Saltwater Tank Fish Diseases

Prior to using any type of medication in your fish tank be certain you have properly diagnosed the disease first. Many times it is something as simple as having placed new fish in the tank or transport problems. Consider placing all new fish in a quarantine tank prior to putting into your big tank.

Ammonia Poisoning

This disease is easy to prevent. Use zeolite to absorb ammonia. However the best way is to make certain your tank is not overcrowded. Your fish will have red or inflamed gills when this condition persists and they will be gasping for air at the water surface.

Hole in the head

There is not a positive scientific way to say what exactly causes this disease. It can be attributed to lack of nutrition, poor quality of water and using activated carbon for long periods of time. Begin doing frequent water changes and give them vitamin-enriched foods and either stop using or change the activated carbon. Signs of this disease will be small holes or indentations on the heads of your fish.

Nitrate Poisoning

This is not considered a disease but it will kill your tropical fish. It is a result of not performing enough water changes and having a large bio-load on the filtration system. You may have too many fish in the tank and may need to do more frequent water changes. You will notice your tropical fish are just lazy or staying just below the surface of the water and you get high readings on your nitrate tests.

Oxygen Starvation

First thing to do is check the temperature of the water. If your fish need oxygen you will have to increase the aeration in the tank with air stones or increase the flow with your filters. You can immediately place ice cubes in baggies and turn off your tank light to cool the water down. You will notice that almost all (if not all) of your fish are at the water surface and they may be gulping at the surface with their mouths.

Dropsy

This is not a disease either. It is a symptom of bacterial infection. You can actually use a medication but you can first try to increase the quality of your water by changing 25 percent of the water every three days. If that doesn’t seem to work then try the medication. Remove your carbon filtering, as it will take out the medication while it filters. In this problem you will notice your fish are bloated and their scales will be raised.