Goldfish diseases and their treatment. Non-contagious diseases of goldfish and methods of their treatment
Fish, like other living beings, often get sick. And then they need health care. Let's look at the main fish diseases.
Fungal diseases of fish
This category of illnesses includes clouding of scales, caused by the ciliated ciliate “Cyclochaeta minor”. Symptoms of the disease include damage to many areas on the fish’s body. If you shine rays of light on your pet, the damage will look rough.
Another common fish disease is scabies. The causes of the disease include active work bacteria, and it, in turn, arises due to excess artificial feed. Scabies will be indicated white mucus on the animal’s body, the fish’s faded scales and the fact that it is constantly trying to itch.
The next fungal disease is ringworm. Any freshwater fish can suffer from it. The fungus actively spreads due to the pet’s poor immunity, and, in addition, with injuries and improper care behind him. Ringworm is indicated by small formations in the form of white threads throughout the body of the fish. Over time, the disease can spread to the muscles, and then to internal organs. This is why you should start treating your fish promptly.
Diseases due to errors in care
If your fish has raised scales and the whole body is swollen, then most likely it has dropsy. The cause of the disease is the spread of harmful bacteria in the pet’s blood. The disease can occur when toxic poisoning if the owner accidentally introduced a substance harmful to fish into the water. In addition to the main symptoms, there are others: enlargement of the fish’s eyes and abdomen, as well as lack of control over the curves of the spine and tail.
Similar to humans, goldfish suffer from colds because of sharp jumps temperature. This disease will be indicated by active peeling of some areas of the skin.
Goldfish often experience inflammation of the stomach because of poor quality feed or overeating. You need to sound the alarm if the animal moves little, its abdomen has enlarged, its anus has turned red and bloody thread-like excrement has appeared.
What causes diseases in goldfish?
Most often, fish get sick due to improper feeding, namely, due to the abundance of different larvae in the food. This type complementary foods are useful, but only in limited quantities. For example, a cyclops can attack fry and destroy them, although it is food for them. Leeches and swimming beetles should not be allowed into the aquarium at all.
When found strange behavior If you have a fish, immediately isolate it and observe for a while. Try to determine from the symptoms what disease she may have. However, in any case, you need to urgently contact veterinary clinic"AVIS". Only a professional can deliver accurate diagnosis and prescribe therapy.
When isolating a sick fish, be sure to empty the container with contaminated water, but do not throw away the soil. Just rinse it hot water, and thoroughly clean the walls of the infected aquarium with salt.
Isolation of sick fish
For isolation, a special aquarium is used, the size of which should be about 50 liters. It is better not to give food to a sick fish, the exception is the treatment of exhausted fish. extreme pets Oxygen must be supplied to the water in greater quantities than usual.
It often happens that already upon purchase gold fish infected. Therefore, when choosing an animal, consider a number of factors. The color of the fish should be bright and its behavior active. The scales of healthy animals shine, the fish eats well, and its dorsal fin is located vertically.
When a sick fish enters an isolation aquarium, the degree of purity of the water must be clearly monitored. The water needs to be changed every three days, and if there are no results from the treatment, prepare special baths for the fish. For them you need to take 1 gram of potassium permanganate and 100 grams of water. The resulting solution is used to bathe the fish twice a day for 15 minutes.
How to treat goldfish and avoid recurrent disease?
In addition to the manganese baths described above, salt baths have proven themselves well. Lapis solution, on the contrary, is better not to use because it is too high concentration. For stomach inflammation, it is recommended to include fresh frozen food in the fish’s diet, for example, bloodworms and daphnia. However, food must be heated before using them.
Concerning preventive measures, then it is best to use running water for the aquarium, give the fish live and plant foods and avoid sudden changes in water temperature. IN difficult cases Be sure to ask the advice of specialists at the AVIS clinic.
I'm trying to raise large goldfish, I buy them at the market from different sellers. Everything was fine, but then I bought more, and then everyone died. Since February I have been raising new ones and they have semolina. It seems to have cured, although the couple died. A week ago, two died without visible reasons. Now I notice that the golden tail has begun to delaminate, although the general condition is normal. What is this - fin rot?
How many fish do you have? 100 liters is 3 or 4 scrofula maximum. If there are a lot of them, problems and illnesses naturally begin. Little space, lots of fish. Very difficult to maintain good quality water and hence all the problems. In aquarium bacterial infection. Treat the entire aquarium.
