Popeye Fish Disease
If your tank is maintained regularly, you should have little incidence of Popeye Fish Disease that is hazardous to the health of your fish.
You must treat the tank quickly in order for most disease to be stopped. If your fish aren’t acting up to snuff, you may want to take a closer look at them and try to determine if they are showing the symptoms listed below.
If you think your fish have Popeye Fish Disease, go one step further and look for tiny dots that are white and may be fuzzy looking - This is probably Ich (Ichthyophthirius), a parasite which is rather common. This disease can be caused by poor water and is easily contracted by fish whose immune system is weak. If caught in time, it can be treated with medication that you buy in the pet store.
Another problem caused by poor water is Grayish cottony patches. This fungus is caused by waste and extra food left in the tank. You can treat it by cleaning the tank, water changes and medicine that you can buy online or at your local pet store.
Diseases don’t keep to themselves so the Popeye Fish Disease is sometimes found with fish that have rotting fins. This is another problem that can happen because of poor water quality. It can be treated with a medicine made for this problem. You may want to consider isolating any fish that have rotted fins to keep the disease from spreading.
Flukes are a parasite that attach the fish’s skin and gills. Symptoms include cloudy skin and scraping against the bottom. This can be caused by poor water quality and my be difficult to treat. You can buy medication for it and you should try to treat the tank immediately upon seeing an outbreak.
If you notice that your finned friends seem to be fish gasping for air This could mean that your tank has too many fish. Overcrowding the tank is bad for a number of reasons, so you may want to get rid of some fish or try an airstone to get more oxygen into the water.
When you use a medicine to clear your tank of Popeye Fish Disease, Follow exactly what the directions say. Make sure you add the amount specified for your tanks size – too much or too little will not be good for the tank. In the future planning periodic water changes and “vacuuming” the tank will help prevent disease.