There is so much that people need to know about goldfish and perhaps the most important is the fact that they are perhaps one of the most disease prone creatures on the planet. Many people ask me why their fish keep dying within a matter of weeks or even days and I always tell them the same thing, you're not protecting them from certain diseases related to goldfish.
So what are all of the goldfish diseases known and how can we go about reducing the likelihood of your goldfish picking up one of these diseases? First of all I'm going to take you through the two most common goldfish diseases and give you information on how to best treat and more importantly prevent any of these diseases from affecting your fish.
Goldfish Disease One - Ichtyopthirius
More commonly known as Ick, this is the most common goldfish disease that has the potential to kill. Ick is a parasite that attaches to the goldfish body.
Causes: This happens when the undue stress is put on the goldfish due to bad water conditions, fluctuations in the temperature and an overall poor quality of maintenance.
Symptoms: Look for small white spots that look like salt grain on the goldfish's skin, fins and gills.
What happens: This parasite attached to the goldfish when it is stressed out due to bad conditions and feed off the body of the fish. The conditions worsen when the Ick begins to lay its eggs and reproduces at a very fast pace.
Treatment: If your goldfish is a victim of Ick, treat him or her with an anti-parasite medication. Also you might have to raise the water temperature to make this medication more effective. Ask an expert and follow instructions.
How can you prevent this goldfish disease: You can prevent Ick from growing by making sure that you maintain the tank well with the weekly changes and keep the water fresh and pollution-free.
Fin Rot
Another goldfish disease is fin rot, which is when you may notice pieces of your fish's fin rotting away over a certain period of time.
Causes: This is also a bacterial infection arising out of poor water conditions. Fin rot usually happens to a fish that is already suffering from something else like an injury caused by tank bites that bite. They are already weak and fall prey to this infection.
Symptom: Watch out for frayed, rotting, often pale pinky-white edged fins and blood streaks on the fin tissue. What happens: The already stressed goldfish is infected by this bacterial infection and the fins begin to rot away. Sometimes fungus attacks cause the condition to worsen.
Treatment: You will need to treat your Goldfish with fin rot or anti-bacteria treatment to stop the disease from spreading. Try adding salt to the tank to make up for the salt that the fish has lost. Make sure that the water is pollution-free.
How to prevent it: You can prevent fin rot by making sure that the water quality is of high quality and see that you maintain it. Also it would be wise to isolate the fish that are biting their tank mates.
