Fin rot fish disease

Fin rot fish disease

1. General description

2. Type of the disease

This is a bacterial disease.

3. Cause of the disease

Causes of this disease are bacillus from Areomonas and Pseudomonas genus.

4. Favorable circumstances for development of the disease

• improperly maintained aquarium- without partial water changes, without systematic the bottom cleaning, etc.
• poor water quality – adequate water parameters
• bad matched fish – e.g.: fish with long fins with fish which gnaw these fins, shy fish with aggressive fish etc.
• mechanical injuries of the fins
• wrong diet
• too much the fish in aquarium
• stress

5. Common symptoms of the disease

• frying fins, abrasion of the fins
• loss of fins colour, white borders of the fins in initial phase of the disease
• reddening and open wounds at the base of the fins
• rotting fins, fins necrosis
• problems in swimming – the fish sway from side to side or they lay on the bottom
• loss of appetite

6. Types of the treatment

6.1. Correction of water conditions:

We need immediately check water quality after diagnosis of the disease. We must check level of nitrates, nitrites, ammonia and water pH. When on the bottom is decaying organic matter we need do 50% partial water change and we must clean the bottom. We separate sick and health fish.

6.2. Medicinal baths:

We need remove all dead tissue from the fish before their antibiotics or preparations treatment, but you have to know that when the fish has ulcers and open wounds at the base of the fins 99% of such cases is incurable. We must remove active carbon from the filter and we must increase oxygen saturation in water before treatment. 50% partial water change and increasing water temperature about 2-3°C is also recommend. We can do:

Long-term bath:

These baths we do from a few to several days in the general or a separate aquarium, with usage:

• Zoolek FMC preparation – we dose 10ml per every 100 litres of the water, after week we add half dose.
• Zoolek Trypaflavin preparation – we dose 10ml per every 20 litres of the water for about 5 days.
• methylene blue – we dose 1 drop per every 20 litres of the water for about 5 days.

Short-term bath:

These baths we do once in a separate tank, they may last up to a few hours and we repeat them every now and then:

• sea salt – we dose 1 teaspoon per every 10 litres of the water, the bath should last to 45 minutes. We dose dissolved sea salt.
• Zoolek Trypaflavin preparation – we dose 10ml per every 5 litres of the water, the bath should last for 4-5 hours.

6.3. Antibiotics usage

• Sera BactoForte – we dose this drug first and third day of treatment: 1ml per every 20 litres of the water. We need do 50% partial water change and add active carbon to the filter after treatment.
• We dose also antibiotics with food (frozen and dry food): about 1% to the amount of food.

7. Comments about this disease

• Young fish and fish with weakened immune system are very sensitive to this disease.
• Betta fish and mollies with dark coloration are sensitive to this disease.
• First of all, the bacteria attack the caudal fin.

8. Prevention

• properly maintenance of the water parameters and its quality in aquarium
• usage of decorative elements with smooth edges
• rightly matched tankmates
• delicate and sensitive partial water changes

9. Links with additional informations