How To Keep Your Fish Free From Stress And Diseases

Too often, our fish die prematurely. Whether it is due to improper environment or diet, it all boils down to our ability to keep our fish free from stress and diseases. Here are some preventive measures you can take to prolong your fish’s lifespan.

How To Keep Stress At Bay

Most diseases in aquarium fish can be prevented if the amount of stress they experience in their captive environment is reduced as far as possible.

Stress weakens fishes’ immune systems and increases their susceptibility to disease.

Pathogens are always present in aquariums, but if fish stay stress-free and healthy, they are not likely to be infected by these pathogens and fall ill.

Common Factors Causing Stress In Fish:

• Poor water quality – Too-high levels of ammonia, nitrite or nitrate.
• Water temperature that fluctuates too widely and frequently.
• Wrong water temperature – do not keep coldwater and tropical species in the same aquarium.
• Too many fish in one tank.
• Tank too small for large fish, e.g. Arowana
• Incompatible species being kept together.
• Wrong pH (acidity or alkalinity) or hardness levels in water.
• Insufficient hiding or resting places in the aquarium.
• Insufficient oxygen in the water.
• Improper nutrition – Inadequate or wrong food, or not enough variety in diet.

How To Keep Diseases At Bay

Livestock and plants that are newly introduced into an aquarium can carry diseases into it. To avoid any possibility of this happening, check new fish and plants carefully. Another precaution is to dispose the water that comes with your new fish or plants—do not add it to your aquarium.

Generally, it’s absolutely unnecessary to quarantine new fish. However, if your existing fish are prized possessions and you do not wish to take any risks with their health, a quarantine period may be wise.

Why You Should Take Quarantine Measures?

The purpose of quarantining a fish is to keep it in a separate container for a period of time to ascertain that it is disease-free. This allows new fish to be observed for signs of illness, and prevents any diseases they may be harboring from being introduced into the main aquarium.

A quarantine tank can also double as hospital tank for sick fish. Housing sick fish in such a tank allows them to be medicated and kept separate from healthy fish. This way, the weakened sick fish won’t be harassed by the other fish and won’t pass the infection to them.

Hospital tanks also prevent plants and biological filters, if any, from being harmed by the medication used. As a quarantine tank usually contains a smaller volume of water, it means that less medication needs to be used.

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