Frequent Aquarium Questions

• I have had my Oscar for ten years and have not had any problems until now. It has developed a white sac that seems to be coming from out of the belly which is also swollen. It was recently fed feeder fish which is not common. It usually eats pellets. What could be causing this?
  
  
• We transferred 6 goldfish (originally 1/2 inch length now 3-4 inches long) from our pond to an indoor barrel with filter. One fish is now very swollen, no other signs of disease or inactivity. Pregnant or sick?
  
  
• I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank with two oscars, a bluegill, and a pleco. the smaller of the two has come down with Hole-in-the-head, and has torn fins. The larger oscar has been attacking the smaller one, after having lived together peacefully for two years. What should I do? thanx tina
  
  
• I have a large (10") irridescent shark that has become bloated with a lumpy abdomen in the last week or so. He seems not to be eating? Any ideas what is wrong and what to do?
  
  
• hi i have a 10 gallon tank ( fresh water )and i have guppies in there and i keep seeing that there are white spots on the fishes bodies. it looks like a white rash.i have no idea what to do and i really need some help because some of my guppies get this and die. and i have one in a breders net that is pregnant and i want this one at least to have the fry without dying. can you please help me? thank you soooooo so much ricky tucker
  
  
• hi have a bala shark in my tank, recently it developed lots of white spots on its body, what is the possible cause and its it dangerous to the other fish. there is no change in his activity hes lively still
  
  
• Recently I have noticed my Silver Shark getting red marks around it tail and bottom fin. I suspect this may be due to tail nipping from either my 3 spot Guarrami (its very aggresive!) or my four Tiger Barbs. Is this common, will it hurt my Shark and is there anything I can do about it?
  
  
• My freshwater tank has little white worm-like parasites on the glass all over my tank. I do not know what they are, or how to treat this problem.
  
  
• i have a female beta she has a white spot under her chest almost like a ball what is it ? thanks
  
  
• What does the beginning of ich look like?
  
  

• I have had my Oscar for ten years and have not had any problems until now. It has developed a white sac that seems to be coming from out of the belly which is also swollen. It was recently fed feeder fish which is not common. It usually eats pellets. What could be causing this?
  
  We think that the feeders may be the clue here. Large carnivorous fish that are not used to getting live fish and suddenly are treated to a feast will tend to gorge themselves. The fish may very well be constipated or have an intestional blockage. The best treatment is Epsom Salts at a dosafe of one teaspoon per 10 gallons, followed by a wtaer change once the fish passes the blockage. The dosage can be increased to a teaspoon per five gallons if the problem does not go away in a few days.
  
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• We transferred 6 goldfish (originally 1/2 inch length now 3-4 inches long) from our pond to an indoor barrel with filter. One fish is now very swollen, no other signs of disease or inactivity. Pregnant or sick?
  
  It is probably sick and we would advise immediately removing the fish so the others don't get infected. The disease is probably an internal bacterial infection causing a condition known as dropsy. It is highly contagious. Unless you can isolate the fish in its own tank, we would recommend putting it to sleep. If you can isolate it, treat with one teaspoon of aquarium salt per ten gallons and also use Aquatronics Spectrogram.
  
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• I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank with two oscars, a bluegill, and a pleco. the smaller of the two has come down with Hole-in-the-head, and has torn fins. The larger oscar has been attacking the smaller one, after having lived together peacefully for two years. What should I do? thanx tina
  
  First of all, your oscars have clearly outgrown your tank. Remove one of them or invest in a much larger aquarium, otherwise the aggression you are witnessing will continue until your smaller oscar is dead. "Hole-in-the-head" disease, or Heximita, is a parasitic infection that can be caused by stressful conditions. There are a few effective treatments for this, such as Hex-a-mit from Aquatronics. However, your oscar will not recover unless the cause of the stress is remedied.
  
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• I have a large (10") irridescent shark that has become bloated with a lumpy abdomen in the last week or so. He seems not to be eating? Any ideas what is wrong and what to do?
  
  Sounds like he has simply over-eaten, as many catfish are prone to doing, especially when offered foods such as sinking pellets. Just give him some time to digest and he should return to normal.
  
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• hi i have a 10 gallon tank ( fresh water )and i have guppies in there and i keep seeing that there are white spots on the fishes bodies. it looks like a white rash.i have no idea what to do and i really need some help because some of my guppies get this and die. and i have one in a breders net that is pregnant and i want this one at least to have the fry without dying. can you please help me? thank you soooooo so much ricky tucker
  
  With the information you've given us here, it sounds a lot like "Ich". Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (you can see why we just call it "Ich") is a parasitic ciliate that is extremely common in most fishes. The spots are what we see in the advanced stages of the disease and are actually pus-filled pits excreted by the fish as a defense. Ich responds readily to antiparasite medications.
  
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• hi have a bala shark in my tank, recently it developed lots of white spots on its body, what is the possible cause and its it dangerous to the other fish. there is no change in his activity hes lively still
  
  Without additional information, my guess is that your bala shark has "Ich", or White Spot Disease. Ichthyophthirius multifiliis is a parasitic ciliate that affects most fishes, but is easily treatable with a variety of antiparasite medications. Most medications will say what they treat, and many are specific for "Ich". If not treated, it will spread to other fishes, and is often fatal.
  
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• Recently I have noticed my Silver Shark getting red marks around it tail and bottom fin. I suspect this may be due to tail nipping from either my 3 spot Guarrami (its very aggresive!) or my four Tiger Barbs. Is this common, will it hurt my Shark and is there anything I can do about it?
  
  While you may be right about the nipping, if you have not witnessed it happen, the red marks could come from a secondary infection. While aggression among your fishes may be common, most healthy animals can deal with an occasional nip. Not knowing what size aquarium you have, I can only reccommend that good water quality will go a long way towards minimizing infection. The first course of action is a partial water change with dechlorinated water. If the problem persists (or worsens), treat with a broad-range antibiotic, such as kannamyacin. Eventually, you may need to remove the shark, or, if you have enough room, add two or three more tiger barbs--in a school, they nip each other preferentially over other fishes.
  
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• My freshwater tank has little white worm-like parasites on the glass all over my tank. I do not know what they are, or how to treat this problem.
  
  What you are seeing are Planaria, or flatworms. Since these animals are appearing on your glass and decorations, and not your fish, it is most likely that these are not parasites. Typically, these worms are harmless scavengers, but may be unnattractive in large numbers. Copper-based medications will usually clear them up, but may be toxic to plants, snails, and some fish. Another option in to break down the tank and rinse out the equipment, decorations, substrate, and aquarium itself with saltwater. Bettas and most gouramis will eat them.
  
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• i have a female beta she has a white spot under her chest almost like a ball what is it ? thanks
  
  This could be Columnaris, or another type of body fungus or true fungus. There is too little information here to diagnose more specifically, but a braod range anti fungal treatment may help.
  
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• What does the beginning of ich look like?
  
  Good question. It is really only visible (in the beginning stages) under the microscope. As for what we can see with the naked eye, the first sign the aquarist has is the small white spots all over the fish's body and fins. These spots are actually fluid-filled pits left by the parasite when it was on the fish. By the time we see them, the parasite has become free-floating and has spread to other fish by that time. In short, once you see anything on even one fish, chances are excellent that the rest of the fish are infected as well. It tends to show up on diseased or abused fishes preferentially, but if left untreated, can wipe out an aquarium of livestock in short order.
  
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