Believe it or not, fish get sick. There is medication for ill sick, but the hardest thing is to diagnose what your little finned friend has taken ill to. From parasites to constipation, fish get it and you need to cure it.
For starters, never buy a fish with any type of red, velvety patches on it’s scales (these are not only deadly, but contagious!!), as goes with any white patches or spots that contradict with the fish’s natural color. These spots are a sign of parasites, they are usually deadly. If a fish you already have starts to show signs of these white spots, go to your local fish doctor right away to get a creamy ointment that will hopefully cure it. If the spots are the red velvety kind, dispense of that fish IMMEDIATELY!!, these not only kill the fish (most of the time), but also will spread to the other fish in the tank.
Fish in the pet store that float quickly to the top when they stop swimming are not healthy. Fish that float upside down are not healthy. Fish that have bits of their tales bitten off are not healthy. Choose your fish CAREFULLY!!
Fish medicines come in a wide range of types. Orally, saturating it into the water, through baths, injections (consult your veterinarian), topically (ointments), and by dipping. When doing any of these treatments always put the sick fish into another tank, bowl, whatever; healthy fish might react negatively to the medications.
- Add the correct amount of medication
into the tank where only the sick fish is. The amount to be added varies with the size of
the tank.
- Fix a smaller dish/bowl (according to fish
size) with water from the original tank and add the medication. Wait a while to make sure
the water temperature is correct. Leave the fish in for the recommended amount of time.
These baths can be very short or quite long.
- Normal fish owners should not do
injections of any sort. Leave this up to your veterinarian.
- Take the fish out of the water and place it
on a really wet towel, dry off the infected area and apply the treatment. After the
ointment has been administered return the fish back into his tank. (without any other fish
in it)
- After mixing the specified amount of medication
into water from the fish’s tank, dip the fish into it for the correct amount of time.
This is a very effective treatment!!
Tropical goldfish have a tendency to become constipated. This is due to dry flakes being eaten in chunks and blocking up their systems. Symptoms are that your fish is floating upside down or quickly up to the top after they stop swimming. To treat this add one teaspoon of "Epson Salt" (found in all drug stores) to every gallon that your tank holds. Take a bowl and fill it with water from your tank and dissolve the accurate amount of salt in it. When it is dissolved, dump it in. Don’t feed your fish for about two days (really, they’ll be okay) and after that time give you tank a real good cleaning. Make sure you watch your fish carefully for the longer it takes to see the symptoms, the more likely your fish will die.
