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When a disease problem develops, quick and effective response is essential and there is no better preparation than to know your fish. Under routine aquarium conditions, healthy fish display "normal" behaviour. As an aquarium hobbyist, you should become familiar with the normal behaviour of your fish. If their behaviour changes; for example, they stop feeding, swim near the water surface, dart, or scratch on objects, then something has occurred and you need to find out what.
Daily observation of fish behaviour and feeding activity allows early detection of problems when they occur so that a diagnosis can be made before the majority of the population becomes affected. Any time you observe a problem with your fish, always check the pH, ammonia and nitrite levels, or other water problems. Quite often, a simple water change will result in the recovery of the fish; however, it is important to determine whether equipment failure or improper husbandry practises contributed to the problem. If treatment is indicted, it will be most successful if it is implemented early in the course of the disease while the fish are still in good shape.
If abnormal behaviour persists and/or mortalities occur, then you should seek professional assistance. In general, an experienced veterinarian should carry out treatment for any but the most common disease problems that your fish experience. If you don't know of one with experience in treating fishes, contact a nearby public aquarium or fishkeepers association for the names of known veterinarians in your area. However, even veterinarians with laboratory diagnostic experience cannot make an accurate diagnosis of some problems without microscopic examination of the fish or cultivation for bacteria.
Without professional assistance, any diagnosis is purely an educated guess based on yours or someone's experience. This usually means that any medications or procedures used to attempt to cure the disease are chosen on the basis of the type of behaviour and physical appearance of the fish, as opposite to decisions made on the basis of diagnostic tests.
When faced with a tank of sick or dying fish, usually the person is more concerned with how to treat the problem rather than with resolving what is the cause of the problem. Unwittingly, in most cases a 'shotgun' approach using some medication or combination of medications will be used. The downside of this idea is that in most situations the majority of the chemicals given to the sick fish are useless in terms of efficacy, since they are not targeted at the desired pathogens.
Over the years, four cardinal rules of fish disease treatment have evolved:
- Know your fish - You must know your fish. What is their normal behaviour, what conditions are likely to stress them, and to what diseases are they most susceptible.
- Know your water - Water quality influences the toxicity of certain chemicals and is adversely affected by some medications.
- Know your chemical - Extreme caution should be practiced when applying any chemical treatment.
- Know your disease - One of the most important aspects of chemical treatment is that no one chemical is appropriate for all diseases or situations. For instance, an antibiotic can be very effective in the treatment of a bacterial infection, but is useless if the disease is caused by a protozoan parasite.
© Copyright Adrian R. Tappin
Created July, 2005.
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