HOW TO DIAGNOSE AND TREAT SICK FISHES
Apart from some visible disease symptoms of the fish, which we shall talk about in this guide, the fish will sometimes display behavioral symptoms like:
* Gasping at the water surface.
* Constant lying on the bottom or hanging at the surface.
* Rubbing of the body against rocks.
* General dullness and lethargy
* Non-response to feeding.
The most common of the visible signs is the development of pinhead-sized white spots on the body or fins. This ailment is referred to as White Spot caused by the parasite Ichthyophthirius multifillis.
This parasite has a free-swimming stage, which attaches itself to the fish. The most common chemical used in treating infected fishes is Methylene Blue. You could buy a one percent stock solution from a reputable chemist or aquarium shop and apply at 0.8 to 1.0ml per gallon of water. This amount should be added all at once. Repeat after one or two days.
The fishes must remain in this bath until every white spot has disappeared. A water change after treatment is necessary, or else prolonged contact with the chemical may affect the fertility of the fish. Aquarist using a side filter with activated charcoal should remove this gadget to prevent the coal from absorbing the blue dye.
During treatment, you should use artificial aeration with coarse bubbles near the surface, since a dirty bottom would inactivate the medicament by absorption. A better measure is to remove all dirt from the bottom before treatment.
Methylene Blue is harmless to even young fishes and, unlike the general belief, it does not affect plants if used in a weaker concentration.
Another common disease of fishes is the Cotton-Mouth disease (Mouth fungus). This disease is not as common as the white-spot disease, but it is highly infectious and contagious. The popular name “mouth fungus” is wrong and should be discarded, since this disease is caused by a slime bacterium. — Chondrococcus columnaris.
The victims show a whitish fungus around the cheeks and lips. The lips may become swollen and rot away. Sometimes, a rotten strip of lip, attached only at one end, will move in and out of the mouth as the fish breathes.
Infested fishes lose their appetite and their movements become sluggish. If no adequate treatment is given, the whole frontal part of the head may be eaten away, and finally, the fish dies.
Unless the affected fish is of considerable value, it should be killed before this fatal disease attacks the other occupants of the tank. But if it is desired to keep the fish, and in case the infection has already been passed on to other occupants, the following treatment is advised:
* Swabbing the mouth of the victims with a soft cloth dipped in a strong salt solution, then keep the patient isolated in a bucket or jar containing a strong salt solution.
* Try swabbing the lips with a 5 per cent silver-mercury preparation.
* Make a solution of Terramycin or Aureomycin by dissolving 50mg per gallon of water; a rapid cure is expected within 48 hours.
The most common remedy is the popular Methylene blue solution. Sick fishes should be placed in a jar, bucket, or a treatment tank into which has been added a methylene blue to colour the water deep blue.
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