Frequently
Asked Questions...COMING SOON!!!! Check back in
a few days!
1/8/04
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Q1.
UNEXPLAINED DEATH. My fish have been dying
one by one with no signs of disease until they
are dead. I have tried salt baths, and even doing
an emergency cleaning... nothing seems to help.
They still keep dying.. one every few days.
A1.
This sounds like like a problem with Ammonia
or pH. Check out the Ammonia
and pH info section
Q2.
GREEN WATER.The water in my tank is green
even though I clean the tank twice a week. What
can I do?
A2.
Sounds like your tank has a lot of algae.
Pet stores sell products that are designed to
clear up algae or cloudy water.Search through
the petsmart links on this site and you can find
Crystal Clear Water Clarifier from Aquarium Products.
Also, you can buy fish, like catfish and suckerfish,
that eat algae and help clean up the tank.
Q3.RAGGED
FINS. I have four fish and their fins are
ragged looking. They won't eat, won't swim a lot,
and they lay around. I went to a local pet store
and they gave me FUNGUS CURE (liquid) for freshwater
fish. It turns the water a greenish color. I took
out all the carbon in the filter but my fish aren't
responding to the medicine.
A3.
I think your fish may have fin rot, which
is a fairly common ailment. Check the local pet
store for Maracyn or Maracyn 2 medications. It's
listed on the package which one cures fin rot.
You could also be having problems with ammonia
(should have low levels), or pH (should stay neutral,
in most cases)
Q4.WORMS
IN TANK. I have what appears to be little
white worms on the side of my tank and on any
tank ornaments I have. The appear to be some kinda
of larva and nothing I see to do can get rid of
them. There are hundreds of them, help!
A4.
My tried-and-true remedy for this: remove
fish from the tank, try not to get old tank water
in with them though. Empty out old tank, throw
out gravel, and rinse out entire tank with boiling
hot water, scrubbing sides to get rid of worms,
etc. Seperatly boil any tank ornaments. This should
hopefully kill of any worms living in the tank.
Set tank back up, and all should be back to normal!
Q5.
FANCY GOLDFISH FLOATING PROBLEMS.I have
a fancy goldfish who seems to be having the floating
problem you described, that will eventually cause
swim bladder ailments, I have currently taken
the fish from the tank, and am not feeding him
as directed. I am afraid that the flake goldfish
food I have may cause this problem with other
fish in the tank. I have gotten puzzled looks
everytime I mention non-dry food. Can you give
me some specifics, on what I should look for if
I have to order it it?
A5.Flake food has been known to cause problems,
especially in fancy goldfish who seem to be prone
to swim bladder and bloating troubles. There are
alternative foods though. Peas are good for de-constipating
fish. Soaking dry food (so the food sinks) should
help allieviate symptoms in fish (it takes the
air out of the food so they don't expand inside
the fish). Try foods that sink easily, like
grapenuts, rice, veggies, oatmeal.
You can also try live foods like brine shrimp,
but I'm not sure how good they are for fish. In
my experience, the fish love them, but they always
brought in diseases like ich.
As for commercial non-dry foods...I seem to recall
gel foods helping off balance fish. I had information
on my website about it a long time ago, but took
it off because it wasn't complete. If you do a
search through the petsmart links on my site for
"gel" under catorgory fish, you will
come up with gell foods by a company "tetra
nature delica". Maybe you want to check them
out. Searching and buying through the links on
my site help support fishdoctor (and you should
save 15% this month), but maybe your local petstores
sell the gel food also
