Common Fish Diseases

Columnaris
Grayish white marks or patches on the body of the fish or around its mouth are the first obvious signs of
Columnaris. These patches appear like threads, especially in the vicinity of the mouth. Hence, this is often
confused with another disease called "Mouth Fungus". The fins of the fish may show signs of deterioration, the
gills get affected and slowly sores start appearing on the body. During a later stage the fish can hold its fins very
close to the body and not spreading them. Columnaris disease is caused by bacteria, and is mostly a direct result
of poor water quality. Sometimes, the shock of being introduced to the new aquarium leads to Columnaris
disease in newly imported fish. Anti-bacterial medications will be enough if the disease is discovered and
treated at its early stages. The disease will however invade the internal organs during the later stages and
antibiotics are then required to cure it.

Gill Disease
Gill disease make the fish appear to be swimming in a great hurry, but it does not move at all. The fins flap very
fast, and the fish gasp for breath at the surface, or lie listless at the bottom. The gills become swollen and
discolored. Bacteria, fungi and parasites in water can cause gill disease. The first step in the treatment is
therefore an immediate improvement in water quality. Frequent water changes, conditioning and dechlorinating
the water to ensure its quality are steps to take to threat and prevent gill disease. The chlorine in water often
irritates the gills of the fish. Adding an anti-bacterial solution to the water may be needed to cure the fish.

Ick
Ick is a disease that causes your fish to get small, grain-like spots on their body. Ick is also known as White
Spot Disease or Ich. The fish may try to rub itself against the décor or the hard surfaces in the aquarium, giving
an impression of scratching an itch. In freshwater, this disease is caused by protozoa named Ichthyophthirius
Multifilis and is very contagious. The parasite spends a part of its life within the skin of the fish, where they
form the white spots. These are the cysts. Once the cysts mature they fall down to the substrate and give rise to
thousands of new free-swimming parasites that are free to prey upon other fish. An outbreak of Ick is very
difficult to control if not noticed in the earlier stages. Since the parasite is released into the aquarium, the entire
aquarium has to be treated. One of the effective ways to treat it is by adding salt to the water. The salt should be
added gradually, slowly building upto5-8 tsp per gallon / 4L. Different fish have different tolerance level for
salt. In the case of more sensitive fish, it is better to keep the level at 5 tsp. per gallon / 4L. Using medications
based on Malachite green and formalin is also a way to control this parasite, but Malachite Green may be
harmful to scaleless fish.
Killing the parasite can be done only when the cysts have fallen down and the parasites are released into the
water. Increasing the water temperature speeds up the life cycle of the protozoa. Keep in mind that increased
water temperature may deplete the oxygen in the aquarium.

Dropsy
The common physical characteristic of this disease is a hollow or swollen abdomen. The fish's scales may stand
out in these swollen areas. It is easy to mistake such fish for pregnant females. The fish appear listless and lose
appetite. Viruses as well as bacteria can cause dropsy. Bad water or infected food is things that can lead to
dropsy out brakes in your aquarium. Once the damage reaches the kidney, the condition becomes almost
incurable. The disease must therefore be caught early if you should be able to save your fish. This disease is
unfortunately very difficult to cure even if discovered early. Dropsy is however is not highly infectious. Dead
fish should still be immediately removed from the aquarium; otherwise healthy fish may come and eat the dead
one. Commercially available remedies

do best.

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Fin-rot
As the name suggests, fin rot causes the fins to turn opaque and they may even become blood-streaked. The
erosion of the fin may continue till it reaches the base of the fin. At this point, the fish dies. The bacteria that
cause this generally do not affect healthy fish. When fish are stressed, or when the fins have already been
damaged due to excessive fin nipping, then the disease takes root. Commercially available anti-bacterial
medicines have to be used to treat the fish.

Fungal Infections
The spores of fungus are always present within the aquarium, and can become infectious when the fish already
have damaged gills or skin. Fungal infections are typically secondary infections. White, cottony growth on the
body of the fish is the main physical symptom. Anti-fungal medicines are usually the best option to fight the
infection. Most of the anti-fungal medications available on the market also fight bacteria, thus providing double
protection.

