Swim bladder malady

Swim bladder malady

Swim bladder malady, additionally known as sac disorder or flipover, could be a common disorder in storage tank fish. The sac is an inside gas-filled organ that contributes to the flexibility of a fish to regulate its buoyancy, and therefore to remain at the present water depth while not having to waste energy in swimming  A fish with sac disorder will float nose down tail up, or will float to the highest or sink to very cheap of the storage tank.
Causes
Fancy cyprinid fish ar among the fish most typically full of this disorder. The malady is also caused by viscus parasites or by constipation elicited by high nitrate levels from over feeding.
Remedies
A remedy, which may work inside hours, maybe by countering constipation, is to feed pea to affected fish. Fish surgeons also can change the buoyancy of the fish by putting a stone within the sac or acting a partial removal of the bladder.

Gill or Skin flukes

Gill or Skin flukes

These ar common worm like parasites (or ectoparasite) concerning 1-2mm long that board and reproduce within the gills of cold water or tropical fish (occasionally on to the encircling skin). owing to their little size they're hardly visible.
Indeed it's typically aforesaid that "Flukes ar to fish as fleas ar to dogs". several aquarists treat for flukes on obtaining any new fish as a matter of routine.
They are referred to as monogenean trematodes, that describes their biological classification (trematodes) and therefore the reality they solely would like one host to complete their life cycle (monogenean).
A gill fluke includes a series of hooks on its body and uses them to connect and drill into the flesh of the fish via the gills. This leaves holes within the flesh which may be cause secondary infection by microorganism. however the flukes conjointly scale back the power of the fish to require in atomic number 8 and if the flukes multiply then the fish becomes listless and dies of either a microorganism infection or atomic number 8 starvation. typically terribly quickly so.
Life cycle
The worm lives for a couple of week and drops eggs that hatch out with a pair of to four days. If the larvae does not notice a bunch it dies.
The two main species are:
Dactylogyrus
This species ar the parasite usually referred to as gill flukes.
Gyrodactylus
Whilst Gyrodactylus ar usually aforesaid to be skin flukes either species can attack the gills.
Infectious?
Yes. Very. Treat the whole tank or take away all fish and treat them in a very quarantine tank. therein case leave the most tank barren of fish for a minimum of seven days.

External symptoms
Initially you will see rubbing and flashing of the fish. serious infestations ar life threating as microorganism and plant infections usually occur. because the parasite reaches a a lot of advanced stage the fish can become lethargic . because the parasite multiplies the fish can isolate itself and pay long periods contact the lowest with its fins clamped to its body or just keeping to a corner of the tank.
Often you will see fast respiration, loss of appetence, stained gill filaments, and swollen gills. Infected fish may additionally  gasp at the water surface wherever the water includes a higher atomic number 8 concentration or lay at the lowest owing to the gill harm.
If you'll observe each side of the fish, you'll see that a gill cowl is clapped shut or for good open. different signs could also be skin cloudiness ensuing from excess mucous secretion production.
A definite designation will solely be created via a skin scrape or gill diagnostic assay. In massive numbers, flukes can kill fish either directly, or indirectly through secondary infections. thus you must treat subsequently with a general microorganism treatment.

Treatments
There ar varied gill fluke treatments accessible that ar adscititious to the water. but their eggs ar hardy and most treatments solely attack the young fresh hatched flukes thus many treatments ar usually required over many weeks.

•    Praziquantel (also referred to as Droncit (USA) or Fluke-Solve (UK/EU), Drontal (UK), PraziPro (Hikari)) - most popular methodology for all fish whether or not salt or fresh owing to effectualness and safety.
•    Fluke tabs - this can be terribly robust and will hurt or stress your fish. scan the directions initial. Not suggested currently.
•    Paragon - by Waterlife United Kingdom (Mild infections) (safe with shrimps and snails).
•    Sterazin - by Waterlife United Kingdom (Serious infections) (not safe with shrimps and snails).
Note: If there's an outsized quantity of dissolved organic material within the fish tank then the treatment might have to be perennial once seven days because it can conceive to breakdown this material yet because the parasites.

