Many people get excited in keeping a pet fish in their Thomson Reserve condo. Even with the best intention, they die a week later. It can be frustrating, but instead of buying a new one right away you may need to consider why it happened first. Here are 4 causes to consider.
Swim Bladder Disease
This is an illness that causes them to either float uncontrollably, be inverted, or stay in the ground. Swim bladder disease can be caused by poor water quality, overfeeding, accidentally eating air at the top, genetics, or bacterial infection. To avoid this illness, observe regular water changes and pick up food if you think there are too many. Use sinking pellets and separate aggressive fish as well. If your fish already contracted it, their survival rate is very low.
Fin Rot
This is a bacterial infection which makes the ends of the fishes’ tails seemingly cut or frayed, or with white edging on the sides. Causes include poor water quality, aggressive tank mates, and stress. Treat or avoid these by doing regular water changes, getting the proper tank size, remove aggressive fish, and medication if needed.
Hole-in-the-Head
‘Hole in the head’ is an illness where craters or white spots appear around the head. Poor water quality, parasites, stress, and lack of nutrition are the primary reasons. To treat, improve water quality immediately, provide medication, improve filtration, add more salt, and remove any activated carbon.
Ich Disease
In ich disease, the fish appears to have white spots that appear like salt or sugar. This is a parasitic infection caused by adding a new fish with this parasite. The parasite has 3 life stages, which are all deadly and contagious. To avoid this, quarantine a new fish and reduce stress, then inspect. If there are any, use methods such as heat and salt, and medication. If one fish is only infected, the whole tank is still at risk.