Fish, like all living creatures, must live in suitable conditions. The temperature, water quality, cleanliness, healthy food and diet — all this is extremely important. Living conditions directly affect for the fish healthy life, beauty, and profit of fish farmer!
Table of contents
Healthy conditions for fish
Climatic. Purity. Feed quality. Oxygen content. Wintering and summer heat.
Types of diseases
Alimentary. Violation of conditions. Infectious. Parasitic
First aid
Useful videos about fish diseases
Unfortunately, if the fish gets sick, it is very difficult to treat it! Even simple diseases often lead to complications and secondary infection. In addition, even the most tenacious and unpretentious fish, in inappropriate conditions, sooner or later (rather sooner) will pick up the disease.
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As a rule, fish diseases, especially infectious and parasitic ones, spread very quickly throughout the pond, and there is a risk of losing the entire population.
For all these reasons, it is very important to create the right and healthy conditions for the fish.
Healthy conditions for fish
It is important to understand that it is impossible to create sterile conditions in a pond or even in an aquarium! In good, suitable and clean conditions, any fish will have a strong immune system.
Healthy fish have very strong immunity and no pathogens or parasites, which are always present in nature, are not able to infect them.
By the way, for this reason, do not be afraid to feed your fish with live food! Contrary to stereotypes, such food provides the fish with vitamins and microelements and is completely safe. Bacteria and viruses are always present in the pond, so for the health of the fish (maintaining strong immunity), it is important quality living conditions.
1. Climatic conditions
Climatic conditions must match the type of fish. Heat-loving fish will not live in a cold-water pond or cold-water fish in a shallow, with heat water. In this case, the disease and death of the fish is inevitably.
2. Water purity
Overpopulation spoils the water
Water pollution can be the result of overpopulation of a pond. When a large population of fish lives in a pond of small size and shallow depth, without a filtration system. In this case, soon enough the growing concentration of waste will spoil the water.
Often the first call is water flowering, the appearance of mud and a bad-smelling suspension.
Poor quality compound feed can spoil water too
Poor-quality compound feed, dissolving in water, also spoils the water. Nutrients lead to the rapid growth of algae, mud, bacteria and bad microflora.
Spoiled water is not only stress for the fish, but also a lack of oxygen and toxic. The immunity of the fish falls and very quickly the body of the fish becomes defenseless against bacteria and viruses.
3. Balanced, high-quality feeding
It is very important to feed the fish properly. High-quality feed is required. It is also useful to feed the fish with natural feed. Most omnivorous fish (depending on the species), for example, benefit from fresh plants (duckweed, elodea or hornwort).
Almost all fish are also useful for animal feed, such as maggot, earthworm or bloodworm. You can feed the fish with flour beetles (mealworms) or crickets.
Natural foods can be purchased at fishing stores or pet stores. However, it is certainly cheaper to buy from farmers.
Earthworms, mealworms, crickets are easy to breed on their own. It is clean, healthy and very cheap food.
4. Wintering
It is important to create comfortable conditions for the wintering of fish. Different types of fish wintering in different ways. For example, koi, goldfish or tench sleep through the winter without eating. Predators, such as pike, perch, ruffe or trout need a moderate diet, as they do not sleep in winter.
It must be studied before buying fish.
Wintering in a frozen pond
In a small pond, a pump must be installed on the bottom, to circulate water. Circulating water forms a thawed patch and oxygen access.
Even if the reservoir is deep enough, the fish may not have enough oxygen and die.
Also, small heaters are used for this, which also form a small thawed patch.
Dried reed dipped in water also allows oxygen to pass through the ice. This natural remedy sometimes helps.
Wintering in an aquarium
If the fish wintering in an aquarium, then it is important to observe the correct diet, temperature and water purification.
Some fish will sleep in cold pond, but stay awake in a warmer aquarium.
It is important to study the wintering conditions of a particular fish variety.
5. Summer heat
Summer heat can be very dangerous! It is especially important to take care of the pond in summer. If the reservoir is not shaded and shallow, it can quickly and strongly heat up.
Overheated water has a negative effect on fish. Many species do not tolerate too warm water.
Hot water leads to blooming water, faster decomposition of waste, reducing oxygen levels. This causes stress and poisoning, which leads to a weakening of the immunity of fish.
Types of fish diseases
In general, diseases are divided into alimentary, infectious and parasitic.
Alimentary
Diseases due to inappropriate or poor-quality feed: obesity, malnutrition, metabolic disorders or even dysbacteriosis.
Environmentally/physically induced trauma
Asphyxia, gas bubble disease, or non-contagious necrosis of the gills.
These first two tipes of diseases are not difficult to cure. Emproving of living conditions can solve most of these problems.
Cleaning the reservoir, if possible adding or replacing some part of the water, creating shade, installing a water filter and better feed.
In any case, at the first oddity in the behavior of fish (lethargy, swimming near the surface, refusal of feed) it is important to improve the living conditions as soon as possible.
Infectious and parasitic diseases of fish
The causative agents of infectious diseases are bacteria, viruses, fungi, worms (helminths) and protozoa.
Parasitic diseases are infections with parasites.
First aid
Unfortunately, it is often difficult to determine the exact cause of the disease. Sick fish is subject to secondary infection. In any case, the first steps should be, if possible, the following:
1. Improving the life conditions. Ideally, changing part of the water, installing a filter, pumps, creating shade in the heat, temporarily limiting the feed and replacing the feed with a better one.
2. Isolation of diseased fish. If one or two fish get sick, it is important to remove them from the pond as soon as possible, this often helps to stop the spread of the infection.
3. Sending diseased fish to the veterinary service for analysis. Since it is difficult to determine the disease by eye, it is useful to send the fish to the veterinary service, where tests will be carried out and a method of treatment will be determined.