Welcome to Aquarium Central
Welcome to Aquarium Central
Welcome to Aquarium Central
Scroll down to read more about the following salt water diseases:
Treatment of Diseases
Detecting the disease is always the first and most important step and sometimes the most difficult. Often your best bet, upon detection of a diseased fish, will be to either net your fish and destroy it or use a hospital tank. Usually removing it from your tank with early detection will save you in the long run.
A hospital tank can be a simple solution to your problem. This hospital bed for fish may help you save some expensive specimens. Suprisingly, a small hospital tank can be very inexpensive and there are manufacturers that make Wet/Dry filters for such small tanks. The hospital tank can also be used as a transferring tank for new fish. It is best to acclimate a new fish in a transferring tank and monitor it for a week or two. You can run a small amount of copper in the tank water to kill any diseases the fish may or may not have.
Another process used for curing diseased saltwater fish is dipping the fish in freshwater. The freshwater dip will immediately kill any parasites clinging to the fish. The next step is placing it into the hospital tank to be medicated. Unfortunately when you dip your saltwater fish in freshwater, the fish is usually so weak from the disease and it’s almost useless to try to expect it to recover.
Patience plays a very important role in dealing with a diseased fish. It will be hard not to constantly check your sick fish to see if it is getting better. But try to be patient and not give up on your fish to easily, especially if your saltwater fish is in a hospital tank. When medicating a fish it is best to keep the lights off for the first few days. Rest can speed recovery for fish just as it does for humans.
REMEMBER: To avoid these hassles of treating a disease for your expensive fish you should maintain excellent water conditions, use a proper diet, don’t overstock your tank and keep a constant water temperature. Avoiding disease is the best way to save time and money. Some of the fish you are buying have dormant diseases in their bodies, which are released when the fish is under stress. The best possible way to avoid disease is to prevent any drastic changes in water temperature, startling your fish, unsuitable water conditions, or overcrowding your tank. If you can avoid these things and use a transferring tank, you may never have to read these pages again.
It is hard to resist putting all kinds, and often, too many fish in one tank. It is also easy to become lazy and let the water conditions deteriorate. Don't allow this to happen because it will always come back to haunt you in the long run. The worst thing that could happen will happen, and to lose $500 worth of fish and invertebrates as well as having to start all over after a long wait is not the reason any of us love this hobby so much.
Always remove your activated carbon, turn off the protein skimmer and UV filter as well. Make sure when gauging the amount of water in your tank you take into account your decoration or liverock. A 55 gallon tank full of rocks doesn't have 55 gallons of water in it. And don’t forget the water running through and in the wet/dry filter.
ICK
The most common disease in the marine aquarium is referred to as Ick. This disease will basically eat your fish alive and will spread rapidly. It is easy to recognize and difficult to cure. The problem with Ick is that even if you remove the fish it is more than likely that it has already spread to other fish. Ick is a free swimming parasite and can multiply in the tank for up to 21 days without a host. By removing the fish you are removing the hosts and the Ick will be completely gone within 21 days. Ick will not attach to invertebrates.
SYMPTOMS:
White spots, which looks like salt covering scales, gills, or head of fish.
Fish rubs itself against rocks or substrate.
Heavy breathing from fish as if trying to catch its breathe because of parasites living in the gills.
Lack of interest in food and a cloudy eye are often precursors of this disease.
Strange swimming motions, jerk swimming.
Slime secretion.
CURES:
You can attempt to treat the water in your tank with solutions from your local pet store. REMEMBER, if you have live corals, inverts, and pleasing algae you cannot use a copper based treatment. This will kill your corals and inverts. In a fish-only tank it will be much easier to medicate and rid of this horrible parasite. Using a copper based medication will prove as a stronger adversary to Ick. You will need to medicate for at least 21 days to ensure that all parasites have been killed. Then reintroduce one fish into your saltwater tank and monitor for a reoccurrence of the disease before beginning to stock again. A level of .15 PPM of copper measured with a test kit is the stable level that should be kept in the saltwater fish-only tank. In the reef system it is brutally tough to battle Ick. Many many manufacturers claim to have a cure-all which can be used without harming invertebrates. Unfortunately many medications are not strong enogh to battle this parasite and at the same time unharm any inverts. Cleaner shrimp are not only a great invert to keep in a reef tank but they also in most cases like to setup a cleaning station. When fish are uncomfortable with parasites on them they will approach the cleaning station and allow the shrimp to pick the parasites from their bodies and face. These natural little Ick fighters can be helpful but once an outbreak has occured it is almost impossible for the Cleaner Shrimp to keep up with the outbreak. Again, if you keep a hospital tank it will allow you to free the main tank of hosts and at the same time treat your fish with a Copper medication. The a good way to prevent Ick from occuring is to make sure you acclimate your new fish properly, reduce any stressors in the tank, feed a varied diet, and add vitamins in with the fish food. This will help to build the immune system of the fish and help them to fight off any parasites that occur in the tank.
MARINE VELVET
SYMPTOMS:
Dusting of off-white spots covering scales, gills, or head of fish.
Fish rubs itself against rocks and substrate.
Heavy breathing from fish as if trying to catch it’s breathe because of parasites living in the gills.
Lack of interest in food.
Strange swimming motions, jerk swimming.
Slime secretion.