Singapore Angelfish

Singapore Angelfish

While it's sort of a flying gurnard, shut scrutiny of the gill cowl of the Singapore angelfish, or vermicular Associate in Nursinggelfish (Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus) can ensure that it's so an angelfish. The Singapore angelfish may be a terribly elegant-looking species that till recently was thought to exhibit 2 totally different tail fin colours — a yellow tail kind and a grey tail kind. Recent studies have incontestible that these square measure 2 distinct species, the Singapore angelfish (Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus) and also the graytail angelfish (Chaetodontoplus poliourus), each of that square measure on the market within the fish tank trade.

Difficulty: once it involves its sturdiness, the Singapore angelfish encompasses a rather dangerous name. however this could be additional a operate of wherever and the way the fish was collected Associate in Nursingd handled than an inherent lustiness problems with the species. If you'll be able to get a hold of a healthy Singapore angelfish specimen, Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus sometimes will all right in a longtime fish tank. each the Singapore angelfish and graytail angelfish tend to adapt additional quickly and live longer during a reef fish tank, wherever they need many protoctist and sessile invertebrates (encrusting sponges) to graze upon. If you've got a fish-only fish tank, strive cultivating a healthy crop of filamentlike protoctist before adding a Singapore angelfish.

Physical description: The Singapore angelfish encompasses a yellow head, white mid-body and a black rear 0.5. The black space is additionally coated with white. As mentioned on top of, there square measure 2 species that may be distinguished by the tail color. The Singapore angelfish encompasses a yellow tail and white girdle fins. The greytail angelfish encompasses a gray tail with yellow girdle fins. Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus reaches a length of half dozen.5 inches.

Range: The Singapore angelfish is thought from southern Japan south to land and island New Guinea. curiously enough, the Singapore angelfish isn't legendary from Singapore! The Singapore angelfish is usually found on coastal fringing reefs, further as on reef faces and slopes on outer reefs. The rumored depth vary is a smaller amount than three to a minimum of sixty five feet. Male Singapore angelfish occupy a territory that has the house ranges of 1 or 2 females. As they locomote concerning their “turf,” they nibble on protoctist, sponges, tunicates and should even nip at stony corals.

Compatibility: The Singapore Associate in Nursinggelfish isn't thought of to be an aggressive fish, however like several angelfish, it will become a little cranky once “new” fish invade its fish tank territory. In most cases, the Singapore angelfish is probably going to urge most upset concerning fish similar in form and color, like alternative angelfish or flying gurnard. The Singapore angelfish is additionally additional doubtless to beleaguer freshly supplemental species that square measure non-related (e.g., gobies, firefish) if packed. the most effective factor to try to to to avoid aggression is to own a bigger fish tank. The Singapore angelfish will be unbroken in pairs in larger aquariums further, however sexing will be tough. Males can fight with each other, whereas females tend to alternative females. The Singapore angelfish is probably going to be picked on by additional aggressive angelfish within the genera Holacanthus andPomacanthus. The Singapore angelfish is best supplemental to the mixed-angelfish fish tank before additional aggressive pomacanthids. whereas it will be housed in reef aquariums, Associate in Nursing occasional individual might nip at coral polyps and clam mantles. The Singapore angelfish is a smaller amount of a threat to arboreous soft corals, like Nephthea, Litophyton and Sinularia.

Aquarium conditions: Keep your Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus during a spacious fish tank (an fish tank of a minimum of one hundred gallons can serve for a mature fish), with concealing places that they'll dive into once frightened. Acceptable water parameters for the Singapore angelfish are: pH of eight.1 to 8.4, relative density of one.019 to 1.025 and a water temperature of seventy six to eighty two degrees Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit.

Care considerations: The Singapore angelfish is usually back once at the start supplemental to the fish tank, thus, smart refuges and non-combative neighbors are going to be essential to confirm acclimatisation. If picked on, the Singapore angelfish won't feed, and is probably going to succumb to parasites or sickness. The Singapore angelfish is sometimes afflicted withCryptocaryon, Amyloodinium, Uronema and Lymphocystis.

