Are Fishes Prone To Diseases?

[beginner]

Hi Friends, I am new and novice. I intend keeping an aquarium and have been reading this site to understand fishes. I realise that a lot of posting are regarding diseases of fishes. As a beginner, I wish to know …
• Are fishes very prone to diseases?
• Are these diseases easy to cure or do they generally prove fatal?
• Are there any fishes less prone to diseases? Which ones?
• Any precautions to be taken to avoid diseases?

Bye,

 

[BigIan]

Glad to see your doing the right thing and researching....

yes fish do cath various illnesses, Most of the time its due to a poorly maintained tank. poor water conditions will stress the fish and promote siseses such as white spot fin rot, fungus, ect, some times you can just be unlucky and fish get Ill no mater how well you look after the tank.
I personaly keep Melafix (anti bacterial) and pima fix(anti fungal) in the house at all times aswell as king brittish WS3 (a cure for white spot and other parasites)
look after your water and the fish will look after them selves

 

[raptorrex]

Glad to see your doing the right thing and researching....

yes fish do cath various illnesses, Most of the time its due to a poorly maintained tank. poor water conditions will stress the fish and promote siseses such as white spot fin rot, fungus, ect, some times you can just be unlucky and fish get Ill no mater how well you look after the tank.
I personaly keep Melafix (anti bacterial) and pima fix(anti fungal) in the house at all times aswell as king brittish WS3 (a cure for white spot and other parasites)
look after your water and the fish will look after them selves

might i add dont mess with your fish!!!!!! constant decoration, repesitoining, causes stress. do your water changes, 20 to 25%max, clean your gravel, but keep this to a minimum, clean your filter, even better get a canister filter. im now expert, not bin doing it long, about 8 months. in that time i have never needed to medicate. despite adding fish,plants and suffering a burst tank!!!!!
and perhaps the best tip. Feed fresh of frozen food to your fish, it really is astonishing how well they do.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

there are some fish more prone to disease then others, some types of cichlids like discus and oscars are prone to getting HITH (hole in the head) wich is treatable but if not proves fatal. all fish can catch disease like fungus, internal parasites ect. but with treatment should be fine. do water changes make sure you temp. is constant. make sure you have the right fish for your tank. start with beginner fish that are more hardy.

 

[Tolak]

The best preventave treatment for fish is fresh water. Don't skimp on the water changes, 25% weekly for your average community tank.

 

[QuotheRaven]

I will add beginners go for Clown Loaches quite often and they are very prone to white spot

just a little point I thought I'd add good luck

 

[beginner]

Thanks BigIan, boboboy, DiscusLova, Tolak & QuotheRaven for posting very informative replies. I will keep all these issues in mind. THANKS & BYE

 

[dwarfgourami]

Basically, the healthiest fish are the ones who have their own specific needs catered for. The reason why some fish are more prone to disease in captivity is probably because we find it more difficult to meet their needs. When I lived in Sweden (soft acid water), I found mollies horribly prone to disease- in hard alakaline Southampton, I would probably do fine. And now that I know a lot more, I haven't even considered keeping the more sensitive soft water rams and tetras in my current water.
Again, getting the diet right for the species makes a difference: as Neale was saying in the other thread about vegetarian panaques that get health problems if they are fed too meaty a diet.
And keeping a stress free environment is essential: enough space for fast-swimming species, big enough groups of conspecifics for schooling species, not forcing territorial fish to live too close for each other. To me, this is the best bit of fishkeeping- learning more about what makes them tick.
Also, to be very careful where you buy from. Never to buy from a tank where there are diseased or dead fish. Visit several shops first if at all possible to check out on the state of the fish. Be particularly careful about some of the overbred species, like dwarf gouramis, neons and guppies.

 

[beginner]

Thanks dwarfgourami, That was a very informative reply and most logical too. I totally agree with your viewpoint. THANKS & BYE.