Goldfish Diseases - Symptoms To Watch For In Your Fish

There are several goldfish diseases that can threaten the health of your aquatic pet, but if you provide the proper tank maintenance and make sure that the water is of good quality there will be less of a chance of your fish getting sick. Goldfish can actually live for quite some time - many years - if cared for properly, but many of them do not receive the care they need and die of diseases when they are relatively young.

But how do you know if your fish is sick? One way is to be sure to observe your fish every day. After all, isn't that why you adopted him? Be sure that you know his regular routine and if you see him acting strange in any way, this might indicate that a closer inspection is needed to rule out any type of illness. Most aquarium fish diseases can be successfully treated if caught early enough so keep a keen eye!

One such disease is Ichtyopthirius - simply known as Ich. This is quite common in many fish including goldfish and appears as small white fuzzies on their scales. It goes unnoticed quite a bit as it can appear to be just a bubble or something benign. These are actually parasitic organisms that live off of your fish. Once they get into the tank, they need to be taken care of quickly because they will actually multiply and infect all the fish in the tank. That's why it's important when buying new fish for yout tank that you inspect them carefully to make sure that they don't have Ich that can be introduced into your fish.

Another goldfish disease to look out for is fin rot or tail rot. This is actually a bacterial infection which starts on the injured part of a fin. It's important to keep a lookout for this disease if there are other fishes that knit at your goldfishes fins. What happens is the bacteria gets into the injury and starts eating away at the tissue he can eat up into the fish's body if left untreated.

Some goldfish naturally have large bulbous eyes but there is also a disease called Popeye that can happen to your goldfish as well as other fish in the tank. if you notice that your fishes eyes are sticking out a bit more than usual, you might want to put your fish in a hospital tank and be sure he doesn't come in contact with other fish until this is treated.