CURES:
As with Ick, you will need to purchase a solution from your local pet store. If you have live corals, inverts, or pleasing algae you must avoid any copper based solutions. Your attempts to cure this disease may be futile. As soon as the disease is recognized the best bet is to remove the fish. You can try to treat the fish in a hospital tank or use the dip method, but chances are the fish will die. This disease also spreads rapidly and will infect the other fish in your tank. And the swimming parasites can last up to one month in your tank with their multiplying capabilities. A level of .15 PPM of copper measured by a test kit is the stable level which you should use in the fish-only tank. In a reef system it is very difficult to cure this disease. Again, keeping a hospital tank where fish can be treated properly and keeping the main tank free of hosts is in the best interest of the hobbyist. After medicating the tank for one month introduce one fish and monitor it for a few weeks to see if there is any re-occurrence of this horrible disease. A good way to prevent this disease is to make sure you acclimate your fish properly, reduce any stressors in the tank, feed your fish a varied diet, and always mix vitamins in with thier food. This will help to build up the immune systems of your fish and help them fight off any occurence of parasites in the tank.
GILL and SKIN PARASITES
Of course there are many strains of parasites floating around the ocean and in saltwater tanks. The result is usually the same: DEATH. Sometimes, if you are able to catch it early, you can prevent the disease from spreading throughout the tank. Realistically, removing the fish into a hospital tank or destroying the fish are your two options. Chances of survival are slim and the fish will usually not be strong enough to kill the parasites using its own immune system.
SYPMTOMS:
Fish rubs against rocks and substrate.
Lack of interest in food.
Strange swimming motion, jerk swimming.
Heavy breathing, as if trying to catch it’s breath because of parasites living in the gills.
Slime secretion, open sores.
Tiny white worms hanging from fish.
Cloudy eyes, Pop eye.
CURES:
Again, use a solution from your local pet store. If you have live corals, inverts, or pleasing algae don’t use a solution containing copper. The copper level should be sustained at .15 PPM. Using an antibiotic solution or food may prove to be helpful, especially in a bacterial infection. Bacterial infections often occur due to poor water conditions. You should always make sure your water conditions are perfect or else you run the chance of a disease breakout. Be sure to always vary the diet of your fish and add vitamins in with their food to help build the immune systems of your fish.
LATERAL LINE EROSION
SYMPTOMS:
The lateral line, which runs along the middle of the fish, and sometimes the face area will appear eroded.
Pits in the skin.
Lack of interest in feeding.
CURES:
Try an antibiotic fish food and time to heal this disease. You can also try to add minerals to the water. Mixing vitamins into the food and varying the diet can also help with this disease.
FINROOT
SYMPTOMS:
The fins begin to erode making it difficult for the fish to swim.
Reddened areas.
Lack of interest in food.
CURES:
Check water conditions as this disease is usually brought on by poor water conditions. An antibiotic fish food may prove successful, or remove fish and treat in a hospital tank with the correct solution from your local pet store. Adding minerals to your tank water can sometimes help this disease. Be sure to keep your water conditions in check and vary the diet of your fish as well as introducing vitamins in with their food.
CAULIFLOWER DISEASE
This disease is a disgusting disease, although it can sometimes be cured by the immune system of the fish.
SYMPTOMS:
Cauliflower-like warts appear on the fish.
Cauliflower-like warts appear around the fins of the fish.
CURE:
Check water conditions. Remove fish from tank, remove disease from fish by using your finger nail and then place in hospital tank. If the water conditions are excellent and the fish will experience little stress it may be able to fight the disease off using its own immune system. Be sure to vary the diet of your fish and introduce vitamins in with their food to help build their immune system.
INTERNAL WORM PARASITES
Just as with humans and animals, worms find their way into the digestive system of fish and rob the fish of vital nutrients.
SYMPTOMS:
Fish is emaciated or just the opposite and the stomach looks pregnant.
CURES:
There are antibiotic foods that will rid fish of the internal parasites. You can find the food at your local pet store.
WASTING DISEASES
A disease similar to tuberculosis with humans which is more than likely fatal with fish.
SYMPTOMS:
A cyst or bump on the fishes body.
CURES:
Remove fish and treat with an antibiotic food or solution from your local pet store.
CHILONODELLA
Another parasitic disease.
SYMPTOMS:
Mucus discharge that sticks and hangs from body of fish.
Difficulty breathing as if trying to catch breath.
Lack of interest in food.
Fish doesn’t want to move.
CURES:
The same as ICK and MARINE VELVET. A copper based solution in a fish-only tank and a solution from your local pet store for a reef tank. Keep the level of copper at .15 PPM and try an antibacterial food in reef tanks.
DROPSY
This disease will be recognizable by the scales of the fish protruding out from the fish. If you look down on the fish from overhead you will notice the scales aren’t close to the body.
SYMPTOMS:
Scales stand out from body.
Lack of interest in food.
Eyes bulge.
CURES:
An antibiotic food, but chances are the fish will not survive.
FUNGUS
Usually caused by an open wound on the fish from a fight or scraping against an object in the tank.
SYMPTOMS
A white, cotton-like, or fuzzy substance on the fish or invertebrate.
CURES:
May be easily cured. Locate a solution from your local pet store.
ULCERS and VIBRIO
Another difficult disease to treat.
SYMPTOMS:
Ulcerations on body of fish.
Red abscesses and/or red fin edges and rot.
Bulging eyes.
Lack of interest in food.
Fish is not swimming.
CURES:
Very difficult to cure. You can try a solution like that for ICK but chances of saving your fish are slim.
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