Fishes are not unhealthy creatures, but as humans they also are susceptible to illness and fall prey to disease when kept improperly, overcrowded and undernourished.

  Fish Death: Death of a single fish in tropical tank is not of significance. In tropical tanks fish may die suddenly and it is assumed that the fish is 'spent out'. Larger fish usually show signs of old age by hump backs and wasted bodies. The life of smaller tropical fish is reduced by keeping them at higher temperatures- their body processes are so much speeded up.

   Death of several fish of the same species in a community tank means that there is something wrong with the water conditions that does not suit this species. Water that is suitable for one fish may not be suitable for the other. In polluted tanks the most sensitive fishes die first. Male guppies are more sensitive to water fouling from any cause than the females.

   When deaths of several species occur over a day or so a common cause must be looked for. If no obvious signs of disease are apparent, tank conditions such as water poisoning, low temperature are likely causes. Loss of usual appetite is one of the first signs of something going wrong.

General care of sick fishes:

• Isolation of sick fish in a small aquaria is advisable and facilitates treatment. A small 2 Gallon tank would be sufficient for most of the small fishes.
• Water level in hospital tank should be dropped to two or three inches. Addition of salt of 1 tea spoon per gallon acts as good tonic.
• For tropical fish water temperature of the tank should be raised to 80 F.
• Only live foods should be given during treatment.
• Try not to add chemicals and medicine to the main tank unless the whole tank is infected.
• For direct application of antiseptics, fish may be gently held out of water in a wet soft net.
• Hopeless cases are best destroyed in a kindest manner possible.

General Medicine advice:

• For most of the skin abnormality like scratches, tear, wounds etc.. seem to respond like magic to Melafix. I would certainly make that my immediate and first treatment. It's probably all you need to do. If it is a parasitic skin affliction, Tetracycline (Maracyn II) will have no effect. Melafix is not a medication, but seems to be a universal tonic with great effectiveness for skin and scale disorders.

• It's not a good idea to throw antibiotics at a fish unless you have a specific reason why you are doing it.

• Every anti-parasite medication has major drawbacks, and must be considered when settling on the medication you wish to use.

• Coppersafe: does contain a very low dose of copper as its active ingredient against parasites. The dose is 1/200th the toxic dose for freshwater fish, so it's well tolerated.

• Formalin: long used against many external parasites. Does effectively kill external parasites. Drawback: also damages or kills the cycle bacteria, and is very toxic to fish. Kills shrimp. Is reported to be carcinogenic to fish and fishkeeper. Fish treated with Formalin tend to develop tumors 6 months - 1 year later. The active ingredient in Quick Cure (99.2% Formalin), Rid-Ich, Cure-Ich, and most other common anti-Ich medications found in most stores. Usually combined with Malachite Green, a lethal combination for some fish including Tetras, Corys and Clown Loaches.

• Malachite Green: Effective against Ich. Deadly to Tetras. Known to be carcinogenic. Fish treated with Malachite Green frequently develop tumors 1 year later. Also carcinogenic to fishkeeper.

• Methylene Blue: Somewhat effective against parasites, more effective against fungus. Lethal to plants, kills all plants in the tank within hours or overnight. Stains everything badly. I would only use this product in a bare hospital tank.

• Acriflavine: Safer than most, but really intended to be a great anti-fungal medication. Not very good against parasites. Very good against Columnaris. Often found combined with Malachite Green.

• Coppersafe: Very safe when used in the recommended dosage. Kills Ich, Flukes, Anchor Worms and Velvet parasites. Works slowly, a drawback (takes 21 days in some cases), but it does kill them. If treated for less than 21 days, Ich will come back. (Also true for other anti-parasite meds, by the way.) Not toxic to any fish. Sometimes does impact delicate plants, but they recover quickly after the Coppersafe is removed. If I had an expensive prized plant, I might remove it to a 5-gallon aquarium for safekeeping while I treated with Coppersafe, but in actual practice I've not had problems with it. You could put the plant(s) in a 5-gallon tank, add YG, place near a strong light (a north window, perhaps), and the plants would think they've been to a health spa. Kills shrimp and some snails. Safe for cycle bacteria. Compatible with other Mardel medications such as Maracyn I and II.