Aquarium 32 liters, launched 2 months ago. It contains 2 goldfish (5 cm), 2 catfish (3 cm) and 2 pink danios. I feed him dry food once a day. IN last week one of the goldfish lies on the bottom, swims in jerks, as if it is being carried away by the current from the filter. And today I noticed that her scales had risen. And the second golden one does not lie at the bottom, but also swims in jerks and some kind of white bubble has appeared near its tail.
Goldfish have a bacterial infection and are similar to dropsy. It may be caused by poor water quality and poor living conditions. Buy antibacterial agent(for example, Baktopur) and begin treatment according to the instructions for the drug. It is advisable to place the fish in a separate container with enhanced aeration. But why dig out the entire aquarium if the rest are doing well? 35 liters is 2 gold short. For 1 scrofula you need 30, and for a couple at least 50 liters, plus neighbors.
20 liter aquarium, 8 goldfish. When purchasing, I was told that this was a normal amount. The fish are 2-3 cm long. I feed them frozen worms.
I'm afraid that you have been deceived... One goldfish requires at least 30 liters of water. The arithmetic is simple.
You should also feed them frozen worms no more than twice a week, otherwise they will develop fatty liver disease. The basis of the diet should be plant foods.
Today I bought goldfish, but I have a 25 liter aquarium. When should I change my tank if I have 3 small fish?
The sooner you change, the larger the fish will grow. If you tighten it, pestilence and disease will begin.
Fish, like any living beings, are susceptible to diseases. Timely diagnosis of diseases aquarium fish significantly facilitates their treatment, since most diseases can be suppressed by early stage.
U aquarium fish diseases are divided into:
Non-communicable diseases of aquarium fish
Chlorine poisoning
The causes of the disease may be chemical factors(exposure to chlorine). The main symptoms are difficulty breathing, the gills are covered with mucus and their color becomes lighter. The fish behave restlessly, rush around and try to jump out of the pool. Over time, they become lethargic, do not respond to anything and quickly die.
To prevent similar disease It is necessary to constantly check the level of chlorine in the water. If signs of illness appear in the fish, they must be urgently transplanted into clean water.
Lack of oxygen
The fish behave restlessly, swim near the surface and capture oxygen. One of the signs of lack of air is the behavior of snails, which also rise to the surface. When there is a lack of oxygen in aquarium fish, the immune system weakens, infertility occurs, suffocation occurs, and loss of appetite occurs, which leads to death.
It is necessary to install aeration equipment in the aquarium. Periodically check the filter, aerator and oxygen circulation.
Non-compliance temperature regime
Occurs with increased or low temperature in aquarium. If the temperature is higher than necessary, then the fish are too active. They gather at the surface of the water due to lack of oxygen. As a result, they have oxygen starvation and exhaustion.
Too much low temperature manifests itself in the slow movements of fish, which are constantly at the bottom, almost motionless. Long stay in cold water leads to colds and possible death. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly monitor the temperature regulator and thermometer when changing water.
Some species tolerate a wide range of temperatures well: neon, goldfish, guppies and others.
Alkali disease (acidosis, alkalosis)
The disease is promoted by increased (alkalosis) or decreased (acidosis) alkali content in water. With alkalosis, the behavior of aquarium fish becomes active, the gills and fins spread out, and the color becomes lighter. Mucus appears on the gills.
Signs of acidosis: fish become shy, less active and mobile. They can swim belly up or sideways. Alkali disease mainly affects those fish species that are adversely affected by changes in acid-base balance(guppies, goldfish, neons, swordtails). It can cause splitting of fins, leading to death.
Treatment consists of gradually changing the level of alkali in the aquarium, bringing it to a neutral value. If the change in balance was abrupt, then the fish must be transplanted into clean water and the alkalinity level should be balanced.
Obesity fish
The disease occurs as a result of excess fat content of feed by 3 percent in herbivorous fish and 5 percent in carnivorous fish. Overfeeding, monotonous diet or poor nutrition Symptoms of obesity may also appear.
As a result of the disease, internal organs (liver, mesenteries, kidneys) are affected. The fish becomes lethargic, its sides become rounded, infertility sets in, which leads to death.
To prevent obesity it is necessary to give different kinds feed, fatty feed with high content squirrel, ballast substances and for prevention, do not feed for a couple of days. The size of the aquarium should allow the fish to swim actively.
Gas embolism
It appears if the volume of oxygen is exceeded, clogging of blood vessels in fish occurs, and blood circulation is impaired. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor them and the condition of the aquarium. The behavior of the fish is restless, they begin to swim on their sides, the gill covers are motionless.
