You take care of your goldfish on a daily basis but do you really know how to tell if your goldfish is sick or what are the signs of illness and disease? Knowing the signs of sickness in goldfish is your first step in saving the life of your pet fish. Through careful observation is when you can properly diagnose the illness to be able to treat the illness or disease effectively.
Here are some signs of sickness of illness among goldfish you should look for:
1. Your goldfish has white spots covering it’s body. This goldfish disease is known as ich ( Ichthyophthirius multifiliis ) white spot disease and you will need to begin treatment right away.
2. Your goldfish are usually active but now are sluggish. This could be due to a fish disease or poor water quality. Test your water quality right away such as pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
3. Your goldfish has bloody spots on the body. This could be caused by anchor worms which has now created a bacterial infection. It also could be ulcers forming. Observe goldfish, check for anchor worms and check water quality.
4. Your goldfish has bloody streaks on fins and tail. Check water quality immediately.
5. Your goldfish has ragged damaged fins. This could be caused by other fish nibbling at its tail and a bacterial infection has set it. Fin and tail rot is common among fish and you will need to begin treatment.
6. Your goldfish are seen gasping at the surface of the water. This can be either two things, lack of oxygen in the water or there could be parasites in the gills causing rapid breathing. Increase aeration in pond or aquarium and if this does not help seek fish medication for gill parasites. If left untreated your goldfish can die due to gill parasites.
7. Your goldfish has clamped fins. Clamped fins is a sign of stress in goldfish and other types of fish. Find out why your goldfish is stressed out. Is there bigger goldfish in the aquarium that is being aggressive? Have you tested your water quality to see if that may be the issue? Is your goldfish always fighting the current in your fish tank, does it have a spot to rest? By simply asking yourself some questions will help you discover the problem.
8. Your goldfish is scratching themselves on the aquarium gravel. This indicates the presence of parasites. Begin treatment right away.
9. You notice that your goldfish has one side of its stomach that is swollen. This may be goldfish dropsy a deadly bacterial infection and unfortunately it’s most likely that your goldfish will die from this.
10. Your goldfish has a white film on its eyes also known as cloudy eye. You will need to buy Melafix to treat cloudy eye in fish.
I hope these signs of sickness, illness or disease will help you in properly diagnosing goldfish that are sick. If you observe your goldfish while feeding them is when you can most of the time catch the early signs of sickness. Take this moment each day to see if your goldfish is acting normal, normal behaviour or any signs or symptoms of disease or parasites. Your goldfish can’t tell you that they are not feeling well so it rests on us through observation to properly care for them.
Sincerely,
Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”
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