• Salt/Heat: 1 tablespoon salt per 5 gallons of water, 87*F temperature. Safe for 99% of fish, completely non-toxic to fishkeeper. Safe for cycle bacteria. Works slowly (21 days) to kill parasites, but well tolerated by most fish and shrimp. Not recommended for Tetras, Corys or smooth-skinned fish such as Kuhli Loaches and Clown Loaches. If the fish can tolerate heat/salt, it's the treatment of choice. Rough on plants, which usually show visible damage after 21 days, but which grow back after salt is removed and temps lowered. Treatment of choice for Guppys, Mollys, Platys, Swordtails. For live bearers salt can be added at 1 table spoon per 1 gallon of water. Mollys can take salt up to 1/2 cup per 5 gallons, which kills external parasites very quickly.

• Mardel's Maracide: My experience with this is limited because I haven't had a case of Ich or parasites for many years, and Maracide came out after I figured out how to keep fish healthy (large water changes). Has an excellent reputation, as do all Mardel products. Supposedly very safe, and compatible with all other Mardel meds, including Maracyn I and II.

• Fluke Tabs: very rough experience for most fish, very toxic. I would limit its use to tougher fish such as Goldfish or perhaps large Cichlids, which can tolerate stuff like this. Kills the flukes all right, but sometimes kills the fish right along with the flukes.

• Jungle Anti-Parasite Tabs: drop the tablet in the water, kiss the parasites goodbye. Works well, but kills shrimp on contact and kills many snails. I've only used this product once on a friend's tank, and all the fish did very well with it. Not sure what's in it, or how safe it is to fishkeeper.

• Pepso Flakes: Kills internal parasites, not external. Treatment of choice for internal worms. Kills shrimp immediately when they eat the flakes. Active ingredient: Piperazine, which is well tolerated by humans (Doctors use it to treat kids for Pinworms) and dogs (used as puppy wormer). Fish seem to be completely undamaged by Pepso flakes. Feed exclusively for 7 days to clean out the fish, and then 2-3 days per month to hold down re-infection.

• Tetra Anti-Parasite Flakes: Discontinued product, but also used Piperazine. May still be on dealer's shelves here or there. Treatment same as for Pepso.

• Hydrogen Peroxide: Old treatment, painted on fish with a cotton swab. Slightly effective against external parasites.

• Merthiolate: I don't believe they make Merthiolate anymore because it contained Mercury. However, it's an old treatment that worked against flukes. You held the fish in a net, then with a cotton-tipped swab you painted the fish with Merthiolate (avoiding the eyes). Killed external parasites, including flukes. Used to use it a lot 50 years ago, but haven't used it since Coppersafe and Maracide came out.

• Medication for fish scratching on rocks: If all the fish are flashing, then salt might be beneficial for the tank. If it's just one fish, it might just be that the fish is playing around. However, look at the fish very closely for any signs of anything 3-dimensional hanging on the side of the fish, or any patches of something discoloring the skin or growing on the fish. If you see something suspicious like that, then the addition of salt could be beneficial. However, Coppersafe would probably be more appropriate if you have cause to treat the fish.

  Quarantine Guidelines

     Refer to "Fishes" section of this site.

Infectious Fish Diseases

Bacterial Diseases
Bacterial Infections	Ulcer	Sepsis	Dropsy
Tumours	Pop-Eye	Gill Bacteria	Septicemia
Prasitical Diseases
Flukes	Fish Lice	Trichodina	Ich
Anchor Worm	Costia	Fin Rot	Velvet Disease
Fungal Diseases
Fungus	Mouth Fungus	Opacity

Non-Infectious Fish Diseases

Scoliosis	Aberations	Loss of Balance	Shimmies
Blood on Fins

SYMPTOMS AND POSSIBLE REASONS

Flashing/Scratching	Red Spots	Red Sores/Ulcers
Worm Under Scales	Colour Changes	White Spots	Jumping
Clamped Fins	Red Fins	Black Spots	Bulging Eyes
Scales Standing out	White waxy drops in Fins	White tuft on skin	Swollen Gills
Pale Gills	Swollen Abdomen	Swollen Deformed Abdomen	Hole in the Gill
Wasting	Babies dying off	Milky Skin	White Eye
Split Fin	Red Belly	Not Eating	Rolling/Torpedo
Flank sucking/Picking	Spitting Food	Lying Over	Sitting on the Bottom
Head up/Hanging at surface	Gasping at surface	Head down/tail up

TREATMENT AND MEDICINES

Antibiotic	Dimilin	Medicated Food	Super Salt
Topical treatment	Chloramine-T	Fluke Tablets	Malachite Green & Formalin
Potassium Permanganate