Bacterial Infection

Symptoms

Treatment

Thick white or reddish patches on the body of fish. Usually starts on the fins or tail as fin & tail rot.

Use one of the following medications. Dose as directed.
Furan-2, Furanase, Maracyn II, Maroxy, Paraguard, Formalin, Binox, Fungus Eliminator, Triple Sulfa, Melafix or Pimafix.

Aquarium with Tetra, scaleless fish or live plants:
Furan-2, Furanase, Maracyn II, Melafix, Revive, or Pimafix.

Remove carbon/chemical media during treatment. Follow treatment with a partial water change.

Black Spot Disease (Parasite)

Symptoms

Treatment

Tiny round black spots in the skin of the fish. Often mistaken for normal coloring or genetic variations especially with Silver Dollar fish.

No treatment. Does little harm and usually disappears. Will die out of the aquarium in time.

Bloody Fins

Symptoms

Treatment

Red or bloody streaks in the fins. This is especially common with goldfish. Usually the result of poor water quality.

Use one of the following medications. Dose as directed.
Furan-2, Furanase, Maroxy or Maracyn + Melafix + Pimafix + add an additional 1 TB of aquarium salt per each 5 gallons.

Aquarium with Tetra, scaleless fish or live plants:
Furan-2, Furanase, Maracyn + Melafix + Pimafix.

Can be related to poor diet, lack of plant/vegetable foods. Remove carbon/chemical media during treatment. Follow treatment with a partial water change.

Consumption

Symptoms

Treatment

Very thin in the body, hollow belly, often with a humpback appearance.

Use one of the following medications. Dose as directed.
Maracyn.

Aquarium with Tetra, scaleless fish or live plants:
Maracyn.

Note: This is sometimes a sign of old age with livebearers. Not normally curable but improved diet will help protect the other fishes, if the diet is the root of the problem.

Dropsy

Symptoms

Treatment

Protruding scales and swollen belly, often giving a "pine-cone" effect.

Use one of the following medications. Dose as directed.
Furan-2, Furanase, Maracyn II, Maroxy, Paraguard, Fungus Eliminator, or Binox

Aquarium with Tetra, scaleless fish or live plants:
Furan-2, Furanase, or Maracyn II.

Remove carbon/chemical media during treatment. Follow treatment with a partial water change.

Eye Cloud

Symptoms

Treatment

White film over the eyes. Can be caused by poor water conditions or parasites.

Use one of the following medications. Dose as directed.
Maracyn + one of the following: Maroxy, Formalin or Copper Safe.

Aquarium with Tetra, scaleless fish or live plants:
Maracyn + Coppersafe.

Remove carbon/chemical media during treatment. Follow treatment with a partial water change.

Fin & Tail Rot

Symptoms

Treatment

Fins appear ragged or eaten away, may notice some redness.

Use one of the following medications. Dose as directed.
Furan-2, Furanase, Maracyn II, Maroxy, Paraguard, Binox, Fungus Eliminator, Triple Sulfa, Malachite Green, Melafix, or Methylene Blue or Pimafix.

Aquarium with Tetra, scaleless fish or live plants:
Furan-2, Furanase, Maracyn II, Melafix or Pimafix.

Remove carbon/chemical media during treatment. Follow treatment with a partial water change.

Flesh Worms (Yellow Grubs)

Symptoms

Treatment

Small round yellowish lumps under the skin of the fish or on the fins.

Note: Not contagious to other fish. This parasite requires snails as an intermediate host to be able to infect other fishes in their environment.

No treatment.

Does little harm and usually disappears. Will die out of the aquarium in time.

Fungus

Symptoms

Treatment

White or gray fluffy patches on the body, mouth and/or fins of the fish.

Use one of the following medications. Dose as directed.
Furan-2, Furanase, Maracyn II, Maroxy, Paraguard, Binox, Fungus Eliminator, Triple Sulfa, Malachite Green, Melafix, Methylene Blue or Pimafix.

Aquarium with Tetra, scaleless fish or live plants:
Furan-2, Furanase, Maracyn II, Melafix or Pimafix.

Remove carbon/chemical media during treatment. Partial water change before & after treatment.

Gill Disease (Parasite)

Symptoms

Treatment

Gills on the fish hang partly open. Rapid or labored gill movement.

Use one of the following medications. Dose as directed.
Fluke Tab, Life Bearer, Clout, Trifon, Parasite Guard, Rid Ich+ or Formalin.

Aquarium with Tetra, scaleless fish or live plants:
Trifon or Life Bearer (with caution).

Remove carbon/chemical media during treatment. Follow treatment with a partial water change.

