Sick Fish Treatment:

If you have any pets of your own, you would know that pets do tend to fall sick and have ailments. Most pet owners are unable to recognize the signs of illnesses, and even if they do, they have no clue about what could be wrong with their pet.

It is easy to take your pet to the vet if you find something wrong with them. However, if your pet is a fish, taking the fish to the vet is not always an option. Hence, it is up to you to make sure that your fish gets treatment as soon as there is something wrong with it.

You may not always know what is wrong with your fish. However, if you keep in regular touch with a pet shop owner or better still, a vet, they will be able to help you keep your fish healthy, and even treat minor infections, if any.

The first step to making sure that your fish remains healthy is to keep the aquarium as clean and well aerated as possible. Regularly check the hardness of the water and its pH balance. It will also be worthwhile to check the oxygen, nitrate, and ammonia levels of the water. Get yourself a gravel vacuum to be able to clean the bottom of the tank. Every week, do a 50% water change in your tank. Every time you do this, add aquarium salt and a dechlorinator into the water. Make sure that the aquarium has a good system of filtration.

If your fishes are ailing, usually these steps would help to improve their health. However, if your fish have bacterial problems you can add some antibiotic medication into the tanks. Since the fish eat, excrete, and live in the same water, it is very easy for the bacteria to grow there. Bacteria can cause both internal and external problems in fishes. Internal infections can cause tuberculosis, dropsy, eye infections, septicemia, etc. Since these are internal infections, they are hard to both diagnose and treat. Externally, bacteria may cause fin rots and other external infections.

There are many antibiotics available in the market. You can discuss with your vet as to which one would be the best suited for your fish. Fish may also have fungal infections. These appear as threadlike projections from the body of the fish. Though usually fungus is not able to easily invade the skin of the fish, it may begin to grow if the fish has an external injury. If you have parasites in your fish tank, they should be identified and treated for.