The appearance of small air bubbles on walls, plants and soil indicates the occurrence of a disease. Bubbles can be on the fish itself and affect internal organs. If they accumulate in blood vessels, then an embolism occurs and the fish dies.
In this case, they check how the air circulates and the presence of excess plants, which contribute to the release of excessive amounts of oxygen and soil contamination.
Contagious diseases of aquarium fish
White-skinned
With this disease, aquarium fish experience a change in appearance - the skin color becomes lighter or white. The fish begin to swim on the surface. The causative agent is the bacterium Pseudomonas dermoalba, which can enter an aquarium with plants or infected fish.
To treat the disease, the fish is placed in a container in which a solution of chloramphenicol is diluted. The soil and water in the aquarium are disinfected.
Fin rot
The most common disease of aquarium fish. Appears as a result of damage to the fins due to Bad quality water or bites from other fish. The fins become deformed, decrease in size, and become lighter in color. May be accompanied bacterial disease, while the body becomes covered with ulcers, the abdomen swells. The disease is caused by bacteria of the Pseudomonas group.
Treatment: low-quality water should be changed, the aquarium and plants should be disinfected. Sick fish are placed in a container with a solution of chloramphenicol. It is better not to keep fish that are incompatible in behavior. Thus, swordtails are incompatible with aggressive big fish and so on.
Mycobacteriosis
The disease affects mainly viviparous species of aquarium fish: swordtails, labyrinths, gourami. Their behavior changes - they lose orientation, there is a disturbance in appetite, they become lethargic and apathetic. In some species, abscesses and ulcers appear on the body, and bulging eyes occur; others become blind, their skin becomes covered with black dots, and bones may protrude.
Cure is possible at an early stage of the disease, for which copper sulfate, trypoflavin, and monocycline are used.
Neon disease (Plistiforosis)
The causative agent of the disease is the amoeboid sporozoan. Symptoms of the disease: movements become spasmodic, fish rise to the surface of the aquarium, body position is upside down. Coordination is impaired, loss of appetite is observed, and skin color becomes dull. The fish keeps to itself and avoids schools. Representatives of carp species (barbs, neons, goldfish, etc.) are susceptible to the disease.
Neon disease is practically untreatable, so it is necessary to destroy the diseased fish and thoroughly clean the aquarium.
There is also pseudoneon disease, which is treated with a solution of bactopur (1 tablet per 50 liters of water).
Hexamitosis (hole disease)
The causative agent of the disease, intestinal flagellate, affects the intestines and gallbladder. The carriers are sick fish, sometimes due to poor quality water. Symptoms: loss of appetite, change in color, the fish stays solitary, the appearance of mucous discharge.
The disease can be cured in the early stages. To treat aquarium fish, you need to slowly increase the water temperature to 33-35 degrees or dilute metronidazole in a container (250 mg per 10 liters of water).
Peptic ulcer
The disease is caused by bacteria (Pseudomonas fluorescens) that enter the aquarium with food or from sick fish. Symptoms of the disease are dark spots on the skin of the fish, they gradually turn into ulcers. Bulging eyes are observed, the abdomen enlarges, scales are affected, appetite disappears, and infection penetrates the body.
Necessary timely treatment, for which streptocide (1 tablet per 10 liters of water) or potassium permanganate is used.
Invasive diseases of aquarium fish
Glucose
One of the most dangerous and serious illnesses aquarium fish, affects their entire body and cannot be treated. Symptoms: the fish swim on their sides, bloody and whitish bumps appear on the body. Mostly carp-like fish species (neons, goldfish and others) are susceptible to the disease.
Trichodinosis
Transmitted through contaminated food, plants or soil. Symptoms of the disease: fish rub against the ground, stones, and a light coating appears on the skin. The gills become lighter, become covered with mucus, the fish loses its appetite, and its breathing becomes more frequent.
It is best to treat aquarium fish in the early stages. Sick fish are placed in a container with high temperature water (31 degrees), to which methylene or table salt(20 g per 10 l).
Ichthyobodosis
The causative agent of the disease is the flagellate Costia necatris, which gets into the aquarium with plants, food and soil. The skin of a sick fish becomes covered with mucus, and the affected areas gradually decompose. The color of the gills changes, the fins stick together. The fish periodically rises to the surface and swallows air.
To treat the disease, the water in the aquarium is heated to 32-34 degrees or the fish are moved into a container with a solution of methylene salt.
If not completely, then at least partially, you can prevent diseases of goldfish in the following way: If possible, buy fish only in specialized stores where they try to sell healthy fish. When you bring new fish home, keep them in quarantine for at least a week. If during this time the goldfish do not show signs of illness, you can release them into community aquarium. When feeding live food to fish, make sure that it is caught in environmentally friendly waters, and be sure to disinfect it, for example, in methylene blue.
