Keeping a fish tank is a wonderful and relaxing hobby, but it can become stressful if the fish start to die. The most common cause of fish illness is poor water quality, so it is vital that you perform regular tank maintenance, making sure to do a partial water change periodically and to clean up any waste or uneaten food so that do not rot and poison the water. .

Many fish diseases can be stopped if you provide treatment as soon as you see any signs that your fish is sick. Therefore, it is important that you monitor your fish every day for signs of disease.

Some common symptoms of the disease are listed below.

Whiteheads – Sometimes they look fuzzy, almost like grains of salt in your fish. This disease is called Ichthyophthirius), or simply Ich. It is a fairly common disease and is caused by poor water quality or it can affect your fish when their immune system is not working due to stress. It can be easily treated if you catch it early. There is a special solution that you can buy from the pet store to medicate your tank and hopefully get rid of this problem.

Gray spots on the skin, they look cottony and may be around the gills. This is a fungus also caused by excess fish waste and food spoilage at the bottom of the tank. You can buy a treatment for it and it should easily go away unless you’ve let it go too far. In the future, remember to clean the tank every week so you don’t have a recurrence.

If your fish appear to be gasping for air, this could simply be due to a lack of oxygen in the water and not necessarily illness. You could add an air stone to see if that helps with the problem. Make sure you don’t overcrowd the tank with too many fish.

If you see your fish scrape against the bottom of the tank or decorations, you may have a parasite called Flukes. These attack the gills and skin and are quite difficult to remove once your tank is infected. Again, poor water quality will make this situation much worse. They sell medicine for the tank and you may be able to clean it if you treat the tank at the first sign of trouble.

Rotten fins are sometimes seen if the fish is under stress and also if the water quality is poor. It is a bacteria that is attacking the fins and you should treat the tank at the first sign of this problem. If possible, isolate affected fish to another tank to prevent bacteria from spreading.

To ensure that you always have healthy fish, you should keep the tank clean and carry out partial water changes religiously. This will not only keep your fish happy, but it will also make the tank look better!