Got Sick Fish? Here are some cures for the common cold.

• Posted on 3 May 2018
• Posted in fin rot and popeye, fungus, hole-in-the-head, ich, kanaplex, metroplex, seachem focus, sulfaplex, tail rot, velvet
• 0

common freshwater fish diseases such as ich, velvet, fungus, tail rot, fin rot and popeye, hole-in-the-head and the best treatments to cure them. Ruby reef medication and Seachem medications.

The Common Cold - Freshwater Edition

These days when we get a cold that turns ugly because of a challenged immune system, we head to the Doctor’s office and he gives us some pills and tells us to get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids. Usually within a week or so, it goes away. But when our pet fish get sick, we usually scratch our heads and wonder what to do. Most will go to the nearest pet store, and you know, they are busy or not too well informed and really don’t have a clue. So, you take something off the shelf and run home and put in your tank. Sometimes you get lucky and it works, but often it does not.

Some fish diseases are hard to differentiate from another without a lab test or someone with a discerning eye and knowledge to go with it. At Glass Aquatics, we take the time to figure out what the disease could be and tell you what we feel would be the most effective treatment. For local customers, we can even take in the sick fish and treat them in a hospital tank for you.

You often hear “Ich is in most water systems all the time”. So why, is it suddenly attacking your fish?

The three most common causes of disease are stress from the community (personality conflict), poor water quality or sudden changes in habitat. When a fish’s immune system goes kaput, it can easily fall victim to different types of diseases or parasites. For instance, a sudden change in water temperature can adversely affect the fish, especially if they are stressed or recently been transferred from a different location. Their slime coat is damaged and immune system is challenged and “Wham!” they get Ich.

For a freshwater aquarium, the first step to treat a mild case of ich outbreak is to use some salt in the tank. This will help to ease your fish a little and help their slime coat.  Please do note that some fish (certain barbs, tetras, catfish and koi’s), are very sensitive to salt and should not be treated with this method. We recommend 1 cup per 40 gallons of aquarium salt.  However, note that the salt will stay in your tank water and does not evaporate.  It will have to be taken out by several weekly water changes of 1/3 tank volume at a time.

Here at Glass Aquatics, we are happy to test the basic parameters of your water for free. We can also use a precise refractometer to check the salt concentration of your water.

So now, which medication is best for Ich?

Besides the salt, we have several treatments available that work well. Ruby Reef Kick Ick and Seachem Sulfaplex can be added direct to the aquarium water for treatment. Seachem Metroplex can be used directly into the water, but also be combined with frozen foods and along with Seachem Focus (which is a bonding agent to make it stick to the food). During treatment, you could raise the temperature a little: which makes the ich parasite a little uncomfortable.  The more uncomfortable they are, the more likely they are to turn loose and go find another subject.

A fish disease that looks similar to ich is Velvet. Ich will appear more like salt specks while velvet will look more like a finer dusting of powdered sugar. We typically use the same products to deal with Velvet. Additionally, we also recommend adding Ruby Reef Rally (which is safe for both fish and invertebrates) for treating Velvet. You will want to take out all chemical filtration media (activated carbon, Purigen, Polyfilter, etc) when using medication and do a water change before re-medication. We recommend to only re-medicate if the fish is still sick. However, if the symptoms are gone after first dosing session but your fish is still acting a little weak then we recommend a water change and re-dose with just the oral medication of SeaChem Metroplex/Focus combined with food.

Another common fish disease is Tail Rot. It has been my experience that there are 2 types of Tail Rot. I call one the Fast Acting Tail Rot and the other the Slow Tail Rot. They both seem to have about the same symptoms, but one takes off like a house fire and the other is slower and more like a wasting disease that makes the fish just slowly waste away. With the fast acting Tail Rot, we recommend using the SeaChem Sulfaplex, salt, and a wide spectrum antibiotic such as the SeaChem NeoPlex or KanaPlex mixed with their frozen food and Focus for bonding. With the slower-acting Tail Rot, we recommend the salt along with NeoPlex or KanaPlex mixed with frozen food and Focus for bonding.

Perhaps you came home one day and turned on your aquarium lights to discover that one of your fish has acquired a new fur coat! Well, what do you do about that? We would recommend treating this fungus infection some Salt and SeaChem Sulfaplex in the water and some KanaPlex or NeoPlex and Focus mixed with their frozen food. Say Bye-bye to that new fur coat!

In your big tank you notice that your beautiful big Oscar is growing a third eye in the middle of his forehead! Oh My! There you go again. Some salt in the water and some SeaChem Metroplex and Focus in the frozen food will usually do the trick. In severe cases, you can add SeaChem Metroplex in the water.

Sometimes you notice that your fish looks like he has seen a ghost and his eyes have almost popped out of his head. This is called Pop Eye disease.  We recommend salt and SeaChem KanaPlex in the water. For extreme cases, you can step up the treatment by feeding frozen food mixed with SeaChem KanaPlex and Focus.

Remember this one piece of advice. An Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure. Do regular bi-monthly water changes, change out your filter media regularly and feed high-quality food. We recommend a combination of both dry and frozon foods. If you want to show a bit more love, you can add Sera Aquatan to sooth them and improve their slime coat, immune system and stress level. Check your water flow and temperature regularly to make sure there are no changes. Follow this regimen and your chances of success will quadruple. Lots of Luck!