Breeding: whereas not going, it's attainable that the Singapore angelfish can spawn in terribly giant home aquariums.

pseudomonas

pseudomonas

Latin name: bacteria genus
Other names:
Pathogen: bacterium
Symptoms: AN autopsy reveals inflammation of the intestines, little dark spots, Ulcers

Sick fish area unit coated with dark little spots that area unit short-lived to little often formed spherical
reddish ulcers. These ulcers appear as if bites of Argulus. AN autopsy will reveal inflammation of intestines.
The ulcers area unit the gates to the fish organism for various varieties of bacterium, viruses and flora. On a really weak fish the ulcers area unit coated with Saprolegnia and Achlya fungi.

Description:
Pseudomonas, additionally called unhealthy malady, could be a common fish malady. it's AN communicable disease caused by the water bacterium bacteria genus fluorescens. once full-grown on the media containing phosphates, they turn out a pigment, known as fluorescent dye, that produces an attractive greenish-yellow light. looking on the sort of bacterium, gelatin is either diluted or not.
P. fluorescens liquefaciens dilutes gelatin, whereas P. fluorescens non-liquefaciens doesn't.
They get into the vivarium from a pool with feed, plants and gravel that has not been cooked or tempered moreover like fish, plants, water and instrumentation from a contaminated storage tank. malady will be generally fatal.

How to cure:
The main tank: bicillin-5 – five hundred, 000 U per one hundred L, sixfold every day, each different day; antibiotic drug (chlortetracycline) complex - one,5 g per one hundred L, 4 times, for seven days; Biomycin, white Streptocide.
A separate tank: permanganate of potash (KMnO4) - zero,5 g per ten L of water, for quarter-hour, twice; Basic Violet K - zero,002g per ten L of water, the tub lasts for four days, once; complex.

Medicine:
Sera Baktopur direct
Aquarium prescribed drugs Triple bactericide
Aquarium prescribed drugs E.M. Tablets
Aquarium prescribed drugs Furan-2
Bicillin-5
aureomycin (chlortetracycline) complex
biomycin
streptocide
potassium permanganate(KMnO4)
Basic Violet K
hydrochloride

Prevention:
Prevention is thru careful introduction of recent fish, plants and water, moreover as maintaining a healthy surroundings for your fish.

Neon Tetra Disease

Neon Tetra Disease

What is Neon Tetra Disease?

Neon Tetra disease is caused by a parasitic organism known as Pleistophora Hyphessobryconis that feeds on the host fish until the fish is dead. (It is worth trying an anti-bacterial treatment like API Melafix Antibacterial Fish Remedy to try to remove any bacterial contaminants). This is a communicable disease that is caused when fish eat other dead fish or even from eating live food servings such as those from Tubifex. Live food can act as a carrier of the disease and also transmit it to your fish once they eat it.
The parasitic organisms enter the fish and invade the stomach and the digestive track and consume the fish from the inside out. There are a few different key signs and symptoms that will appear if your fish are suffering from Neon Tetra disease which will be discussed in the following section.
The unfortunate part is that there is no real cure for the disease, and more so, fish aren’t the brightest creatures and they will eat other dead fish when given the chance. One of the slightly comforting aspects of this disease is that it is at least not transmittable to humans.

Symptoms of Neon Tetra Disease

There are a few different apparent signs of Neon Tetra disease and none of them are pretty. One of the most obvious signs that your fish are infected with Neon Tetra disease is the fact that they will be covered with white bumps or cysts. These white cysts will grow in size and number as the disease progresses.
Another symptom that your fish will develop as the disease progresses is the loss of color, especially bright colors, and this will be more apparent the more colorful your fish is. This loss of color will become very severe as the disease takes an increasing toll on the fish and eventually lead the fish to become pale white in color. Another thing that needs to be noted is that fish that are suffering from Neon Tetra disease are also more susceptible do developing other diseases such as fin rot.
The Neon Tetra parasite, because it consumes the fish from the inside out, will also sap the fish of energy and essential interior parts will begin to deteriorate. This will result difficulty or even an inability to swim properly. This disease may even go so far as to cause the fish’s spine to become warped and curved which will drastically limit the ability of the fish to swim. The fish will also begin to exhibit weird behavior that is not normal for fish to display.
The fish will generally become very restless when affected with Neon Tetra Disease. They will also often swim erratically and break off from their groups, that or not even be able to school with the other fish properly. Fish are group animals and they do not like to be alone. This need for the fish to be alone and the unwillingness to school with other fish is a clear indication that the disease is present.

