If this disease is not detected soon after it is caught the fish can lose one or both of its eyes and its eye sight. Any impact the eye might be subjected to generally as a result of fighting, can cause this. If its one eye chances are it’s injury, if its both then it is possibly a bacterial infection. Bad water quality is a common reason enough to be the cause. High nitrAtes/nitrItes, ammonia, metal or plastic poisoning can be the reason too. Unsuitable salinity can also be the cause.

Bacterial infections, injury and water quality are the most common problems. Vitamin A deficiency, tumors and gas embolism are less common reasons. Pop eye can also be caused by gas bubble disease as a result of oxygen super saturation (excess levels) of the water with the gas, nitrogen. Super saturation occurs whenever the pressure of a gas in the water is higher than the pressure of the same gas in the surrounding atmosphere, whereby the difference in gas pressures causes the gas to get pulled too quickly out of the fish’s bloodstream, leaving behind gas bubbles. The other symptoms of this are the appearance of bubbles under the fish’s skin. It’s caused by excess oxygen in the water, particularly from filters that blow air directly from outside to inside the tank, and from pressurized tap water that did not get mixed.

Treatment
The affected fish should be immediately taken out to be separately treated. It is difficult to specify a specific treatment unless the main cause is definitely known. Large daily water changes should help, if not Epsom salts has been used with good results to draw the fluid out. One tablespoon per 5 gallons of water for at least three days, longer if necessary. Epsom salts isn’t really salt (sodium chloride) it is Magnesium Sulfate. If water quality is the problem, a 50 percent water change must be made as soon as possible.

If a new item was added to the aquarium recently, it should be double checked that it is not poisoning the water or letting off chemicals. The quality of the water conditioner that is used should be checked that it has a good opinion by other aquarists. If the water readings are wrong (high nitrAtes etc), a 50 percent water change is recommended again and 15-20 percent water changes 3-5 times per week, until the water readings are correct. Overstocking is a common problem for high water readings. Another common reason would be decaying dead fish and fish food. The tank should be thoroughly searched for any dead fish and precautions must be taken NOT TO OVER FEED, and if the tank is overstocked, steps should be taken in finding some of your fish another good home. If a bacterial infection is the cause we would recommend ‘Maracyn’, ‘Maracyn II’, ‘eSHa 2000′ and ‘Anti-internal bacteria’ for treatment.

Source : fishlore

Pop-eye in itself is not a disease but is more a symptom of an underlying infection. The eye bulges out in this manner because of fluid build up, either behind the eye or in the eye itself. The first signs you will notice is that one or even both eyes are starting to bulge. Slowly with time it can bulge to such an extent that the fish will look really shocking with the bulge.

The bulging eye may have a thin layer of ‘skin’ around it, this is a tough tissue that covers the eye keeping it in the socket and as the eye bulges it stretches the ‘skin’ with it. The fish may also get less active and show no interest in food. Fungus infections can show up afterwards.

If this disease is not detected soon after it is caught the fish can lose one or both of its eyes and its eye sight. Any impact the eye might be subjected to generally as a result of fighting, can cause this. If its one eye chances are it’s injury, if its both then it is possibly a bacterial infection. Bad water quality is a common reason enough to be the cause. High nitrAtes/nitrItes, ammonia, metal or plastic poisoning can be the reason too. Unsuitable salinity can also be the cause.

Bacterial infections, injury and water quality are the most common problems. Vitamin A deficiency, tumors and gas embolism are less common reasons. Pop eye can also be caused by gas bubble disease as a result of oxygen super saturation (excess levels) of the water with the gas, nitrogen. Super saturation occurs whenever the pressure of a gas in the water is higher than the pressure of the same gas in the surrounding atmosphere, whereby the difference in gas pressures causes the gas to get pulled too quickly out of the fish’s bloodstream, leaving behind gas bubbles. The other symptoms of this are the appearance of bubbles under the fish’s skin. It’s caused by excess oxygen in the water, particularly from filters that blow air directly from outside to inside the tank, and from pressurized tap water that did not get mixed.