Hole in the Head

As the name suggests, the fish develop small pits mainly in the region of the head. The holes are usually white
in color and have a yellowish mucous trailing from them. The fish become listless, lose color and stop feeding.
Hole in the head disease is cause by protozoa and is usually a secondary infection. Low levels of the protozoa
that causes hole in the head disease live within the fish, and poor water quality and/or poor diet leads to the
infection. The fish should be isolated in a quarantine aquarium and then treated. Direct injections or medicated
food are some ways to treat the fish.

Pop-Eye
The name suggests the physical symptom. The fish's eye starts to enlarge and looks almost as if it is ready to
pop out of the body. The cause could be bacteria. Too much dissolved oxygen in the water may also lead to this
condition. There is no universal cure. Isolate the fish, and treat it with general anti-bacterial medicine.

Cloudy Eye
The eye becomes cloudy almost to the point of whiteness and the fish lose vision. The causes behind this
disease can vary. An increase in parasites in the aquarium is the most common cause but severe stress, old age,
or malnutrition can all lead to this condition. Treating this condition requires an investigation of water quality.
Once the water quality is high enough, the fish will usually recover by them selves within 1-2 weeks. Thus, it is
advisable to wait for 1-2 weeks before administering antibiotics.

Swim Bladder Disease

This mostly affects fish that have a globoid body shape. A loss of buoyancy is one of the first indications. The
fish stays at the bottom of the aquarium, unable to rise, or float at the surface only. This is due to the fact that
the swim bladder is what helps the fish to remain buoyant. Any damage to this membrane causes this disease.
There is considerable debate about the cause of this disease and the best way to cure it.

Fish Lice
Small, white lice are apparent on the body of the fish and the fish rub themselves against the hard surfaces in the
aquarium. Red spots or sores develop. The best way to treat fish lice is to remove the lice using a set of
tweezers. Siphon the substrate daily to get rid of eggs. If the infestation is heavy, medication will be needed.

Nematode Worms
The anus of the fish may protrude a little, and a thin threadlike worm will drift out of the anus. The fish
becomes listless and bloated. It refuses to feed. Anti-worm medication developed for aquariums are usually

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affective against nematode worms. Nematodes are commonly present even in healthy fish, but can turn into a
problem when the fish becomes weakened due to some other reason.

Water Quality Induced Diseases

The most common among these are caused by an imbalance in the water chemistry. Ammonia poisoning is
caused when too much organic waste is present in the water. If the pH of the water goes above 7.0 the ammonia
turns deadly and toxic for the fish. The first indication is that the gills turn a different color and the fish gasp for
breath and become listless. The source of the waste has to be removed and the pH of the water should be
reduced to treat this condition.

Carbon Dioxide poisoning can be caused by too much of Carbon Dioxide. Good aeration and frequent water
changes are the best way to treat and prevent this problem.Nitrite or Nitrate poisoning shows itself by making
the fish appear too bright. The fish remain panting for breath and hang just below the surface.Poisoning may
also occur by using untreated tap water.

Argulus
Argulus or fish lice as they are commonly called are a very major threat to your fish’s health. They can cause
significant morbidity and mortality when heavily infesting your fish and they have been known to be the vehicle
for other fish diseases. Argulus are a crustacean parasite in the subphylum Crustacea, which groups them
together with prawns, shrimp, water fleas and others. The animals that are in the Crustacea group have semi-
rigid to rigid chitin exoskeleton. The chitin exoskeleton will molt, or shed, as they get larger. Argulus are in the
Branchiura class, which is group of Crustaceans that all have similar features. All of the Branchiura are fish
parasites.

