Betta Fish Disease
Owning a fish tank may mean battling Betta Fish Disease that can affect fish in an aquarium.
Some are readily treatable and others are not. If you notice something amiss in your tank, take a look at the list below to determine what it actually is that your fish have and how to treat it.
When your fish seem to have Betta Fish Disease, go one step further and look for tiny dots that are white and may be fuzzy looking - This is probably Ich (Ichthyophthirius), a parasite which is rather common. Although quite common, this disease can kill all your fish if not treated in time. Since it is usually caused by poor water quality, it is treated with water changes and medication that can be put into the tank. You can buy treatments for Ich at your local pet store or online.
If you see that your fish have Grayish cottony patches on their skin or gills, this is probably a fungus caused by decaying matter in the tank. If you haven’t cleaned your tank in a while and there is lots of food and fish waste on the bottom this may be the cause. Easily cured if caught in time, you can buy a remedy for this at the local store or online – and of course you should clean out your tank!
Diseases don’t keep to themselves so the Betta Fish Disease is sometimes found with fish that have rotting fins. This tropical fish disease is probably caused by bacteria attacking the fins and is likely to happen where there is poor water quality and / or the fish are stressed. If only a few fish are affected, you can isolate them to prevent spread of the bacteria. This can be treated with medicine purchased at the pet store specifically for this type of disease. You should check your fish daily to insure their fins are in good condition as this requires immediate treatment.
Flukes are a parasite that attach the fish’s skin and gills. Symptoms include cloudy skin and scraping against the bottom. This can be caused by poor water quality and my be difficult to treat. You can buy medication for it and you should try to treat the tank immediately upon seeing an outbreak.
Are your fish fish gasping for air? This could mean that your tank has too many fish. Overcrowding the tank is bad for a number of reasons, so you may want to get rid of some fish or try an airstone to get more oxygen into the water.
When you use a medicine to clear your tank of Betta Fish Disease, remover to follow the directions on the label and only add the amount specified. Keeping a routine of water changes and tank cleaning will be your best bet to prevent any future outbreak of disease.