Fish

Slime disease is a name given to various parasitic infections of the skin that cause freshwater aquarium fish to produce abnormally high quantities of mucus. Slime disease stresses aquarium fish and makes them vulnerable to potentially lethal secondary infections.

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Anemia is a heart and blood vessel condition which is recognized by the low number of red blood cells found in the animal. It can affect many types of fishes, so be observant of your pet and take your animal to the veterinarian if anemia is suspected. Symptoms and Types The most common symptom — which is also quite visible — is abnormally pale gills in your fish.

The signs of CCV include an accumulation of fluids in the abdomen, enlargement and bulging of the eyes, and bloody fins. Destroying an infected fish and a thorough cleaning of its environment are the only ways to stop the spread of the CCV infection., ,Herpes Virus  

Clown loaches are found on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo in the country of Indonesia. They occur in large schools in the rivers and flooded plains of these two islands, where the water is usually moving fairly steadily and is generally well-oxygenated. Their natural water conditions are warm (high 70s to low 80s Fahrenheit) and fairly soft, with a pH from 6.5 to 7.5 (at times, the pH can be outside these values). The current scientific name for the clown loach is Chromobotia macracanthus, and it is in the family Cobitidae (loaches). Professional ichthyologists spend a great deal of time revising the classification work of previous researchers, and in 2004 the loaches as a group had their turn. When it comes to ichthyologists and taxonomy (the naming and classification of living things) there tends to be two groups: lumpers and splitters. The lumpers combine together what were separate genera and species. The splitters take an existing genus and split it into more than one either existing or new genera. The splitters were at work with the loaches, and the result for the clown loach is that the fish was assigned the genus Chromobotia, where it is, in fact, the only species. If you would like more details about this taxonomic arcana, or for more about loaches in general, an excellent site on the web is loaches.com.

Tumors And Cancers  Fishes develop tumors and cancers, much like humans and other animals. However, sharks are a type of fish which never develops cancers. Symptoms and Types  Most tumors are seen as bumps or lumps under the fish’s skin. But the location and signs of the tumor can be different for each fish, and depend greatly on the type of tumor. Unfortunately, internal tumors or cancers display symptoms once it has become to late to save the fish. Also, the fish’s ability to eat and swim will be affected, causing a rapid decline in its health. Koi fishes usually get tumors in the reproductive organs. They will have swollen abdomens and the illness can become terminal. Conversely, goldfish are susceptible to fibroma tumors and sarcoma cancers. While Gypsy-swordtail fishes, generally develop skin cancer (malignant melanoma). Another type of tumor is found in the gills. It causes the fish to be unable to close its gills, and is due to a thyroid dysfunction. Despite its seriousness, the tumor has a good success rate when it is treated.

As much as fish parents would like to pack their fish tank and bring their aquatic friends on vacay, it is not practical. So how do you feed your fish while you’re away? Whether you opt for a fish sitter, an automatic fish feeder or vacation fish feeder or fasting, you’ll need to make informed decisions and create a smart action plan. To help aquarists get ready for their trip, we spoke with Dr. Jessie Sanders, DVM, certified aquatic veterinarian (CertAqV) and owner of Aquatic Veterinary Services in northern California, and Dr. Benjamin Rosenbloom, DVM, veterinarian and founder of the Wet Pet Vet in New York City, for tips on how to feed aquarium fish while on vacation.

There’s an old adage about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. Snails are not able to teleport, nor do they spontaneously arise from the ether. If you have snails in your tank, you put them in there. The most common means is through adding live plants. Snails, or their eggs, can hitch on most types of plants and arrive in your home aquarium. Old time aquarists recommend soaking aquarium plants in a solution of 2-3 teaspoons of alum dissolved in a quart of water. After 2-3 days in this solution, all snails and eggs should be gone. A stronger solution, substituting tablespoons for teaspoons, will do the same in a few hours. However, alum can be harsh on plants, particularly fine leaf plants, and caution must be used when dipping plants. If soaking the plants for several days, remember that they do need light.,At one point or another, every aquarist has experienced an unexpected outbreak of snails in their home fish aquarium. It can be incredibly frightening, too. There are these small little animals in tremendous numbers that have seemingly appeared overnight, and you did not put them in the aquarium. Where did they come from?