Which Types of Fish can be Affected by Neon Tetra disease?

Of course as the name implies, this disease does affect Neon Tetra fish the most, but that doesn’t rule out other species. Other fish that are susceptible to catching Neon Tetra include Angelfish, Barbs, and Rasboras. Most other fish can develop the disease however they are unlikely to do so. The only fish that shows a great deal of resistance to Neon Tetra disease is the Cardinal Tetras.

Is The Disease Treatable

Unfortunately for fish lovers and aquarium enthusiasts around the world, there is no known treatment for fish that are suffering from Neon Tetra disease. There is no medicine to slow down the effects and there is nothing that can be done to cure the fish.
The most common practice when you have fish suffering from Neon Tetra disease is to humanely euthanize them. You need to separate the infected fish from the ones that are still healthy in order to stop any further transmission of the disease.

Should I Try an Anti-Bacterial Treatment?

Yes definitely, you should always try an antibacterial treatment even if you are sure that it is Neon Tetra. Even if you are sure it may not be Neon Tetra disease, in which case it may be a bacterial infection.
That’s why you should try using an anti-bacterial treatment such as API Melafix Anti-bacterial Fish Remedy to remove any bacterial contaminants from the water that may be making your fish sick. The API Remedy is very effective at treating germ infections in fish, not to mention that it’s very affordable too.

 API Melafix Anti-bacterial Fish Remedy  
If you aren’t sure that your fish is suffering from Neon Tetra Disease you can always try using an anti-bacterial remedy such as this. API Melafix Anti-bacterial Remedy is one of the most well-known and highly trusted bacterial treatments for fish that are suffering from bacterial infections. A whole bottle of this effective treatment is affordable and has a general good rating in the market. As well, the customer reviews about this product are very encouraging.
API Melafix does help with the healing of open wounds and abrasions which is really important for preventing other diseases from occurring. This bacterial fish remedy is also very effective at treating things such as tail rot, eye cloud, and mouth fungus. Not only that, but this remedy is also great for re-growing damages fins and tissue.
This product is great because it can be used in both fresh water and salt water aquariums, something that not many other bacterial fish remedies can do. API Melafix is also really good because it won’t ruin the biological filter or the air pump, it won’t cause the PH to change levels, and it won’t cause the color of the water to change either.
How To Prevent Neon Tetra Disease
While there is nothing that you can do to treat the disease once your fish have it, there are quite a few things you can do to prevent the disease from occurring. The first thing to do is of course to separate any fish that are suffering from the disease before they further contaminate the rest of your other aquarium. The best thing to do if you have already had an outbreak is to partake in some preventative measures to stop it from happening again.
The best thing that you can do to prevent the disease from happening is to observe the fish at the pet store and make sure they don’t already have Neon Tetra; that is actually one of the most common ways that people get their fish tanks infected.
This is probably because many pet stores don’t have the best employees and they don’t take good care of their pets. Even if the fish you are buying doesn’t seem to have any signs of an infection, you can always quarantine the new fish in a separate aquarium to make sure that they don’t have Neon Tetra.
Other than those tips, the best way to keep your fish from developing the disease is to keep the water clean. You need to perform in regular cleaning of the tank to remove fecal matter and possibly parts of dead fish (if you recently had fish die).
Since fish get this disease by eating or ingesting contaminated food or dead fish, the best thing you can do is to make sure that no dead fish parts are present. The other thing that you can do is to not feed your fish the live food. Live food has a higher chance of being infected with Neon Tetra than something like fish flakes.

Conclusion

The fact of the matter is that you can’t completely prevent this disease from occurring in your fish. The best thing you can do is to always quarantine fish before adding them to your collection as well as keeping the water as clean as possible to ensure that there are no dead fish parts floating around in the water.
You can also avoid it by not feeding your fish live food. If your fish to get the Neon Tetra disease, you can try an anti-bacterial solution in the case that it is something else affecting your fish. However in most cases the fishes will most likely die and the only thing you can do is to take the fish out of the aquarium and euthanize them.