Argulus have a direct life cycle using only the fish as hosts. They prey upon freshwater fish and marine fish.
Argulus can spend a large amount of time swimming around and mating occurs when the male and female
Argulus are swimming. The eggs clusters are dropped on any convenient submerged item. After hatching the
Argulus makes several metamorphic changes as it goes towards adulthood. The whole cycle takes between 30-
100 days depending on the temperature. After hatching they must find a host within a around 4 days or they will
not survive. Argulus are one of the biggest parasites and are seen with the naked eye. They range in size from 5
to 10 mm in length. While they are easy to spot if you know what you are looking for, they are quite easy to
miss when doing a skin scrape. You may see small dark spots on your fish and not realize that they are Argulus
until they move. You can usually find them located behind the fins or around the head, in sheltered locations.
You can spot them easier on the fins than on other parts of the body because they show up better against the
transparent background.

The fish lice are oval in shape and flat. They can move quickly and you can sometimes spot them in the tank
when they move from one host to another. If you try to net your fish, they will abandon the host and move into
the free water.Affected fish have patches of hemorrhagic and edematous affected skin, gills or fins. The parasite
causes these injuries by attaching to the fish with its curved hooks and sucker. Its feeding apparatus further
injures the host fish when it inserts the stylet into the epidermis and underlying host tissue causing hemorrhage.
Argulus feed on the host’s blood and body fluids. The feeding apparatus also releases digestive enzymes which
can cause systemic illness.

Dropsy
Dropsy is a somewhat mysterious disease that is fatal and that can be hard to cure. The disease is caused by
bacteria and (almost?) only attacks weakened fish. There are many reasons that can cause a fish to become
weakened and most are within your control as an aquarist. The reasons include poor living conditions, incorrect
living conditions, improper diet and incorrect company in the tank. By keeping your aquarium clean and well
kept you can eliminate the risk of dropsy due to poor living conditions. By researching the requirements of your
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fish and setting up the aquarium accordingly you can eliminate the risk for dropsy due to incorrect living
conditions. By feeding a varied diet suitable for your fish you can eliminate the risk for dropsy due to poor
nutrition and by only keeping fish with similar needs and temperament together you can eliminate the risk of
dropsy due to incorrect company. This does of course not eradicate the risk of dropsy completely, but it does
significantly reduce the risk of dropsy.

Dropsy is as earlier mentioned a bacterial disease, it attacks the kidneys on weakened fish and cause renal
failure or/and fluid accumulation. It is the fluid accumulation that causes the visible symptoms of this disease;
bloated body and protruding scales.

It can as I said be hard to treat bloat and many infected fish dies which makes dropsy a dreaded disease. There
are medicines against dropsy that you add to the water of your tank but those are seldom very effective and it is,
as this is an internal disease, better to give the fish medicated food. Make a 1% mixture of an antibiotic such as
chloromycetin (chloramphenicol) or tetracycline and fish food. Based on weight, 1% equals to add 100 mg
antibiotics to 10g fish food, or 25g fish food with a standard 250mg tablet antibiotics. It can be good starve the
fish before feeding them medicated food to make sure that they eat properly.

Eye Problems in fish

Eye problems in fish can have a long row of different causes from bacteria to poor nutrition. The symptoms of
eye problems vary as much as the causes of the eye problems and include everything from cloudy eyes (which
often are a result of bacterial infection) to exophthalmia aka pop eye and opaque lenses.  Physical injury is also
quite common. If your fish in some way have physically harmed its eye you can help it recover by moving it to
a recuperation tank with antibiotics in the water to prevent infections. You should also try to identify the cause
of the damage and see if you can prevent it from happening again.

Cloudy eyes are as mentioned above most often a result of a bacterial infection even if it in rare cases can be
caused by fungus. Adding tetracycline, chloromycetin (chloramphenicol) or another antibiotic to the water or
even better to the food can often (not always) help cure this problem. Start treatment as soon as possible to
prevent the infection from causing serious injure or even blindness.If the fish appears blind without any
previous trauma or infection to it it's likely caused by excessive lighting or poor nutrition. Dimming the lighting
and improving the diet can in these cases help prevent more fish from going blind but will not help the fish that
has already gone blind.

Pop eye, formally known as exophthalmia, can be caused by vitamin A deficiency, tumours, bacterial infection,
gas embolism and rough handling. Pop eye caused by vitamin A deficiency can often be cured by an improved
diet with more vitamin A. Pop eye caused by tumours or rough handling can be hard to do treat and it is
unfortunately often up to the fish itself to try to recuperate from. Gas embolism and bacterial pop eye can often
be treated with penicillin or amoxicillin.

