When a fish looks off colour or acts unusually, most people automatically think it has a disease. Sometimes they are right and other times they are wrong. Fish live in a container of water that usually has a filter to trap the gunk in. This gunk is made up of uneaten fish food, fish waste and other rotting material. It is drawn into the filter where it is trapped in the filter media and held there until the filter is cleaned.
Many people only clean the filter once every 6 months or whenever it slows down. This isn’t really a good thing to do. Basically the tank water is being filtered through this gunk and then returned to the aquarium where the fish live. It is a bit like passing the air we breathe through a block of toilets that haven't been cleaned for 6 months. The air will pick up various disease organisms and then pass them onto us. The same thing applies in a fish tank. The tank water passes through the filter, which traps the gunk, and is then returned to the tank. As the tank water passed over the gunk it picks up disease organisms and these then get transferred back into the tank with the fish. The fish are living in a soup of bacteria, virus, fungal and other disease organisms.
Cleaning the filter once a month is a good way to reduce the disease organisms that build up in the tank. It won’t stop it completely but it does slow the process down.
Another thing to do is water changes. Each week (or more often depending on the amount of fish in the tank) you should change about 1/3 - 1/2 of the tank volume. This will dilute the disease organisms by 1/3 to 1/2 and significantly reduce the chance of infection to the fish in the tank.
Whenever you do a water change you should make sure the new water going into the tank is free of chlorine and has a similar temperature, PH and general hardness to the tank water.
Finally you need to clean the gravel/ substrate. Dirt and gunk trapped in the gravel can lead to disease outbreaks and cleaning the gravel each time you do a water change, will keep the tank cleaner and make the tank a better place for the fish to live. Any gunk that doesn’t get drawn into the filter will settle on or in the gravel. This means the gravel can trap lots of gunk and dirty gravel is often the cause of many fish health problems.
Keeping the filter, gravel and water clean will prevent most fish health problems. If fish are kept in dirty tanks they will be more likely to develop a disease and potentially die from that disease.
If you suspect your fish has a disease, the first thing you should do is check the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & PH, as well as check the temperature of the water. Most people will find that one or more of these are a contributing factor to the problem. Doing a partial water change and gravel clean each day for a week will usually fix these problems up and often bring about a positive response or cure in the fish.
Cleaning the filter and increasing surface turbulence/ aeration is another important factor. The more gunk in a tank the more oxygen is taken from the water by bacteria living in the filter, in the gravel and on ornaments in the tank. By increasing the surface turbulence you are helping to maximise the oxygen levels in the water and this will help the good bacteria break down the gunk, and it will help the fish by allowing their bodies to have a high oxygen content in their blood. This helps them fight off any problems and allows their immune system to run properly. High oxygen levels can also help calm fish down.
If the tank and filter has been cleaned and the fish are still showing signs of disease, then you can treat the tank with a medication. But use an appropriate medication for the particular disease. Not every fish health problem is a bacterial infection, in fact most aren't bacterial related.
A picture can tell a thousand words so if you think your fish is sick, then post a pic of it, or take a picture or the sick fish to your local fish shop for a positive id.
Many people only clean the filter once every 6 months or whenever it slows down. This isn’t really a good thing to do. Basically the tank water is being filtered through this gunk and then returned to the aquarium where the fish live. It is a bit like passing the air we breathe through a block of toilets that haven't been cleaned for 6 months. The air will pick up various disease organisms and then pass them onto us. The same thing applies in a fish tank. The tank water passes through the filter, which traps the gunk, and is then returned to the tank. As the tank water passed over the gunk it picks up disease organisms and these then get transferred back into the tank with the fish. The fish are living in a soup of bacteria, virus, fungal and other disease organisms.
Cleaning the filter once a month is a good way to reduce the disease organisms that build up in the tank. It won’t stop it completely but it does slow the process down.
Another thing to do is water changes. Each week (or more often depending on the amount of fish in the tank) you should change about 1/3 - 1/2 of the tank volume. This will dilute the disease organisms by 1/3 to 1/2 and significantly reduce the chance of infection to the fish in the tank.
Whenever you do a water change you should make sure the new water going into the tank is free of chlorine and has a similar temperature, PH and general hardness to the tank water.
Finally you need to clean the gravel/ substrate. Dirt and gunk trapped in the gravel can lead to disease outbreaks and cleaning the gravel each time you do a water change, will keep the tank cleaner and make the tank a better place for the fish to live. Any gunk that doesn’t get drawn into the filter will settle on or in the gravel. This means the gravel can trap lots of gunk and dirty gravel is often the cause of many fish health problems.
Keeping the filter, gravel and water clean will prevent most fish health problems. If fish are kept in dirty tanks they will be more likely to develop a disease and potentially die from that disease.
If you suspect your fish has a disease, the first thing you should do is check the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & PH, as well as check the temperature of the water. Most people will find that one or more of these are a contributing factor to the problem. Doing a partial water change and gravel clean each day for a week will usually fix these problems up and often bring about a positive response or cure in the fish.
Cleaning the filter and increasing surface turbulence/ aeration is another important factor. The more gunk in a tank the more oxygen is taken from the water by bacteria living in the filter, in the gravel and on ornaments in the tank. By increasing the surface turbulence you are helping to maximise the oxygen levels in the water and this will help the good bacteria break down the gunk, and it will help the fish by allowing their bodies to have a high oxygen content in their blood. This helps them fight off any problems and allows their immune system to run properly. High oxygen levels can also help calm fish down.
If the tank and filter has been cleaned and the fish are still showing signs of disease, then you can treat the tank with a medication. But use an appropriate medication for the particular disease. Not every fish health problem is a bacterial infection, in fact most aren't bacterial related.
A picture can tell a thousand words so if you think your fish is sick, then post a pic of it, or take a picture or the sick fish to your local fish shop for a positive id.
