Nitrogen cycle breaks down ammonia. If it fails, fish get ammonia poisoning. Image via Wikipedia
You have to first determine the problem before you apply any medication to your fish. While some diseases have symptoms that look similar, they need different treatments obviously.
A good practise would be to keep a small quarantine tank on standby, in case you need it to treat your sick fish. Not all fishes are affected at the same time, so you need to separate the sick one from the rest as quickly as possible.
Another good practise is to keep common medications handy, so that you can apply them as and when you need to. Take care not to overstock and do check their expiry dates from time to time.
Here are some common fish diseases/problems. Learn to recognise these symptoms.
1. Ammonia poisoning. Fish are seen gasping for air at the surface of the water. This usually happens for a new tank setup. It’s part of the nitrogen cycle during which ammonia is converted into nitrates. Most fishes do not survive during the initial stage. (more…)
