Freshwater and Saltwater Diseases

Lupin

I've decided the time has come for me to prepare this thread as a reference for several diseases. This will make it easier for you to diagnose the disease afflicting your fish. I will gradually add up each disease and their data.

If you have pictures and data, please send me a private message and I'll gladly add them up here.:)

One simple advice: Prevention is better than cure. There are several ways to avoid diseases and it is simple. Simply maintain your tank industriously, vary the food menu and quarantine any new fish.

Ich
For details, please look into this thread.

Lupin

Marine Ich (Cryptocarion irritans)
Symptoms:
Clearly visible white posts, rapid breathing, flashing and rubbing

Causes:
Stress, poor water conditions and poor food diet will likely allow the Cryptocarion to infect the fish. Cryptocarion is almost similar to the Ichthyophthirius in freshwater hence the name "marine ich" where it will naturally occur in the marine conditions.

Treatment:
Copper Sulfate, Formalin, hyposalinity

Do not use the copper sulfate if the aquarium where you intend to use it contains invertebrates. Copper can harm the invertebrates. Not recommended for use in the main aquarium where copper trace are difficult to remove.

Lupin

Brooklynella hostilis
Symptoms:
Lethargic movements, heavy breathing, lack of appetite, faded small areas which gradually enlarge

Causes:
Brooklynella hostilis is a ciliated protozoan which is considered a parasite that is similiar to Chilodonella in almost every aspect. It is found in the marine aquaria and heavy infestations can cause severe stress on the fish.

Treatment:
Sera Cyprinopur, Acriflavine, freshwater dip, Formalin


Picture retrieved from this site for reference purposes.

Lupin

Cloudy Eyes
Symptoms:
Eyes appearing to have cloudy white or grey "haze" that may cause blindness.

Causes:
Poor water quality, malnutrition, severe stress, overproduction of slime coating, cataracts, old age

Treatment:
I don't usually recommend the use of antibiotics. Frequent water changes are strictly necessary to improve water quality. It will usually clear up on its own if the water quality has improved. Be sure to provide your fish varied diet to improve its resistance against diseases.










Pictures taken by idle0095. Refer to this thread for more details.

Lupin

Glossatella (Heteropolaria colisarium)
Synonyms:
Apiosoma

Symptoms:
A furry coating forms after the mucous membrane has been injured. You can see many elongated protozoans on a short stalk with a strong magnifying glass.

Causes:
Damaged mucous membrane allowing protozoans to invade and expand on the lesions. They do not feed directly on the lesions but on the secondary bacteria and isolated cells of the destroyed tissue.

Treatment:
Sera Costapur, Formalin, Copper Sulfate


Picture retrieved from Sera guide by Dieter Untergasser

Lupin

Costia (Ichthyobodo necatrix)
Synonyms:
The name was formerly Costia necatrix, however the name Costia is more familiar and nevertheless still use until today.

Also called "Blue Slime Disease" in reference to heavy secretion of mucous membrane.

Symptoms:
Gray or milky areas of skin, clamped and frayed fins, frequent flashing movements

Causes:
This is caused by external flagellates which are secondary parasites that will gradually appear if the fish succumbs to stress or severely weakened.

Treatment:
Hydrogen peroxide, Formalin, Copper Sulfate, Acriflavine, Sera Costapur, Sera Ectopur


Picture retrieved from this site.

Lupin

Chilodonella
Symptoms:
Heavy breathing, flashing movements, clamped fins, overproduction of mucous membrane, lethargic movements, loss of appetite

Causes:
It is caused by the "heart-shaped" ciliated protozoan, Chilodonella itself.

Treatment:
Sera Costapur, Sera Omnisan, Malachite Green, Potassium Permanganate, Formalin, Copper Sulfate, salt baths


Picture retrieved from Sera guide by Dieter Untergasser for reference purposes.

Lupin

Tetrahymena
Symptoms:
Flashing movements, clamped fins, overproduction of mucous membrane, lethargic movements, loss of appetite

Causes:
It is caused by a teardrop-shaped ciliated protozoan that lives in organic debris on the bottom of the aquarium implying that this is not a parasite at all. In an overloaded aquarium, it is possible that this protozoan will proliferate massively due to water pollution noting that this protozoan lives in areas with very high organic loads.

Treatment:
Sera Costapur, Sera Mycopur, Sera Baktopur, Malachite Green, Potassium Permanganate, Formalin, Copper Sulfate, salt baths


Picture retrieved from Sera guide by Dieter Untergasser for reference purposes.

Lupin

Trichodina
Symptoms:
Lethargic movements, flashing and rubbing, reddening of certain areas due to rubbing out of sheer extreme irritation

Causes:
Another protozoan that is not actually a parasite and are characterized by their flying saucer shape. It does not feed on fish but use them as a means of transportation from one aquarium to another. Healthy fish is not usually bothered by a low number of protozoans however a big infestation of Trichodina brought by poor water quality and overcrowding can cause extreme irritation and eventually stress to the fish.

Treatment:
Sera Costapur, Sera Omnisan, Malachite Green, Potassium Permanganate, Formalin, Copper Sulfate, salt baths


Picture retrieved from this site for reference purposes.

Lupin

Neon Tetra Disease (Pleistophora hyphessobryconis)
Symptoms:
Restlessness especially at night (a weird behavior can be distinguished when the afflicted fish seems to be swimming on its own while the rest are "asleep"), loss of coloration on its body usually starting on the midsection, secondary infections brought by finrot and dropsy, curved spine, erratic behavior

Causes:
This is caused sporozoan parasites and is very contagious.

Treatment:
There is no known cure up to this date as the sporozoan parasites have proven themselves very resistant to several medications. Any fish suspected to be afflicted or afflicted must be isolated immediately and eventually euthanized if no improvement in its health has been observed in the next few days. Transmission is done mostly by fish picking on the afflicted and spores infecting new hosts as the current host dies.

Notes:
This disease has been confused with Columnaris. Note that the NTD is usually associated with a creamy colored patch which appears to "delete" the actual coloration of the fish. Columnaris is associated with white patches, a case very different from NTD.

Neons are very vulnerable to NTD but this is also found among cichlids, danios, rasboras and other species. There have been several reports that so far only the cardinal tetras are immune to this disease.