Opaque eyes are caused by metacercaria or nutritional deficiencies. Improving the diet and including a lot of
vitamins in it can often help cure opaque eyes.

Ichthyosporidium
Ichthyosporidium is as the name suggests a fungus. It will as most other funguses only infect already
weakened fish and will normally not be able to infect healthy fish in good condition. Making sure to keep good
water quality, with the right water parameters for your fish and giving them a good varied diet will therefore
prevent this disease from ever being a problem. Disease prevention is always preferable to disease treatment
and this is true for Ichthyosporidium as well.
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The Ichthyosporidium fungi attacks the fish internally and can because of this be harder to treat than many other
fungus diseases. You can find more info about treating the disease later on in this article, but I want to start by
looking at the symptoms of Ichthyosporidium. The disease does as earlier mention attack the fish internally and
primarily attacks the liver and kidneys even though it will eventually engulf the entire body of the fish. This can
cause a wide variety of symptoms in different fish but the symptoms usually includes the fish becoming slower,
their bellies sinking in, the fish loosing balance and eventually the production of cysts and soars on the body. If
the fish develops cysts or soars, it is very difficult to save it.

Ichthyosporidium is as earlier mentioned hard to treat as it is internal and the available treatments can cause
damages to the fish and potentially even kill a fish that has already been weakened by Ichthyosporidium. These
treatments include adding Chloromycetin or Phenoxethol to the food given the infected fish. Add about 1% of
these substances to the food. 1% equals mixing one 250 mg pill with 25g food. The medicine can be mixed in
most types of food. It is good to skip a feeding or two before starting to feed the medicated food to the fish to
make sure that the sick fish eats the food. There is no guarantee that the treatment will work.  

Diagnosed fish should be removed from the community aquarium as soon as possible to prevent the disease
from spreading since it can be hard to cure. Some recommend destroying any fish diagnosed with this disease
immediately but that can be a bit drastic as it might be possible to save your beloved fish. I do however
recommend killing fish displaying cysts and soars as it is unlikely that those will recover regardless of treatment
and you should always kill infected fish rather than letting the disease spread if you are unable to move sick fish
to a treatment tank.

Tail & Fin Rot

Tail and fin root is a fish disease caused by bacteria. Normally, this disease will not infect healthy fish living
in good conditions, but poor health and poorly kept aquariums are not the only causes of tail and fin root. It can
for instance be caused by injuries and other fish nipping the fins or just generally bullying them; all which
weakens the fish in a way that allows tail and fin rot to infect them. This means that it isn't very hard to prevent
or at least minimize the risk of tail or fin rot in your aquarium. All you have to do is to keep the aquarium clean
and well kept; the fish healthy and well fed, and only combine fish that gets along well. Tail and fin rot can also
be caused by Tuberculosis which can be harder to prevent. It is important to determine the cause of the disease
when treating it and rectify the problem otherwise the disease might return within a few weeks.

The main symptom of fin and tail rot is exactly what the name suggests; that the fins or tail starts to rot and
disintegrate. In severe cases there will be nothing more than stumps left of them. The disintegration of the fins
often leaves exposed fins rays and the disease can also cause an irritated area around the base of the find and
bloody edges on the fins. Tail and fin rot can also generate symptoms on other part of the fish body such as skin
ulcers, loss of color and cloudy eyes. The skin ulcers usually have red or gray edges.

External treatment by antibiotics is usually enough to treat this disease but the disease can be internally
medicated as well. Which option you choose might depend on the size of your aquarium etc as medicating the
water in a large tank can be expensive. If you choose to internally medicate your fish you should mix 1%
antibiotics (chloromycetin /chloramphenicol, tetracycline or other similar antibiotics) in the food. Make sure
that the fish eat the medicated food. If you decide to medicate the water you should add 20-30 mg per litre water
of the same antibiotics I mentioned above for internal treatment.