Gourami Disease/Shimmy

Symptoms

Treatment

Fins are held close to the body of the fish. (Clamped Fins) Fish shake or rock back and forth while staying in the same place.

Common with Gourami. Could be the first signs of a bacterial infection or velvet.

Use one of the following medications. Dose as directed.
Rid Ich+, Paraguard or Formalin + add an additional 1 TB of aquarium salt per each 5 gallons.

Aquarium with Tetra or scaleless fish:
Rid Ich+, Paraguard or Formalin.

Aquarium with live plants:
Formalin (with caution).

Remove carbon/chemical media during treatment. Follow treatment with a partial water change.

Hole-in-the-Head/Lateral Line Disease

Symptoms

Treatment

Small holes on or around the head of the fish. Effecting cichlids but seen on other fish.

Note: Do not mistake for normal pores on the head of most cichlids. Problems to look for are eroding of the pore or enlargement of pores on the head area.

Use one of the following medications. Dose as directed.
Metrozol, Metronidazole or Aquazole

Aquarium with Tetra, scaleless fish or live plants:
Metrozol, Metronidazole or Aquazole

This can be a nutritional problem, add Vita Chem and fresh vegetables to the diet.

Change water more frequently. Remove carbon/chemical media uring treatment. ollow treatment with a partial water change.

Ick

Symptoms

Treatment

Appears on the fins or body as white salt-like dots. Fish may be darting about and scratching on objects. Rapid breathing. Note: Usually the result of a sudden temperature change.

Use one of the following medications. Dose as directed.
Rid Ich+, Maracide, Ich Guard II, Clout, Formalin, Cupramine, Stop Parasite FWP, Copper Safe, Eco-FW, Aquarisol, or Aquazole.

Aquarium with Tetra, scaleless fish or live plants:
Ich Guard II, Stop Parasite FWP Aquarisol, or Coppersafe.

Remove carbon/chemical media during treatment. Follow treatment with a partial water change.

Neon Tetra Disease

Symptoms

Treatment

Erratic swimming behavior, and loss of color, the loss of the red stripe on a neon or cardinal tetra is a giveaway. Affected fish are generally small tetras, but can include danios and barbs.

Use one of the following medications. Dose as directed.
Maracyn + Formalin.

Aquarium with Tetra, scaleless fish or live plants:
Maracyn + Formalin.

Remove carbon/chemical media during treatment. Partial water change before and after treatment.

Pop Eye

Symptoms

Treatment

Protrusion of the eye from the socket. One or both eyes may protrude but no other obvious symptoms.

Use one of the following Medications. Dose as directed.
Maracyn or Paraguard.

Aquarium with Tetra or caleless fish:
Maracyn or Paraguard.

Aquarium with live plants:
Maracyn

Remove carbon/chemical media during treatment. Follow treatment with a partial water change.

Swim Bladder Disease

Symptoms

Treatment

Fish swim erratically, may even swim or float upside down or on it’s side. Fancy varieties of goldfish seem prone to this condition. Most common cause is constipation.

Use one of the following medications. Dose as directed.
Furan-2, Furanase, Maracyn II, Maroxy, Fungus Eliminator, Paraguard or Binox + add an additional 1 TB of aquarium salt per each 5 gallons.

Aquarium with Tetra, scaleless fish or live plants:
Furan-2, Furanase or Maracyn II.

Improving the diet with plant/vegetable foods may help. Remove carbon/chemical media during treatment. Follow treatment with a partial water change. Feed sinking foods.

Ulcers

Symptoms

Treatment

Red open sores which may start out as small raised lumps. Often follows a parasite infestation. Stress and poor water conditions can be other causes.

Use one of the following medications. Dose as directed.
Furan-2, Furanase, Maracyn II, Maroxy, Paraguard, Binox, Fungus Eliminator, Melafix, Methylene Blue or Pimafix.

Aquarium with Tetra, scaleless fish or live plants.
Furan-2, Furanase, Maracyn II, Melafix, Revive or Pimafix.

Remove carbon/chemical media during treatment. Follow treatment with a partial water change.

Velvet

Symptoms

Treatment

Tiny white or yellowish-white spots, may often appear like a dusting or a velvet sheen. The fins are often clamped. Fish may be darting about and scratching on objects. Fish may "shimmy" in the water.

Use one of the following Medications. Dose as directed.
Rid Ich+, Acriflavine, Formalin, Clout, Cupramine, Maracide, Aquarisol, Copper Safe, Stop Parasite FWP or Revive.

Aquarium with Tetra, scaleless fish or live plants:
Aquarisol, Stop Parasite FWP, Revive, or Coppersafe.

Remove carbon/chemical media during treatment. Follow treatment with a partial water change.