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How To Avoid Major Diseases In Your Freshwater Aquarium
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No freshwater aquarium is immune to the possibility of freshwater aquarium disease symptoms . The good news is, there are things you can do to keep your fish from getting sick. First, there are the basic things you can do to maintain your aquarium. Clean the aquarium and change 10-15% of the water once a week to prevent algae overgrowth.
Plants are great because they keep the water chemistry balanced so it is not dangerous to your fish. Crabs and snails eat algae. So there three things to put on your first shopping list when you set up your aquarium - plants, crabs, snails. All three will help prevent disease.
Two major and common diseases to watch out for in your fish are ammonia and nitrate poisoning. Both occur when ammonia levels increase in the water - high nitrate levels usually follow high ammonia levels. Ammonia and nitrate levels can be prevented by testing the water regularly to catch abnormal levels early.
Another way to prevent both kinds of poisoning is to stock a new aquarium slowly. Rather than introducing a whole new school of fish, start with one or two. This results in less sudden waste, which means reduced change in water chemistry. High salt concentration can be another killer of freshwater fish - if they are not saltwater fish, they are not built to live in saltwater! However salt can have first aid benefits - salt is actually a treatment for nitrate poisoning - but high concentration levels are potentially fatal. When water evaporates, salt remains, hence it will not necessarily be entirely removed when you clean your tank. Plants are the first to suffer and then the fish follow. The reason behind the deaths of organisms in high salt concentration is something called disturbed osmotic pressure. Osmotic pressure is defined as the movement of a solvent between membranes, which results in pressure between two membranes.
Fish eliminate water mainly through their respiratory system and through urine. If the salt concentration is too high, freshwater fish will not be able to get the excess salt out of their system. This leads to what is called osmoregulatory stress - meaning the membranes are stressed from all the osmotic pressure from trying to remove extra salt deposits in the fish. Salt deposits are often found in the edges and corners of tanks. Larger deposits can be removed by scrubbing them with vinegar. Do not use soap or detergent, and rinse the vinegar away thoroughly!
Stress can also kill fish. Stress is caused by rapid fluctuations in water chemistry, poor light, insufficient plants in which to hide and tapping on the glass. The necessary prevention here is obvious. Test the water, use proper lighting, have a few plants in the aquarium and do not tap on the glass.
The best way to prevent most freshwater aquarium disease symptoms is to change your water and clean the tank. Do not over feed the fish, and do not overstock your aquarium with too many plants and fish! Following all of those steps will make for a safe and clean habitat for your fish.
Garry Macdonald is a freshwater aquarium enthusiast with many years real-life experience. For more information on freshwater aquarium disease symptoms , visit http://www.freshwateraquariumsexplained.com .
Article submitted Monday, June 21, 2010 & read 92 times.
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