diseases of fish?

Question

what kind of diseases cause your fish not to eat

Answer 1

Well for starters, there are maaany more than 10 fish diseases. There are maybe 10 well-known diseases, but there are many others; they are simply less common.

Anyway, a loss of appetite isn't usually a direct symptom of disease, but a secondary symptom. Fish are masters are covering up the fact that they are sick until they just can't anymore, so they can go downhill very quickly... when this happens, they are just so sick that they lose their appetite. Like people, I guess. When you get a bad cold, you tend to lose your appetite; not because the cold is affecting your tummy, but because you feel sick all around.

Common diseases / sicknesses that immediately come to mind would be:
Dropsy - bloating, scales sticking out (like a pinecone).
Popeye - eyes stick out.
Fungus - white fuzzy stuff on the fish.
Ich - A parasite, looks like white spots all over the fish.
Bloating / Impaction - caused by too much food and too cold water.
Swim bladder - the fish can't control him movement very well.
Columnaris - looks like white film over the fish.
Serious injury, infected.

Most illnesses are caused by improper water conditions. Do a large water change and add 1 tbsp of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water. Do not medicate at this time. Meds are harsh and using them a general "cure all" is a bad idea. Only medicate when you know what you're medicating for.

Answer 2

There could be a number of factors your fish will not eat. However are they salt water or fresh water? Before you start treating a fish for any disease with a bunch of chemicals know what you are dealing with. SOmetimes there is a simple solution. What kind of fish do you have. It is difficult to say since all fish are different. Not all fish are diseased because they aren't eating.
One major factor is starting with the water is too cold. Check your temperature.
Are you feeding your fish the proper food? Some fish are carnivores, herbivores andor omnivores. Be sure you have the right food for your fish.

If you have goldfish, try adding more air into the tank. Gold fish become lethargic with poor air circulation. (actually a lot of fish do)

Water quality. Have you tested your water? is it up to par? are the Check ammonia, nitrite, pH. High levels of organic pollution.

Ectoparasite infestation. Check 2-3 fish for parasites or gill problems. For hobbyists, endoparasites are the most common parasite problem. With few exceptions, these parasites are not life-threatening in small numbers, indeed small populations are fairly normal. The danger from endoparasites comes from their tremendous reproductive potential. In a natural environment this rarely leads to severe outbreaks, as only small numbers of juveniles would survive and find a host after hatching. Limited physical contact between fish would prevent parasites being transferred to a new host, so limiting the spread of the infestation although individual fish may be severely parasitised.

Most ectoparasites are too small to be seen with the naked eye. It simply isn't possible to be certain that parasites are present without taking a mucus and gill sample for microscopic examination.

This important procedure enables us to see which parasites are present on the skin and gills and determine the severity of the infestation.
Another consideration is that different parasites often need different treatments. This can be important when more than one species is involved. While general anti-parasite treatments are effective with most parasites, they do not treat all parasites. Sometimes, for various reasons such as under-dosing, water chemistry, organic pollution or green water, treatments do not work. This is why it is important to carry out a follow-up examination at the conclusion of the treatment, particularly when one of the real 'nasties such as white-spot, Chilodonella or Costia are involved.
Early stage of bacterial disease. Examine fish for lesions, inflammation and ulceration. Bacterial fish diseases and infections are very common in fish keeping and are probably one of the hardest health problems to deal with effectively. However, with a basic understanding of how bacteria cause disease and how to recognize bacterial infections it is possible to deal successfully with the majority of problems. The key to successful treatment of bacterial disease is early, accurate diagnosis and treatment. If treatment is delayed it can lead to substantial losses.
In general there are four types of bacterial infections that the hobbyist needs to be aware of:
Fin rot – usually resulting from environmental stress
Bacterial body ulcers – open, shallow to deep, lesions on the fish’s body
Bacterial gill disease – in which the gills are the primary target
Systemic bacterial disease – in which bacteria invade the fish’s body and damage internal organs.

However, before any treatment is started it is important to try and establish the underlying cause – particularly if several fish are affected, as this would suggest some form of environmental stress.

treatments completely destroy all the pathogenic bacteria. What they do is knock the bacteria back for a short time, giving the fish’s own defences chance to start fighting back and the wound-healing process chance to start.

Is the fish new to your tank. Some fish go thru a period of stress and won't eat for a day or two. Nothing to worry about. When they are hungry, they will start to eat.
Is your fish in a bowl or a tank?
When a fish is transferred from one tank to another, there is a certain amount of stress involved and some fish may not be able to adapt. The loss of one or two fish out of a group is not normal, but if it occurs it does not necessarily indicate a serious problem.
I hope this will help.

Answer 3

usually its bacterial but not eating could be just about anything depending on what kind of fish it is. if you are worried try feeding your fish some frozen food like bloodworms (most fish won't pass them up) or if they eat plants some cooked spinach chopped up fine or cooked green peas chopped up fine will work too. some fish love slices of zucchini -- just slice it up and drop it in.

fish are like people -- when they get a little sick they can lose their appetite. but you have to eat -- so feed them what they like the best.


you can also try some melafix -- it perks my fish up.

there are about 10 fish diseases you should learn to be able to diagnose by sight -- they are all treatable and fairly easy to diagnose.