Ammonia Poisoning

SYMPTOMS
Red or inflamed gills. Fish are gasping for air at the surface. New tank setup or a tank with too many fish.

TREATMENT
Ammonia poisoning is easily preventable. Avoid adding expensive and less hardy tropical fish until the aquarium has cycled. For more information on cycling your aquarium please read about the aquarium nitrogen cycle. You can use a substance called zeolite to help absorb ammonia but the best solution is to ensure that your aquarium has cycled and that your tank is not overcrowded. If your tank has not yet completed the nitrogen cycle, you will need to perform frequent water changes to keep the ammonia levels down.

Camallanus Worms

SYMPTOM
Red or pink worm protruding from the anus. Fish may become listless and bloated. Refuse to eat.

TREATMENT
The most common form of treatment for this is to use Levamisole*. Levamisole is a great fast-acting de-wormer and is highly recommended for the treatment of internal parasites amongst fish. The dosage for levamisole is 2ppm. Or according to packaging here in Australia it works out as 1ml per 7 litres of aquarium water.

Dropsy or Malawi Bloat

SYMPTOM
Bloated fish, scales are raised, possible loss or lessening of body coloration.

TREATMENT
This is not really a disease, but a symptom of a bacterial infection and possibly malnutrition. There are medications available but try to increase the quality of the water by performing a 25% water change every other day and increase the quality of fish food given. If your fish's condition doesn't improve, try the medication. Your local pet store should have medication for this disease. Remove any carbon filtration before using medication because the carbon will remove the medication from the water.

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