List of aquarium diseases

The following is a list of aquarium diseases. Aquarium fish are often susceptible to numerous diseases, due to the artificially limited and concentrated environment. New fish can sometimes introduce diseases to aquaria, and these can be difficult to diagnose and treat. Most fish diseases are also aggravated when the fish is stressed.

Common aquarium diseases include the following:

Freshwater

Disease	Cause	Fish Affected	Image	Symptoms	Treatment
Piscine Tuberculosis	Mycobacterium marinum bacteria	All		Weight loss evident on underparts, with corresponding loss of appetite, papules, discoloration and bulging eyes.	Amputation
Fin Rot	Bacterial	All		Erosion at edges of fins	Improve water quality, remove fin-nippers and feed Vitamin C - enriched food. Use anti-fungal treatment to prevent secondary infections
Mouth Fungus or Columnaris	Flexibacter bacteria	All, especially Livebearers		Cottony growth near jaws and loss of appetite.	Improve water conditions. Use commercially available antibiotics
Swim Bladder Disease	May be bacterial, or caused by chilling or digestive issues	All, especially Balloon Mollies		Inability to balance in the water	Check water temperature. A medical bath may help.
Vibrosis	Vibro bacteria	All		Discoloration, reddish staining of fins, bulging eyes, lethargic behavior	Medicated food
Pseudomoniasis	Pseudomonas bacteria	All		Hemorrhages in mouth and ulceration on body	Medicated food
Saprolegnia Fungus	Fungal	All		Whitish, fur-like growths	Vitamin C enriched food, or a commercial remedy in a medical bath. Check to make sure that your fish doesn't prefer Brackish water
Egg Fungus	Fungal	Eggs only		Fungal growths on eggs	Remove affected eggs. Use Methylene blue to medicate the hatching tank.
Lymphocystis	Viral	All		Cauliflower-like growths and white areas around the eyes	Vaccines may be available
Iridovirus	Viral	Gouramis, angelfish, Ramirez Dwarf Cichlids and others		loss of appetite. Darkening in color. Enlarged abdomen. Occasionally Lymphocystis	None
Singapore Angelfish Diseases		Angelfish		Inactivity, loss of appetite, high and rapid mortality	None
Malawi Bloat	Probably viral	Lake Malawi Cichlids, especially vegetarian ones		Similar to Dropsy	Offer a high-fiber diet
White Spots (Ick)	Ichthyophthirius multifiliis parasite	All		Small white spots, which may ulcerate	Raise water temperature slightly and treat water with commercially available remedies
Hole-in-the-head	Hexamita parasite	Discus and Cichlids		Pale ulcerated area around head	Metronidazole or similar medication. Use food containing Vitamin C
Neon Tetra Disease	Pleistophora hyphessobryconis Parasite	Neon Tetras		Discoloration	None
Skin or Gill Flukes	Gyrodactylus and Dactylogyrus parasites	All		Labored breathing, scraping against objects, abnormal gill function	Commercially available medication
Anchor Worm	Lernaea parasite	All		Visible parasites attached to body leading to ulceration and irritation	remove parasites with forceps and use medicated bath to prevent secondary infection. Insecticide may help
Dropsy	Varies from temperature, to indigestion to infection	All		Bloat, scales stick out	Varies depending on the cause
Tetrahymena	Parasite	Freshwater fish

Saltwater

• Cryptocaryon (marine ich)
• Marine Velvet or Coral Reef Fish Disease
• Anemonefish Disease

Both

Disease	Cause	Fish Affected	Image	Symptoms	Treatment
Marine velvet	Amyloodinium parasite	All, fresh and salt water		Powdered appearance, gasping and disorganized swimming
Velvet Disease	Oodinium and other parasites	All salt and freshwater fish		Golden dots, rubbing against rocks while swimming
Septicemia or Egtved virus	Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus	Many fresh and salt water fish		hemorrhaging, internal and external	Virkon AQUATIC

Uncategorized

• Myxobacteriosis
• Ichthyobodo (costia)

Quarantine

The goal of quarantine is to prevent problems in the main tank due to sickness. A quarantine tank should be used before to introduce any newly acquired animals in the main tank and to treat fish that are already sick. By doing this, the aquarist can avoid the spread of the disease and make it easier to treat the fish.

See also

• Fish diseases and parasites

Bibliography

• Encyclopedia of Aquarium and Pond Fish (2005) (David Alderton), DK Publishing, ISBN 978-0756609412

External links

• Help with Stress, Disease and Death
• Theaquariumwiki.com