article: Protozoan infections – Fish Diseases

Protozoan infections – Fish Diseases

Managing the health of your fish is going to be an ongoing task. Your fish can come into contact with disease, fungus, viruses and chemicals when you least expect it so managing your fish health will also include regular inspections of your fish. Managing your fish health will include balancing their diet, the water environment, and how the fish intermingle with each other.

Protozoan infections that you need to be aware of include:
White spot – also known as ichthyophthiriasis or also as ich
Your fish will have various white spots all over their body. When you have a fish that has a severe case of white spot, the white spots will actually seem to connect in certain areas of the body. Your fish will start swimming erratically as if they are violent or in pain. Medical treatment is generally the cure here using methylene blue or copper sulfate. This is a parasite infection so you should quarantine fish that are infected while treating all fish so that this parasite can be killed off.

Chilodonelliasis is a protozoan infection is where the skin on the fish and the gills are going to be slimy coated but they have sort of a lumpy texture to the sliminess over the fish. Fish will seem to have a hard time breathing even under the best water conditions. Keeping the water warm, over eighty degrees and using acriflavine in the water will treat your fish. Also treating your fish with potassium permanganate daily until the sliminess disappears will help your fish thrive and live healthy long lives.

Costiasis, infections of the gills or the skin – when your fish is covered with a thin slimy layer they most likely are suffering from this infection. Not to be confused with chilodonelliasis (which is a lumpy slimy coating) covers the skin and the gills on the fish in your pond when infected. You can see blood spots in the areas that are highly affected with this disease and they will appear to scratch their bodies on rocks, twigs and even on plants in their environment. You will have to treat this fish under a quarantine condition where they are going to be separate from the pond, and you will have to clean the pond out so that the parasites die without the fish being in the water.