There are many different problems that your fish can encounter, some of them due to poor maintenance others due to factors outside your control. Below if a list of possible diseases that your fish could "catch" and ways to treat/avoid them in future.
| Tail rot / Fin Rot | Very obvious symptoms of with the appearance of tail and fins "rotting" away. Caused by low temperatures, physical damage and unhygenic conditions in the aquarium all encouraging the growth of harmful bacteria. |
| White Spot | Tiny white spots cover the fins and body of infected fish. A very common parasitic ailment that some aquarists believe lies dormant in every aquarium ready to afflict weak fishes. |
| Velvet | Infected fishes have a dusty appearance. Caused by a parasite Oodinium, which goes into an encystment stage. Will respond well to widely available cures. |
| Skin Flukes | The Gyrodactus parasites burrow into the fish's skin and stay near the surface. Affected fishes lose colour and become feeble. Responds well to treatments. |
| Eye infections | Symptoms include cloudy eyes. These are often due to eye fungus or to worm cataract, Proalaria. If you've got this then you can usually bet that other diseases are present as well. Not a good sign! |
| Fungus | Fungus (Saprolegnia) attacks the fishes already weakened by physical damage, parasites, or poor conditions. Also liable to affect fishes if they are transferred to widely differing aquarium waters. |
| Pox | White spots join to form large patches. Affected fishes become emaciated and are often left twisted, Caused by a poor diet with lack of essential vitamins. May heal itself under good conditions. |
| Dropsy | The scales protrude noticeably due to the accumulation of liquid in the body. The fluid from infected fish may infect others. |
| Gill Flukes | The flatworm Dactylogyrus attaches itself to the delicate gill membranes and causes an extremely obvious inflammation. Affected fishes develop an increased respiration rate and gaping gills. |
| Mouth Fungus | The slime bacterium Chondrococcus causes this. It is unrelated to body fungus. |
| Stress | This isn't really a disease as such, but non the less deserves a mention here. I have had fish die due to stress, so ensure they are treated with care at all times. |
This is what your fish could end up looking like if it had any of the diseases above.
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Obviously this isn't a comprehensive list of all the problems you may encounter, but it should give you an idea. Most of the above problems can be avoided if correct care and maintenance are taken with your aquarium. If you should be unfortunate enough to be struck down be any of the above there are some excellent treatment kits out there. Ask you local pet shop for advice. I would personally advise that you keep a stock of fin rot and white spot treatment handy as you never know when these might strike. If not caught early, you could find yourself with a tank with no fish in it. (I should know it happened to me when I started out).
One other piece of advice. Invest in a small quarantine tank with filter heater etc. That way if you fish do contract a disease they can be isolated from the other fish. A small quarantine tanks should set you back no more than about £30-£40. A small price to pay is saving you entire aquarium population is at stake!
PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE!
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