Columnaris

Columnaris

 

Columnaris (also remarked as cottonmouth) could be a symptom of malady in fish which ends up from associate infection caused by the gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped microorganism Flavobacterium columnare. it absolutely was antecedently referred to as Bacillus columnaris, Chondrococcus columnaris, Cytophaga columnaris and Flexibacter columnaris. The bacterium square measure omnipresent in H2O, and refined fish reared in ponds or raceways square measure the first concern – with malady most prevailing in air temperatures on top of 12–14 °C. it's typically mistaken for a zymosis. The malady is extremely contagious and therefore the outcome is commonly fatal. it's not animal disease.
Causes
The bacterium sometimes enter fish through gills, mouth, or tiny wounds, and is prevailing wherever high bioloads exist, or wherever conditions could also be trying thanks to overcrowding or low dissolved gas levels within the water column. The bacterium will act water for up to thirty two days once the hardness is fifty ppm or a lot of.Minerals square measure but essential for fish and sometimes the reduction or removal of such minerals in treatment for Columnaris would have an effect on fish mineral uptake and so affect: gas utilization, diffusion regulation, metabolic processes, among could alternative biological processes and poor minerals (GH) could also be a causative cause to the advancement in severity of this malady, as deficits will increase vulnerability to expedient infections (citations).
Symptoms
An infection can sometimes 1st manifest in fish by inflicting worn and ragged fins. this is often followed by the looks of ulcerations on the skin, and ensuant stratum loss, recognizable as white or cloudy, fungus-like patches – significantly on the gill filaments. mucous secretion typically conjointly accumulates on the gills, head and dorsal regions. Gills can modification color, either turning into lightweight or dark brown, and will conjointly manifest mortification. Fish can breathe apace and laboriously as a symptom of gill injury. eating disorder and lethargy square measure common, as square measure mortalities, particularly in young.
Diagnosis
Bacteria are often isolated from gills, skin and therefore the kidneys. For definitive diagnosing, the infective agent ought to then be refined on reduced medium. Inhibiting material growth on the agar by adding antibiotics and keeping the temperature at thirty seven °C ought to improve culture results. Colonies square measure tiny, 3–4 millimetre in diameter, and grow inside twenty four hours. they're characteristically fibril in structure and yellow in color.
Prognosis
Ulcerations develop inside twenty four to forty eight hours. Fatality happens between forty eight and seventy two hours if no treatment is pursued; but, at higher temperatures death could occur inside hours. alternative symptoms could accompany the malady, as well as lethargy, color loss, redness round the infection website, loss of appetency and muscle spasm or rubbing the body against objects.
Treatment
As Flavobacterium columnare is gram-negative, fish are often treated with a mix of the antibiotics furan-2 and antibiotic drug administered along. A medicated fish tub (using stain or permanganate and salt),is generally a primary step, yet lowering the fish tank temperature to seventy five °F (24 °C) could be a should, since columnaris is way a lot of virulent at higher temperatures, particularly 85-90 °F.
 Medicated food containing oxytetracycline hydrochloride is additionally a good treatment for internal infections, however resistance is rising. permanganate, copper sulphate, and oxide also can be applied outwardly to adult fish and fry, however are often ototoxic at high concentrations. Vaccines also can lean within the face of {an outbreak|an epidemic|a plague|an endemic|a scourge|a pandemic|a deadly malady|a virus|a virulent disease|a pestilence} or to stop disease incidence.

Malawi Bloat

Malawi Bloat

Malawi Bloat is without a doubt the most prevalent disease afflicting aquarium-kept African Cichlids. Despite its prevalence, little is really understood about this disease. In an effort to understand what the experts are saying about it, I have spent a considerable amount of time researching this topic. What I have learned is that not everyone is in agreement, but there is some consensus about possible causes, responsible pathogens, and even treatment. What appears below is my attempt to represent the majority view. I begin by presenting the most common symptoms of the disease, its course, and then a description of documented possible causes for the onset of this disease. Following this, I conclude by presenting several recommendations for prevention and treatment.
Prevalence

