Freshwater Fish Diseases

Keeping fish as pets requires a lot of work and effort.



Fish are very prone to disease and health problems. Even in your tank, there are many freshwater fish diseases that threaten your fish everyday. To maintain freshwater fish health it is important to keep the aquarium clean and feed the fish on time. Cleanliness of the aquarium and regular changing of water is of the utmost importance in order to prevent freshwater fish diseases.



However, most diseases in fish are extremely communicable and therefore, even if you keep your fish tank clean and your fish well fed, there are chances that some of your fish may get sick. Here are some of the common freshwater fish diseases, their symptoms and their treatment:

• Ammonia Poisoning: This is a common freshwater fish disease which is caused due to excessive ammonia in the water. This usually happens when a new tank is set up or too many fishes are added to the aquarium. The fish can be seen gasping for air at the surface.
  
  
  
  To prevent this, avoid adding too many fishes to a new tank. The tank should never be overcrowded. Also, the tank has an aquarium nitrogen cycle, which should be monitored carefully. Chemicals can be added to the water to absorb excess ammonia.
• Dropsy: The fish becomes bloated and the scales become raised, the coloration of the body of the fish may also begin to change. Dropsy is caused by malnutrition or a bacterial infection. To prevent this, the fish should be fed on time everyday and adequate food should be added to the tank so that every fish gets fed. To keep the water clean, 25% of the water should be changed every alternate day. Medication for dropsy is also available at pet stores.
• Ich: Another common freshwater fish disease, ich can be seen as white colored spots on the skin of the fish. The fish may appear slow and may have difficulty in breathing as well. There is fish ich medication that can be added to the aquarium to clean out the parasites that cause this disorder. However, the ich parasites can leave your fish with very low immunity and therefore, fresh water fish care becomes all the more important.
• Fin Rot: Fin rot is a condition in which the fins and the tail of the fish appear frayed and rotting. The fish can often be seen lying at the bottom of the tank because the fins are not much help in swimming. Fish rot may be caused by bacteria, but may also be caused when fish nip each others fins while fighting.