Treatment
The affected fish should be immediately taken out to be separately treated. It is difficult to specify a specific treatment unless the main cause is definitely known. Large daily water changes should help, if not Epsom salts has been used with good results to draw the fluid out. One tablespoon per 5 gallons of water for at least three days, longer if necessary. Epsom salts isn’t really salt (sodium chloride) it is Magnesium Sulfate. If water quality is the problem, a 50 percent water change must be made as soon as possible.

If a new item was added to the aquarium recently, it should be double checked that it is not poisoning the water or letting off chemicals. The quality of the water conditioner that is used should be checked that it has a good opinion by other aquarists. If the water readings are wrong (high nitrAtes etc), a 50 percent water change is recommended again and 15-20 percent water changes 3-5 times per week, until the water readings are correct. Overstocking is a common problem for high water readings. Another common reason would be decaying dead fish and fish food. The tank should be thoroughly searched for any dead fish and precautions must be taken NOT TO OVER FEED, and if the tank is overstocked, steps should be taken in finding some of your fish another good home. If a bacterial infection is the cause we would recommend ‘Maracyn’, ‘Maracyn II’, ‘eSHa 2000′ and ‘Anti-internal bacteria’ for treatment.

Source:fishlore.com

When using one in a home aquarium, the UV unit should be placed last in the filtration line. You want to first filter the aquarium water through your mechanical filter and then run the water through the UV device before returning the water to your fish tank. By first removing the solids in the aquarium water with your mechanical filter (canister filter, etc), you are helping your UV unit to attain maximum operational efficiency.

The effectiveness of any UV sterilizer is determined by the UV bulb wattage, the age of the UV bulb, how clean the quartz sleeve is and the flow rate of the unit.

UV Light Bulb
The effectiveness of the bulb will deminish with time and use. Manufacturers usually recommend replacing the bulb after 6 months. You can find units with bulbs anywhere from 8 watts up to as high as 130 watts. The higher the wattage of the light, generally the more effective it is. If you have a unit with a lower wattage then you will want to have a lower flow rate to get the most out of the unit.

UV Flow Rate
The flow rate of the unit is an important consideration. Flow rate is measured in gallons per hour (gph) or liters per hour (lph). While higher flow rates may be acceptable for killing algae and some bacteria, you will usually need a much slower flow rate to kill parasites. For example, a 15 watt bulb will usually kill algae and bacteria with a 120 gph flow, but you will need to lower the flow rate to around 75 gph for it to effectively kill parasites. Read the manufacturers recommendations for your particular unit for effective bulb wattage and flow rates.

Keep the Quartz Sleeve Clean
One thing that some hobbyists forget about is the quartz sleeve that the UV bulb slips into. You must clean this quartz sleeve periodically to remove any buildup in order to keep your sterilizer operating at peak efficiency. The better sterilizer units have a wiper with a handle outside the unit that allows you to quickly and easily clean the sleeve without taking the sterilizer apart.

Where can I get a UV Sterilizer?
Nowadays Ultra Violet sterilizers can be found in local pet stores and they can definitely be found online. Look on eBay or similar auction sites for good deals on second hand and even brand new units. Since they are very expensive, you will want to research the unit you’re interested in getting before investing in one. Use a search engine to find reviews on tropical fish forums and discussion boards. Since you will usually need to change out the bulb every 6 months or so, find out how much a replacement bulb costs. The replacement bulb price may help when comparison shopping.

Do I really need an Ultra Violet Sterilizer for my aquarium?
For indoor freshwater fish tanks that are well filtered and properly maintained, you really don’t need one. Saltwater hobbyists may have a good excuse for getting one because of the high price tags for many of the saltwater species. However, most hobbyists really don’t need one if they are doing things properly. Doing things properly would mean using a quarantine fish tank for new arrivals and performing frequent fish tank maintenance.

Outdoor pond keepers may want to invest in a UV sterilizer to help control algae problems in their outdoor ponds.

