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Disease
This
part assumes that you are familiar with and have already checked the
water parameters of your tank. I also assumes that all values (pH,
GH, KH, CO2 and
O2 levels,
ammonia, nitrites and nitrates) were found to be within the
acceptable limits. This is the first thing to do before reading any
further. An ammonia burn will kill your fish and there is nothing
described in this chapter that could possibly save your fish; only a
massive water change will. It also assumes that the fish keeper
closely inspects his or her tanks every now and then and thus knows
if a sudden death is to be attributed to a fatal wound or too much
stress because of bullying - something very common in African
cichlid tanks.
You are also supposed to have checked for any
decaying fish in your tank, your filters are working, your CO2
injection system is not malfunctioning, your thermostats are working
too, and all the alike. In my years of experience I have concluded
that 5 times out of 10, checking these factors already solves (or at
least identifies) the problem. If symptoms occur suddenly and affect
most of the fish belonging to various species, then most likely, you
have a water quality problem.
Please, if in doubt, see the relevant
chapter, which refers to symptoms not
necessarily associated to diseases. Please come back to this section
after eliminating this possibility. If the symptoms are limited to a
very small number of fish with no sign of spreading to other fishes,
then the action of choice is to isolate
the fishes and
observe them closely.
The
typical sign of a disease outbreak
is gradually occurring symptoms with an
increasing number of fishes becoming affected. It could be limited
to only one species or a restricted number of species. Some fishes
or species may be unaffected. The doses indicated in this article
are to be strictly followed (at least as it concerns their minimum
values). For an in-depth analysis of the correct way to treat you
fish along with a basic understanding of what you are fighting
against, see the relevant
article. The present article is
considered by the author as part of the subject "fish
medication" and is not meant to be read as a stand alone
article. Please check the other articles, which are linked to this
one. Some drawings are given below, showing the characteristic
regions and symptoms of the most common diseases. This guide is to
be used as a quick reference guide. We strongly recommend that you read
the article which follows in the next pages.
Continued in next
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