WHILE it’s easier to identify health problems in pets like cats and dogs, this is not the case with fishes. For fish owners, it’s easy to fall into the trap of neglect. In some cases, a fish tank is there solely for decorational purposes. The fishes in it are not paid much attention, except for the occasional time when the fish tank is being cleaned.

Veterinians say it is important to observe your pet fish for signs of sickness if you don’t want them to die prematurely or infect other fishes in the fish tank.

Here are some common fish tank diseases:

Viral disease. Symptoms of the above would be cauliflower-type swellings on the fins and body of the fish. While this is a rare disease, its occurrence requires immediate action.

Treatment would be either to remove the infected fish from the fish tank and do away with it (sadly), or to simply separate it from the uninfected fishes for a few weeks until the lumps subside and it recovers, which sometimes happens.

Bacterial disease. There are a few types of bacterial disease. One of them is “Red Pest”. Symptoms include the appearance of blood-like streaks on the body and fin of the fish. If not treated, this can lead to tail or fin rotting.

This is an internal disease, not an external one and, thus, would respond only to internal treatment. If these symptoms appear, add an antibiotic (for fishes) to the fish tank. If you keep your fish hungry, they will eventually eat the unappealing antibiotic and get better.

Another common bacterial disease is “Tuberculosis”. Symptoms include sores, frayed fins, a loss of appetite and the appearance of being hollow-bellied. Tuberculosis in fish is caused by overcrowding and unhygienic conditions.

The only solution currently available is to destroy the infected fish. It has been proven that in some very rare cases, humans can also contract this disease from the infected fish. Thus, exercise caution when dealing with this.

Fungal disease. Symptoms of your fish being infected with “fungus” would include large areas of the skin being covered with tufts of dirty cotton-like substance. Also, the eggs from the infected fish will turn white.

Fungal disease always follows another health issue like injury or bacterial disease. If not treated, the fungus will feed on the fish until it eventually dies.

Treatment for this would be to remove the infected fish from the fish tank and to swab with a cloth that has been dipped lightly in a substance called “mercurochrome”. Thereafter, separate the infected fish until it gets better.

The above are just some of the many diseases fishes can contract. To avoid these highly unappealing diseases that quite often go unnoticed and result in death, it’s better to take preventive measure from an early stage so your fish never have to fall sick.

Preventive measures would include, but is not restricted to, not overfeeding your fish, cleaning the aquarium regularly, never allowing any form of metal to come into contact with the water in the fish tank, not stressing your fish with over-handling and sudden variations in its environment, and disinfecting the nets you use to transfer sick fishes to prevent further infection.