vitamins and minerals.

Another type of freshwater fish illness is the Lymphocytosis. This is a less serious condition that is caused by viral infections in the fish. The good thing about this disease is that your fish can recover on its own when infected without any interventions or drug administration. The important thing you should remember is that you should provide adequate nutrition to your pet so that recovery can speed up.
These are only some of the diseases that freshwater fishes can encounter, and you should be alarmed, especially on those illnesses that can cause a serious threat to your pet’s health. It is best to consult a fish care expert on emergency situations to save your pet’s life.