Disease |
Cause |
Fish Affected |
Image |
Symptoms |
Treatment
|
Piscine tuberculosis |
Mycobacterium marinum bacteria |
All |
|
Weight loss evident on underparts, with corresponding loss of appetite, papules, discoloration and bulging eyes. |
Amputation
|
Fin rot |
Bacterial |
All |
|
Erosion at edges of fins |
Improve water quality, remove fin-nippers and feed vitamin C enriched food. Use anti-fungal treatment to prevent secondary infections
|
Mouth fungus or columnaris |
Flexibacter bacteria |
All, especially livebearers |
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Columnaris_disease.jpg/110px-Columnaris_disease.jpg) |
Cottony growth near jaws and loss of appetite. |
Improve water conditions. Use commercially available antibiotics
|
Swim bladder disease |
May be bacterial, or caused by chilling or digestive issues |
All, especially balloon mollies |
|
Inability to balance in the water |
Check water temperature. A medical bath may help.
|
Vibrosis |
Vibrio bacteria |
All |
|
Discoloration, reddish staining of fins, bulging eyes, lethargic behavior |
Medicated food
|
Pseudomoniasis |
Pseudomonas bacteria |
All |
|
Hemorrhages in mouth and ulceration on body |
Medicated food
|
Saprolegnia |
Oomycetic |
All |
|
Whitish, fur-like growths |
Vitamin C enriched food, or a commercial remedy in a medical bath. Check to make sure that your fish doesn't prefer Brackish water
|
Egg fungus |
Fungal |
Eggs only |
|
Fungal growths on eggs |
Remove affected eggs. Use methylene blue to medicate the hatching tank.
|
Lymphocystis |
Viral |
All |
|
Cauliflower-like growths and white areas around the eyes |
Vaccines may be available
|
Iridovirus dwarf gourami disease |
Viral |
Gouramis, angelfish, Ramirez dwarf cichlids and others |
|
loss of appetite. Darkening in color. Enlarged abdomen. Occasionally lymphocystis |
None
|
Singapore angelfish diseases |
|
Angelfish |
|
Inactivity, loss of appetite, high and rapid mortality |
None
|
Malawi bloat |
Probably viral |
Lake Malawi cichlids, especially vegetarian ones |
|
Similar to dropsy |
Offer a high-fiber diet
|
White spots (ick) |
Ichthyophthirius multifiliis parasite |
All |
|
Small white spots, which may ulcerate |
Raise water temperature slightly and treat water with commercially available remedies
|
Hole-in-the-head |
Hexamita parasite |
Discus and cichlids |
![]() |
Pale ulcerated area around head |
Metronidazole or similar medication. Use food containing vitamin C
|
Neon tetra disease |
Pleistophora hyphessobryconis parasite |
Neon tetras |
|
Discoloration |
None
|
Skin or gill flukes |
Gyrodactylus and Dactylogyrus parasites |
All |
|
Labored breathing, scraping against objects, abnormal gill function |
Commercially available medication
|
Anchor worm |
Lernaea parasite |
All |
|
Visible parasites attached to body leading to ulceration and irritation |
remove parasites with forceps and use medicated bath to prevent secondary infection. Insecticide may help
|
Dropsy |
Varies from temperature, to indigestion to infection |
All |
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Hydropisie.jpg/110px-Hydropisie.jpg) |
Bloat, scales stick out |
Varies depending on the cause
|
Tetrahymena [citation needed] |
Parasite |
Freshwater fish |
|
|
None
|