I should begin by saying that Malawi Bloat does not only affect fishes from Lake Malawi but also those from Lake Victoria and especially Lake Tanganyika. While all African Cichlids are susceptible to contracting this deadly disease, those that seem most prone are those whose diet consists primarily of vegetable matter. More on possible causes will be discussed below.
Symptoms
The first symptom is usually a loss of appetite. Other characteristics follow if treatment if not begun at this point. These secondary characteristics include abnormal swelling of the abdomen (hence the name-bloat), an increased respiratory rate, reclusiveness, white streaky feces, and sitting on the bottom of the tank or lingering at the surface. Red marks around your fish's anus or skin ulcerations might also be apparent (as shown in the picture below). Symptoms only appear in the latter stages of the disease; therefore, it is important to begin treatment as soon as symptoms are noticed, otherwise you will most likely lose your fish.
 By the time these secondary characteristics appear, extensive damage to the fish's liver, kidneys, and/or swim bladder has probably occurred; therefore, waiting to administer treatment lessens the odds for recovery. After the onset of secondary symptoms, death typically results within 24-72 hours, although I have seen fishes hang on for more than a week in this condition. While it is not unheard of for a fish in this state to recover, I have never successfully recovered a fish already displaying secondary symptoms




Responsible Pathogen
This is where most people tend to disagree when it comes to discussing Bloat. Some say it's bacterial in origin and others contend it's caused by a parasite. Notwithstanding the lack of overall agreement, my review of published material has led me to believe that Bloat is induced by a protozoal parasite in most cases.

Most researchers support the view that this protozoan resides in the intestines of healthy fishes, but can proliferate to harmful numbers under stressful conditions. In larger numbers, this parasite will cause blockage of the intestinal tract. This is probably responsible for the fish's lack of appetite. As the parasite grows in numbers, it becomes invasive, moving beyond the intestine by punching holes in its walls - causing the fish to bloat. Note, fish die from Bloat not because they starve to death, but because of the damage inflicted upon their organs as noted above.

There is also considerable debate as to whether this disease is contagious. My personal feeling is that is. In my experience, Bloat doesn't just claim one victim, but usually three or more. This could be because all of the fish were exposed to the same caustic factor, but I don't think it's that simple. You see, the symptoms don't appear in all the fishes at the same time, but rather sequentially. In other words, fish A doesn't eat on day 1, and on day 2 fish A starts to swell and fish B doesn't eat, and then on day 3 fish B swells and fish C doesn't eat, etc.
Three Main Causes For Bloat
1.) Stress. Stress can be caused by many factors, too many to list here. The most common cause of stress is long-term exposure to poor water conditions. This can be due to infrequent water changes, not enough aeration (for the denitrifying bacteria), and overfeeding. All three of these factors lead to elevated nitrate levels in the water. Fish are very good at fighting off disease on their own, but when exposed to poor water conditions over a long period of time, they become stressed and their immune system does not function at its optimal level (just as with humans!). Other causes of stress may include catching fish, transporting them, water changes, or an insufficient number of hiding places from tankmates.

2.) Salt. The addition of large amounts of salt (NaCl) with the intent of simulating a more natural habitat. True, the rift lakes of Africa are alkaline and have very hard water (pH 8.0-8.9, and a General Hardness between 200-400 ppm), but common salt will not alkalinize your tank. What makes water "hard" is a combination of dissolved calcium and magnesium. If you have soft water and need to raise the pH/hardness of your water, there are several appropriate ways to do this. Homemade buffers are easy and very inexpensive. There are also several quality commercial buffers available, such as SeaChem's Cichlid Salt^TM. Crushed coral for substrate or the addition of limestone to your tank is also helpful in raising the pH of aquarium water, but because minerals don't stay suspended in water for long, it's important to do frequent water changes. Using any wood is discouraged, as it will only serve to lower the pH of your water, even if its effects are minimal.