Source:fishlore.com

Where do I start? What should I have on hand, and where do I find the information to make an educated decision as to how to treat my fish?

• The best place to begin is with a quarantine tank. This tank does not have to fit any special qualifications except that it needs to be large enough to handle the fish that you are placing in it. In the case of disease, it is better if the tank does not have gravel or a UGF (under gravel filter). That makes it easy to clean while it is being used, and easy to sanitize when the need for the quarantine is over. You will need an air stone or other means to cause surface turbulence to oxygenate the water (many treatments deplete the available oxygen) and a means of mechanical filtration (sponge filters work great). I have a ten-gallon tank for this purpose. I leave it out in the storage shed for just such an emergency. If you keep an eye open, you will be able to pick one up for as little as ten dollars at a yard sale or in the want ads.
• The next thing that I would advise you to have on hand is a good fish keeping manual or book that has a disease section. Or better still, a book dedicated to diagnosing and treating tropical fish disease. Look at used bookstores and yard sales. You can also buy them through your local bookstore or aquarium store. There are also a number of places online that carry them. Here are some books to consider:
  • A to Z of Tropical Fish Diseases and Health Problems by Peter Burgess, Mary Bailey, and Adrian Excell.
  • Handbook of Fish Diseases by Dieter Untergasser
  • Fish Diseases: A Complete Introduction by Gottfried Schubert
• I also keep on hand a few drugs and odds and ends with which to treat common diseases and problems. Remember that many drugs have a rather short shelf life, so do not keep on hand antibiotics. It is also a good idea to buy your drugs at a store that has a high turnover. I buy mine at one of the larger chain stores simply for that reason, while buying for my normal fish needs from my favorite aquarium store. I do keep on hand some aquarium salt (I’m gonna get flamed for that one), Quick Cure (Malachite Green), Clout, Furanace (Nifurpirinol), and/or Fungus Eliminator by Jungle Products. I also keep on hand some Epsom-salt, which you can find at your local grocery store. You will want to keep all of the drugs that you use for your fish in a place that is free from moisture and temperature extremes.

Now that you have your fish hospital and basic medications all set up, let’s move on to understanding symptoms. How is your fish behaving? How does it look as opposed to normal? Is it hiding or is it sitting on the bottom? Is it free swimming or is it stationary with fins held tight to it’s sides? Does it lean to one side, or does it have its head towards the surface or towards the bottom? Does it eat, and if it does eat does it spit out the food after a few moments? Is only one of your fish sick or are all of the fish in the tank sick? These are just a few of the questions that you will have to answer in order to treat your fish. Below are some of the common terms for symptoms used to treat almost all fish diseases:

• Clamped fins – Fins held to the body, not swimming naturally.
• Flashing – Scraping up against the decorations in the tank. Many fish do this occasionally, but when they do it continuously you need to pay attention.
• Head standing – Swimming with the head down
• Tail standing – Swimming with the tail down
• Lethargy – Seems to have no energy stay in one spot, usually in a remote part of the tank
• Listing – Leaning to one side or the other
• Fin shredding/splitting – Fins look ragged and the spines within the fins can be exposed.
• Scales sticking out – The scales on the fish stick out at a right angle to the fish’s body.
• Red Sores – Where are the sores? What do they look like? Are they red on the outside, or white on the outside and red on the inside?
• White spots – Are there small white spots everywhere, or are there only patches of white that are in certain areas, like around the mouth?
• Is the anus protruding and red? The belly of the fish should be in a smooth line (look at one of your healthy fish).

Many of these symptoms can be together or separate. You need to determine the sequence of the symptoms and which are involved with your particular fish. All of these things together will help you to properly diagnose what is happening to your fish so you can properly treat it. Every time you feed or look at your tank, pay attention to your fish! How do they normally act? Once you get good at picking out proper behavior, you will be better able to pick out fish that are healthy the next time you go to your LFS.

