Treating Fish

There are several ways in which fish can be treated. Unlike other pets, visible changes are
not very quick and you can never be sure whether your fish are taking a turn for the better
or not. Compared to many other pets, fish are also very delicate. They cannot be taken
out, treated and put back into their homes without exposing them to great risks. So, how
does one apply medications, feed medicines or help the fish to recuperate?
Giving the fish a bath is a good way to treat some disorders. The fish will be introduced
into a bucket containing medicated water. You should use chemicals like formalin or
additives like salt in the water you bade the fish in, depending upon what you are treating.
The duration of the bath and the concentration of the additive are species-dependent and
also depends on the disease. Always follow instructions that are based on the need of
your fish species and the disease in question.
Heat therapy is used when it is necessary to kill certain parasites by raising the
temperature. One has to be careful while doing this because some fish get too stressed
when there is a change in temperature. The temperature of the water should be increased
gradually by no more than 1 Degree C per hour until you reach the desired range. The
fish should be constantly monitored while the treatment is going on. Any negative
reactions call for an immediate cessation of the therapy.
Medicated food products are another effective way of fighting parasites, especially if the
disease is inside the body. These medicated foods are not governed or monitored by any
governmental agency, so the food concerned may never have been tested for
effectiveness or for safety. Therefore, the medicated food that you give your fish may be
practically useless or even harmful to some fish. You should purchase only such food that
has a detailed list of the ingredients along with their concentration printed on it. Some
well known brands can be trusted to deliver quality products, but lesser known brands
need to be tested with caution. Awareness of the use and effect of the various medicines
is a must before you can start using this kind of treatments.
There are certain steps that should be followed when treating fish. If these steps are
followed one after the other, they eliminate not only the symptoms but also the cause of
the disease.
The first thing to do when you need to diagnose a fish is to observe it. Observe what signs
of disease that are seen and what behavioral patterns have changed, if any. Next, go on to
eliminating the possible causes of the signs you se. Check if all environmental conditions
are in proper order. The first and the most widespread cause of ailment, disease, stress
and death in aquaria is bad water. The ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, pH and oxygen levels
have to be checked. If these are within the optimum ranges, the next step is to check
whether any toxic substances have dripped into the water by mistake. Paint fumes,
cleaning agents, pesticides etc are some things that can get into water quite inadvertently.
If the problem is the water quality, changing the water frequently and in smaller
quantities will help. If none of these seem to be the cause, then move to the next step.
Now it is time to check the various accessories in the aquarium. Filters, heaters, air
pumps etc have to be checked carefully to se that they are working correctly. You should
also check if any aggressor has attacked the fish and if that may be the cause behind the
symptoms. If you find a problem, fix it immediately.
The fish need to be treated once you have identified the disease. Start by moving the
infected fish out of the community aquarium and into the quarantine aquarium. Make
sure that your quarantine/hospital aquarium is ready to receive patient/s. The water in the
quarantine/hospital aquarium should be changed daily. About 30-50% of the water should
preferable be changed each day. While changing water, care must be taken to add more
medicine if required. Also remember that some medicines will remove oxygen from
water and aeration is therefore a must in a hospital aquarium. After one day, it is time to
move the fish to a shallow bowl or aquarium. Closely examine the fish for any parasites
or new signs of infection. Treat the water accordingly. Return the fish to the hospital
aquarium once the inspection is completed. This process should be repeated if you are
unsure of the proper diagnosis, but not more often than once a day since it is very
stressful for the fish. The fish should be kept in isolation for about 10 days even if the fish
is showing signs of improvement. This will remove all traces of infection and leave the
fish germ free by the time it returns to the community aquarium. This ensures that the
spread of infection is curtailed.
While medicating the fish, care must be taken to follow the instructions given. Too low a
dose will be ineffective, while higher doses could damage the fish further or even kill it.
Carbon, and all absorbing filter media, along with UV sterilizers and ozonizers should be
removed before using medications since these will render the medicine ineffective. Never
mix two medications in the same aquarium unless there are specific instructions to do so.
Once the use of medicines is over, make sure that there are no traces of the medicine left
in your aquarium.
In spite of the best of care, if your fish still ails, it is perhaps better to put it out of its
misery. This is sometimes the most humane thing that can be done. Severing the spinal
cord quickly with a very sharp knife is one of the most painless ways to put a large fish
out of its misery. Smaller fish can be dropped into boiling water for a quick death.
Many times your fish will recover when you take care of the water chemistry. It is also
important to introduce new fish carefully into your aquarium. New fish are sometimes
carriers of harmful parasites. That is why the importance of the quarantine aquarium
never can be overstressed.
Do not stuff your aquarium with too many fish. Aquarium overload is another factor that
can lead to disaster. The risks of infection are high in an overloaded aquarium. The
chances of the infection spreading to other fish are also very high.

Keeping an aquarium is very easy if you understand the various principles behind it and
approach it scientifically. There are certain procedures that need to be followed at every
stage. When you adhere closely to the beaten path and try to give your fish the best
possible conditions, your fish will thrive. Once you have gained more experience and
gotten to know your particular specimens better, you can work more freely and improvise
in order to suit their particular needs.

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