| Acquire your fish from a
reputable source, do your best to make sure they
are disease free. They should be alert, active,
and have erect fins. |
| An invaluable piece of equipment
is an extra tank set aside for quarantine purposes;
this should be set-up with a cycled filter, a
heater, and should be completely netted.
This can be used as a hospital tank, or a
quarantine tank for new stock and will go a long
way to ensuring that you have a disease free
environment for your fish. |
| |
| In general fish are quite
resistant to disease, provided there are no
unfavorable conditions present that may weaken
their resistance. By far the majority of disease
outbreaks are due to poor water conditions,
which may directly poison the fish, or indirectly
make them susceptible to diseases. |
| |
| Poor water
conditions may include any of the following: |
| |
Chlorine - needs to be
non-detectable. Always use a
dechlorinator. |
| |
Ammonia - needs to be
non-detectable. Amquel can be used in
emergencies. |
| |
Nitrite - needs to be
non-detectable. alt at .1% can be used
in emergencies. |
| |
Nitrate - should be less
than 20. Greater than 80 can be
dangerous. |
| |
Metals such as lead, copper,
or zinc for example, are extremely toxic. |
| |
Insecticides, even in low
concentrations, are harmful and often fatal. |
| |
|
| |
Temperatures should be
adjusted slowly, ideally only 2-4 degrees per
day. Sudden lowering of the temperature is worse
than rising temperatures. Sudden lowering may
cause shock and/or shimmies (weaving back and
forth, like swimming without going forward).
Sudden rises may cause respiration difficulties,
where gasping and surface hugging may be
observed. |
| |
|
|
| |
PH should be noted both in
the morning and in the evening. Often it will be
higher in the evening. There should not be more
than a 0.2 PH change in 24 hours. A PH crash (PH
going from alkaline to acidic) is very dangerous
and needs immediate attention if the fish are to
survive. Adequate buffering, i.e.,alkalinity is
necessary to prevent this condition. |
|
| |
|
| |
Oxygen: Levels should be
maintained as close to saturation as possible.
This often means additional airstones or
diffusers on the bottom drains. Low levels of
oxygen show up as gasping close to the surface
and/or hanging around the waterfalls near the
surface.in an attempt to take in gulps of air |
| |
|
| |
Feeding: Fish do not need as much
food as one may imagine, as a result far too much
food goes into the pond where it sinks to the
bottom and starts to rot. Extra food that is
consumed by the fish also falls to the bottom as
excrement, where this too starts to rot. All this
of course creates more ammonia and contributes to
filth in the pond. Just one more reason to have
bottom drains and lots of filtration. |
| |
An incorrect diet can give rise to various
problems, not all of which are immediately
evident. To much fat and carbohydrate can lead to
fatty deposits in the tissues, and degeneration
of internal organs such as the liver. Use high
quality feed and give the fish some treats, e.g.,
watermelon, shrimp, krill, peas, lettuce, etc. |
| |
|
|
|
| Indicators
of poor health may include any of the following: |
| |
Gasping at the surface |
| |
Rubbing against objects
(flashing) |
| |
Red spots or sores |
|
|
| |
Frayed or red fins |
|
|
| |
Isolating from others |
|
|
| |
Loss of appetite |
| |
Listless behavior |
| |
Becoming darker or lighter in color (This
could also be due to stress) |
|
|
| |
|
| There
can be clues to the cause of ill health,
including: |
| |
If only one or two are affected
this could suggest a non-infectious disease or
injury.. |
| |
If a small number are affected
initially, but then this number increases, then
this shows the signs of an infectious disease. |
| |
If all of the fish in the pond
are affected at once, and occurs rapidly, then
this points to it being a water quality problem. |
| |
|
|
|
| Being a fishkeeper and knowing
the normal behavior pattern of your fish gives
you the ideal opportunity to recognize any
unusual or abnormal behavior that they may
display. |
| |
|
|
|
| Good pond hygiene, and only the
best water quality, is the main key to successful
fish keeping. It is usually possible to correctly
identify why a fish is unhealthy. By using a
step-by-step approach, and considering all of the
possibilities, you can achieve a result, and the
correct treatment can then be administered.
Don’t jump to conclusions, it must be
decided first of all why the fish is behaving the
way that it is, and the reason for it doing so.
Many beginners start out in the hobby with good
intention, only to give up because their fish
become ill or die for no apparent reason. This
gets too much, and they loses all confidence, and
have no enthusiasm to try again. |
| |
|
|
|