Constantly monitor the behavior of the fish. If there is a deviation from the norm, seek help from specialists, for example, a pet store.
If you already have some experience in treating goldfish diseases, keep the most necessary medications for their treatment in your aquatic kit. Beginning aquarists are advised to have Baktopur Direct on hand, which helps with almost all fungal diseases.
Do not start treatment without consulting with specialists.
For a long time, they were used to treat fish. human drugs. It is strongly recommended to use special fish medicines adapted for aquariums for treatment. Most of them are not harmful to aquarium invertebrates, so they do not need to be removed from the aquarium while your goldfish is sick.
Here are the main diseases and methods of combating them:
Dermatomycosis is a fungal disease. It occurs in the body of a fish that has already weakened as a result of some illness, injury or bad conditions content. The signs of this disease are as follows: on certain parts of the body, fins and gills of the fish, white thin threads - hyphae - appear, which grow perpendicularly from its body. If during this period no measures are taken to eliminate the cause of the disease, the fungus will quickly develop and look like a cotton wool-like coating. The hyphae of the fungus entwine the cells of the skin and gills, growing into the muscles and internal organs. The fish becomes inactive and lies on the bottom.Sometimes goldfish get sick viral infection, which is called “fish pox”. This disease is characterized by white, pinkish, and sometimes gray waxy tumors that appear on the skin and fins. This disease, in principle, is not dangerous, although, of course, it greatly spoils appearance your favorites. And, unfortunately, there are no effective drugs against it.
Dropsy in goldfish causes the scales to rise and the body to swell.
It arises from the crayfish plague bacillus, which multiplies in the blood and leads to general infection. Infection occurs through the skin, wounds, and broken scales. The disease can be stopped at an early stage by transferring the sick fish to running water and bathing it in a solution of potassium permanganate for 15 minutes every other day. Although sometimes the fish dies before the scales can rise.
Inflammation of the stomach
(gasteroenteritis) occurs in goldfish if you overfeed them with food Low quality, and also if for a long time give dried daphnia, gammarus and bloodworms, which are poorly absorbed by the body and cause inflammation gastrointestinal tract fish. The lack or absence of plant foods also contributes to inflammatory processes.
Tumors.
Symptoms: external growths on the fish’s body, enlargement individual areas bodies. They are rarely transmitted from fish to fish. Treatment: effective way no treatment has been found yet. But tumors can easily be confused with another disease that is similar in observable signs - kidney swelling. This causes the fish's belly to swell unnaturally (not to be confused with a female with eggs during the breeding season). This disease is infectious and always leads to fatal outcome, since no effective treatment has yet been found. 
Therefore, if such symptoms are detected in a fish, it must be isolated from the rest. As long as she continues to actively feed, she can be left alone. If its health deteriorates significantly, it is better to kill the sick fish, interrupting its suffering.
As a conclusion, I urge you not to diagnose goldfish diseases on your own, and especially not to start treatment without consulting experienced aquarists until you learn how to independently and correctly identify goldfish diseases, at least using the express diagnostic table.
Friends, unfortunately, the format of the site does not yet allow us to quickly answer your questions. We have prepared another article, the fish died, which should help you understand the reasons for the abnormal behavior of your pets.
Causes of diseases
The sources and causes of non-communicable diseases are
- injuries,
- improper feeding,
- the impact of any external factors(for example, cessation of aqua filtration due to a filter failure or a violation of the temperature regime of the aquatic environment).
By the way, if there are sudden changes in its temperature, the inhabitants of the aquarium world can catch a cold, just like people. But in them this manifests itself in the form of partial peeling of the fish skin.
Treatment for shifting
It is necessary to lower the water level in the hospital aquarium to 5 cm, heat it to +26 degrees (goldfish is cold-blooded), and ensure increased aeration of the aqua. Feed bloodworms, daphnia, but not dry ones. Never use granules or large flakes. As a rule, the disease goes away within 2-3 days.
Overfeeding
When overfeeding, you should increase the temperature of the water in the isolator, add a weak solution of potassium permanganate to it (to rinse the fish stomach), do not give food for 4-5 days, and carry out a daily 10% water change.
Treatment of dropsy
Unfortunately, these measures do not always lead to a cure, and dropsy often leads to death.
Treatment for injuries and scabies
Scabies and injuries are treated in the following way. The patient is placed in a container with cool water (not higher than +18 degrees) for 3 days. Add ordinary table salt to the water (20 g of salt per liter). Salt solution needs to be changed daily. Along with this, you can take a 10-minute bath in weak solution potassium permanganate.