I am just going to touch on treatments in this article, although I do hope to do a follow-up at a later time. When you spot your fish acting strangely, the first thing that you want to do is check the water parameters. Check the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. Check the temperature and the pH. The most common cause of all problems in a fish tank is poor water conditions. Do a 20-30% water change and see if your fish start to behave in a normal manner. If you still have a problem, then you need to decide whether to isolate or not depending on the symptoms. If you catch many problems early you can save yourself a lot of worry!

Some of the common diseases are found in the next portion of this article. You can combine the symptoms given earlier with the descriptions of the following diseases to treat many of the maladies that are common to the aquarist.

• Anchor Worm or Lernaea – Symptoms: An ulcer develops where the worm attaches; secondary infections may also occur around that point.
• Bacterial Infections – As bacterial infections usually are due to poor water quality, it is imperative to first remove the primary cause. It is also important to remember that true primary bacterial infections are relatively rare, while most often problems are due to water quality or parasites.
• Columnaris – A bacterial infection caused by Flavobacterium columnare. Fish with Columnaris usually have brown-to-yellowish-brown lesions or sores on their gills, mouth skin, and/or fins. Shallow skin lesions usually appear as patches that have lost their shine. Check for mouth and anal vent for sores.
• Costia – Costia is a parasite that nearly always causes little red hemorrhages, especially under the chin, but also along the back. If the red dots are under the scales, it is probably a bacterial infection.
• Dropsy – Symptoms: Scales protruding at a 90° angle to the body; reddening of the vent area; and long, stringy faeces. Euthanasia may be in order.
• Gyrodadctylus dactylogyus or Gill Flukes – Symptoms: Fish will consistently flash and rub as the infestation becomes more advanced, the fish will become lethargic
• Hexamita or Hole in the Head disease – Common in all fish, but these protozoans are particularly deadly to cichlids. They infect the digestive tract and are associated with head and lateral line erosion. Symptoms: Fish will exhibit a marked decrease in vitality, darkened colors, lack of appetite, and slimy whitish-to-clear faeces.
• Ich – Ich is primarily a cutaneous infection of freshwater fish caused by the protozoan parasite Ichthyophthirius multifilis. Ich most often causes the appearance of small white spots over the body and fins of fish. (Note that Ich can be present with many different appearances, and that other things besides Ich can cause small white spots on the body).
• Malawi Bloat – Caused by feeding high protein diets to Rift Lake Cichlids. A majority of Rift Lake Cichlids are primarily vegetarians subsisting on mainly algae and other plant growth. Their intestines are extremely long in order to break down their common food (algae). When high protein foods such as bloodworms are fed in a frozen state and a dominant fish is able to grab large chunks of unthawed food, the food can sour in the fish’s intestine and start a systemic biological infestation of the intestine. The first sign of this disease in lack of appetite (which in a Rift Lake Cichlid is readily apparent). This, coupled with lethargy and staying in its cave or a corner, is a sure sign of this terrible disease.
• Nematode worms – Characterized by a thin, thread-like worm coming from the anus of the fish. The fish can become bloated, listless, and or skittish.
• Oodinium or Velvet disease – Oodinium is a parasitic disease. Infestation causes a velvety texture all over the fish, or just in small patches.
• Tuberculosis – The bacteria that cause fish TB is known as Mycobacteria marinum. Fish TB is not very contagious, and, as a result, if symptoms are noticed early it will not have an effect on the other fish in the aquarium. Symptoms include the following: loss of appetite, fish remains in seclusion and out of site, rapid breathing (respiration), eyes appear to be cloudy or “popping out,” fish lies on its side near bottom of aquarium, stomach of fish appears to be sunken, white blotches on exterior, degraded and frayed fins.

As you can see, when you combine the symptoms with the various diseases and infestations, a pattern develops. As you become more adept at picking out the symptoms you can shortcut the disease and save yourself and your fish a lot of misery. It is too hard to touch on the many maladies that can affect your fish in one article. Hopefully, through the course of this article you have learned enough to start diagnosing the diseases that affect your fish.

