An ounce of prevention

Written by: Mr.Tang


As the age old saying goes 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'. How true this is. By preventing illness in your fish you don't have to worry about being able to successfully treat them. So many of the known diseases and disorders that affect fish can be prevented by providing them with optimum, sanitary living conditions.

Prevention begins with acquiring your fish.
When acquiring new fish you are faced with many choices. Where you get them, what species you get, whether you get fry or juveniles or adults are the more obvious ones. Your first step towards prevention is choosing a reputable source ñ be it a fish shop, breeder or hobbyist

Do some research, talk to friends, family and fellow hobbyists visually inspect your local fish shops before making a decision about where to get your fish. Obviously, you will be limited in your choices here by the type of fish you are searching for.


The next step is buying healthy fish.
This might sound funny but all too often we hear about fish dying within a day or two after acquisition. Sometimes this happens because the fish were already ill before being purchased and sometimes other factors are involved which will be touched on shortly.

When determining if the fish is healthy, bare the following in mind
- Minor fin damage is OK but severe damage could be a lot harder to cure
- Fish that are healthy will normally swim to the front and top of the aquarium to greet you
- Fish that stay near the bottom in the back corners with clamped fins are more than likely ill
- Fish that are swollen or deformed should be avoided
- Fish that have visible fungus should also be avoided
- Think twice about buying fish from a tank where there are decaying fish


Try not to buy fish on impulse
Many people buy fish on impulse and in doing so often fail to properly examine the fish for signs of ill health and some people simply don't have that option as they are buying the fish without even being able to view them. Most of the time, this is not cause for concern as it is normally only the more reputable and experienced breeder that will ship fish interstate and such breeders have a lot at stake when transacting interstate.If you do have the chance to view the fish before taking them home you should observe them for a while before making a final decision.Quite often fish that are purchased on impulse end up in a tank that is not suited to that fishes needs so take your time and do your research.


Ask the seller what he feeds the fish and arrange to view them whilst they are being fed if possible
- Fish that are not eating are more than likely ill so steer clear of them
- If you know that they have been previously fed an incorrect diet steer clear of them
- If you know they have been fed hormone based color enhancing food steer clear of them
- If you think the fish is ill but the seller tries to convince you to take them steer clear of them
- If their is any doubt about whether the fish are hybrids steer clear of them


The next course of prevention is quarantining newly acquired fish
All newly acquired fish should be quarantined to reduce the chances of spreading disease and bacteria in your aquarium. A quarantine tank need only have the bare essentials and does not need to be very large. A quarantine tank should be easily viewed from most angles, have somewhere for the fish to retreat to and have adequate filtration. Fish should be quarantined for at least a week but preferably 4-8 weeks. Some diseases can take a long time to become apparent. Quarantining can also involve prophylaxis treatment of the fish but that could be a whole new topic on it's own.


It is important to acclimatise new fish
When you get them home acclimatize them to your quarantine tank. Acclimatize them again when moving them from the quarantine tank to the main tank. Any time the fish change tanks they should really be acclimatized. If treating fish in a bath, you should be using tank water anyway so no need to acclimatize them. However, when going from bath back to tank be careful.

Sudden changes in water parameters and temperature shock and stress fish and as such should be avoided. Acclimatizing fish is not difficult but many aquarists neglect to do it due to laziness. All it involves is matching the water parameters and temperature but to do this you need to know the parameters of the water that the fish have come from. Float all fish in their bags in their new home for up to half an hour depending on whether oxygen was added when the fish were bagged. If not, float for less time. Next you need to slowly add your tank water to the water the fish are in. It is best here to use airline with a tap on one end so that you can control the rate at which the water is being added. I normally remove the fish from their bag/s and place them in a 25 liter bucket in the ìbagî water. I'll start dripping tank water into the bucket and add an airs tone for aeration. When the bucket is nearly full I will remove half the water and let it continue to refill. The fish are then netted and placed in their new home and none of the water they came in is added to that home.


Correctly house all fish
This should go without saying but unfortunately many aquarists don't heed the advice and still choose to put big fish in small tanks or to house completely different species together. Species that should be in water with completely different parameters. DO your research here and let common sense prevail.

As you can see it is fairly easy to prevent illness in your fish. It only takes a bit of dedication and common sense. For further information you may like to view the article on water quality and stress.