Treatment of contagious diseases
In the event of the appearance of any contagious disease (at least in one individual), it is necessary to completely change the water in the aquarium, thoroughly rinse the soil and elements of the interior decor. 
Oodiniosis (or corduroy disease) It is usually treated with anti-inflammatory drugs. Ichthyopathologists recommend bicillin-5 as such a drug. The medicine must be dissolved in the following dosage: 10,000 units of the drug (the number of medicinal units is indicated in the instructions for use) per 1 liter of water.
The insulator must be shaded, since bicillin-5 quickly loses its activity in bright light.
The fish is placed in the solution for 15-20 hours. After treatment, you should keep her in quarantine for 5-6 days, observe her, and feed her regular food. Then, provided there are no signs of illness, you can release the pet into the general aquarium.
Fin rot cured by local application 1% solution of gentian violet. They wipe the affected areas of the fins, preventing the medicine from getting into the gills and eyes. The procedure must be repeated daily until the disease goes away.
In principle, antibiotics can be used to treat infectious diseases in goldies. But few avid aquarists will decide to use them. 
Very often, the diagnosis of a sick fish can be established only after laboratory research. In this case, it is better to immediately contact an ichthyologist or other specialists.
Non-communicable diseases aquarium goldfish may be caused by incorrect conditions maintenance, improper feeding, exposure to chemicals, mechanical damage(injuries). Having established the cause of the disease, any aquarist can promptly eliminate the factors that caused it and thereby cure his fish.
Non-contagious diseases of goldfish can be acute or chronic. To the most common non-communicable diseases relate:
1. Gas embolism (excess oxygen).
Symptoms: blisters on the body, lethargy or restless behavior, slow movement of the gill covers.
Treatment (prevention): eliminate excess oxygen.
2. Asphyxia (lack of oxygen).
Symptoms: fish at the surface of the water take a long time to swallow air, loss of appetite, protruding gills, slower growth.
Treatment (prevention): changing water (30% of the aquarium volume), increasing aeration, cooling the water, reducing the number of fish, removing organic matter from the bottom.
3. Hypothermia or overheating.
Symptoms: in case of hypothermia - lethargy, fish lie on the bottom, loss of appetite; when overheated: rapid breathing, fish swallow air on the surface of the water.
They are classified as cold-water fish. Overheating or severe hypothermia of water should not be allowed. Temperature changes can cause temperature shock, leading to the death of fish.
4. Stress.
Symptoms: lying on the bottom, timidity, erratic movements, secretion of mucus, pressing of fins, loss of appetite, nervousness.
Treatment (prevention): eliminate the factors that caused stress.
5. Alkalosis (too alkaline environment) and acidosis (too acidic environment).
Symptoms of alkalosis: restlessness, loss of coordination, mucus secretion, convulsions, scratching on stones and decor, clouding of the cornea.
Symptoms of acidosis: the excited state of the fish becomes depressed over time, slowing of the movements of the gill covers, loss of coordination, secretion of mucus.
Treatment (prevention): set the pH value and change the water.
6. Poisoning with nitrates, ammonia and nitrites.
Symptoms of nitrate poisoning: lethargy, scratching on rocks, twitching fins.
Symptoms of ammonia poisoning: excitability, accelerated movements of the gill covers, red streaks on the fins, hemorrhage in the eyes.
Symptoms of nitrite poisoning include convulsions, accelerated movements of the gill covers, twitching of the fins.
Treatment (prevention): change the water and create normal conditions maintenance (moderate feeding, live plants, biofiltration, soil cleaning, aeration).
7. Overfeeding.
Goldfish are voracious, but they should not be overfed. They can get obesity or gastrointestinal inflammation, leading to the death of the fish.
Symptoms: immobility, inflammation anus, a significant increase in the abdomen, slimy red excrement (with air bubbles), “turnover” (the fish loses its balance, is pushed to the surface of the water, swims on its side, belly up or upside down).
Treatment (prevention): moderate feeding, varied diet, soaking dry food before feeding, fasting day. Inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract is treated by fasting for 3-7 days.
8. Injuries.
Symptoms: wounds on the body and eyes, ruptured fins, loss of scales, abrasions.
Treatment (prevention): isolation of fish, treatment of fish with drugs designed to accelerate tissue regeneration and prevent the occurrence of fungi (methylene blue).
We can prevent non-contagious diseases of goldfish by creating the most optimal conditions for their content.
