Gas bubble disease & Bacterial Fin Rot

People who are serious about maintaining their fish must watch out for these two diseases: Gas Bubble Disease and Bacterial Fin Rot. Slowly but surely, they will end up debilitating your fish completely.

How?

Gas Bubble Disease is caused by a sudden dramatic change in gas pressure in the aquarium. This can occur due to changing too much water at one time or by adding cold water to the fish tank. Gas bubbles form in the fins and skin of the fish. The bubbles look like blisters and are easily spotted. The skin will crackle if you run your finger across it. If not treated in time, gas bubbles in the bloodstream will kill the fish. The treatment is to add alot of aeration to the aquarium. Lights should be left off to minimize stress. If you see alot of bubbles that have already popped, consider adding a general antibiotic to guard against secondary infection

Bacterial Fin Rot
Poor hygiene and maintenance are most of the times guilty for leading to Bacterial fin rot. Several bacteria can cause it. Improper maintenance routine, infrequent water changes and Temperatures too low for the fish being kept Any good antibiotic available through the pet shop, check for water conditionsUsually the secondary stage of Red Pest (above). If the fish reaches this stage then you will have to use Anti-Biotic to eradicate. Remember to remove all filtration as the Anti-Biotic will kill the beneficial bacteria.

What to do?
First, attempt to ascertain the cause. Then treat accordingly. Also, treat the water or fish with antibiotics. If added to the water, use 20 - 30 mg per liter. If the fish is to be treated add an antibiotic to the food. With flake food, use about 1% of antibiotic and carefully mix it in. If you keep the fish hungry they should eagerly eat the mixture before the antibiotic dissipates. Antibiotics usually come in 250 mg capsules. If added to 25 grams of flake food, one capsule should be enough to treat dozens of fish. A good antibiotic is chloromycetin (chloramphenicol) or tetracycline. If you feed your fish frozen foods or chopped foods, try to use the same ratio with mixing. As a last resort add at most 10 mg per liter of water.