Source:fishlore.com

Ich is short for the name of a ciliated protozoan of the genus Ichthyophthirius. Ich is usually present all the time in aquaria in small numbers, just like germs are in the air we breathe. However, when a fish suffers from extreme stress, such as a sudden drop in temperature, its resistance is lowered and it becomes vulnerable to diseases. Ich outbreaks also occur after the introduction of new fish to an established aquarium.

Ich is free-swimming until it attaches itself to the skin of a fish. Under a microscope, the organism is easily seen and identified, even under low magnification. It looks like a round, rolling mass. According to John Gratsbek, et al, in the book Aquariology, The Science of Fish Health Management (Tetra Press), ich is one of the few fish parasites completely surrounded by cilia. The organism’s U-shaped nucleus is often visible under a microscope.

Once the free-swimming ich reaches a fish, it attaches to the outer layer of the skin of the host fish. The ich organism then forms a tough outer shell, or cyst, while it feeds on the fish’s bodily fluids. This encysted stage, called a theront, grows large enough to be seen with the naked eye. Each theront appears as a tiny white spot on the fish. Severe ich infestations make fish appear as if they are covered with salt. After the theronts grow to a certain size, they break through the skin and drop off the fish. As they fall, they attach to the bottom or sides of the aquarium, or to plants, gravel, decorations, tubing or any other stationary object. Theronts then begin their reproductive stage, and are then called a trophozoite, also known as a trophont. The attached trophozoites then begin producing the infective, free-swimming stage. Hundreds more free-swimming ich organisms, called tomites, can arise in less than a day and a half, and they in turn re-infect the fish in your aquarium.

In nature, ich is not much of a problem. There are large numbers of fish to which tomites can attach. And with the greater amount of water volume, it’s likely that many ich organisms do not even find a host. However, in a closed system like an aquarium, ich re-infects the same fish over and over, resulting in severe infestations. That’s why it can be such a problem.

While ich is encysted on the fish, no medicine can affect it. But once it’s free-swimming, it can be killed. Since the life cycle of ich takes at least three days at 80 degrees to complete, ich must be treated for at least four days. I prefer to treat for a week.

Although many aquarists use rather harsh chemicals to kill off Ich, I prefer more natural methods:

• Ich dislikes warm water, so I immediately bring the water up to 85-88 degrees.
• Since warm water cannot hold as much oxygen as cool water, I also increase the aeration by adding air stones. Another reason for added aeration is that ich infects the gills of fish as well as the outer skin. We only see ich on the skin of fish, and assume that’s what’s making them so sick. But my personal belief is that gill infestation by ich is the main cause of suffering and death in aquarium fish. I believe this damage to the delicate gill tissue suffocates fish, which either kills them outright or leads to lethal secondary infections. An increase in dissolved oxygen brought about by vigorous aeration may mean the difference in life or death to your fish.
• Along with a temperature change and added aeration, I usually add about one teaspoon of canning and pickling salt per gallon to the water to help the fish recover from the stress caused by the disease by reducing osmotic pressure, enabling the fish’s own immune system to fight back. Salt is also harmful to ich.
• Water changes are extremely important in fighting ich outbreaks. Using a gravel washer, I do a 50 percent water change on a daily basis. This eliminates a great number of trophozoites and tomites from the aquarium.
• While I prefer not to use chemicals to treat any disease, developments over the past few years have left me little choice. The ich we contend with today are particularly virulent strains because, in my opinion, so many hobbyists, and, more importantly, pet shop owners/employees, have used chemicals and antibiotics instead of good hygiene to treat disease. What I refer to as hygiene is simply hard work: i.e. water changes, heat, added aeration and salt. When that is insufficient, I use Rid-Ich, which is a commercially available medicine consisting of zinc-free malachite green and formalin. I’ve found this to be highly effective in treating ich.

If your fish recover from ich, they may not get it again. There is evidence that fish become resistant to ich after they survive the initial infection, so fish which recover from an ich infestation should be less likely to contract the disease at a later time. However, I would still recommend a three-week quarantine period for all newly purchased fish.

Source:fishlore.com