3.) Improper diet. Many cichlids - particularly herbivorous ones - have long intestinal tracts, requiring a relativley longer period of time to digest their food. Consequently, it is quite common for these cichlids to develop intestinal problems. The decomposition of improperly digested, or improperly excreted foods can irritate the intestinal wall, and stress the fish, giving the invasive parasite a foothold. This can often come about when a primarily herbivorous, algae-scraping cichlid (like Tropheus or Pseudotropheus spp.) is fed high protein foods such as bloodworms, or pellet and flake foods containing large quantities of fish meal. Slimy or soft foods, such as brine shrimp, should be avoided and replaced with crunchier foods such as mysis. In light of this information, and experience, it is important to avoid certain foods, and to go light on others. (For a detailed discussion of this topic, see Feeding African Cichlids.)
Treatment
Once you notice that your fish has lost an appetite for food (and is not just holding fry in her buccal cavity), you should remove it and begin treatment immediately. There are two effective treatments for Bloat that I know of. The first and most common is Metronidazole (Emtryl or Flagyl), and the second is Clout. The treatment should be preceded by a 30% water change (in an effort to improve water conditions) and increased aeration, followed up with a 50% water change. It is also a good idea to remove any biological filters you may be using, even though these drugs claim they don't harm denitrifying bacteria. The initial 30% water change is not necessary if this is a hospital tank not previously in use. The water change is important partially because you won't be performing water changes for the duration of treatment, not to mention the fact that you have just removed a large percentage of your bacteria. Store your filters in some of the water you removed from the tank prior to treatment.

In addition to treating your tank with either one of these drugs, it is also recommended adding an Epsom salt/Table salt mixture to your tank. Mix the two half-and-half, and add a handful of this mixture for every ten gallons of water. Epsom salt is a natural laxative and will help your bloated fish lose some of the water it has been taking on. Epsom salt is very cheap, costing something like $2 for 3 lbs. It can be obtained from any grocery store or pharmacy.

If treating with Metronidazole, add 100 mg (about 1 ½ scoops) for every 10 gallons (or 38 L). Repeat this dosage every two days as required. Fish usually heal (if they survive the disease) within a week. You can typically tell when this occurs because the infected fish will regain its apetite. If, on the other hand, your infected fish has retained its apetite, you can easily administer this drug with its food. In a disposable cup, add some water from the tank, a few fish food pellets, and a single measure of the drug. After the pellets have soaked for a few minutes, pour all of the contents of the cup into the tank. When administering this drug, turn off any UV, ozone, or chemical filtration as these disable the active ingredients of the medication. Following treatment, perform a 50% water change. SeaChem^TM and Aquatronics^TM both sell drugs containing Metronidazole, the former being called Metronidazole and the latter being called Hexamit^TM.

Treating Bloat using Clout is also relatively simple. As already mentioned above, before you begin treatment, remove any carbon you might be using in your filters and perform a 30-40% water change. Using a disposable cup, dissolve in some tank water one tablet of Clout per 10 gallons (round up if necessary). Pour the mixture into the tank just a little bit at a time, perhaps taking a half hour to administer a complete dosage -- this drug can be very strong and so it is important to follow this guideline so as not to shock your already stressed fish. Repeat the same dosage for the next two days, again performing a 30-40% water change beforehand. Daily water changes are essential for Clout's maximum effectiveness. The water changes also facilitate the removal of the old, disabled chemicals. Three days of treatment should be sufficient if the inflammation is not too severe, otherwise treat for a full five days. If after five days, you still don't notice a change, then resume treatment again after a two day hiatus. Once you have concluded the treatment, perform a final water change 24 hours after the last dosage.

Both drugs are effective at stopping the spread of Bloat in the tank. Clout^TM is a very strong drug that was developed particularly for fish. Most other fish medications have human counterparts including Metronidazole. In my experience, Metronidazole has only been effective at stopping the spread of the disease and not at curing fish already displaying symptoms. Clout^TM, on the other hand, has proven somewhat more effective at curing bloated fish. I should warn you, however, that Clout^TM will turn the water blue and stain the silicone in your tank, as well as any airline tubing you may have. If you are not careful with it, it will stain anything else it comes in contact with. While it has proven effective for me, I wish I had know what it was going to do to my tank. I still would have used it knowing this, but I just felt gypped afterward. And so, I am just alerting you.

Additional note: When using these or any other medications, it is a good idea not to turn on your hood lights while treating your fish. These two drugs don't have any active ingredients that are disabled by UV rays like many antibiotics, notwithstanding, the dark atmosphere will help your fish to relax and recuperate.

Metronidazole works better at elevated temperatures (e.g., 80°F), but aeration should be increased because the O₂ content of water decreases with higher temperatures. Elevating the temperature of the water can be beneficial also because it increases the fish's metabolism and heightens its immune response, while also hastening the life cycle of the parasite, thereby shortening the time required to cure the fish.

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