What is THIS on my fish?!?

[DavesGirl]

Wondering what that white fuzzy stuff is?  What about those bumps?   Why are my fish's fin's turning red?  We all wanna know.  Well, I'm going to make this thread as a resource thread, to help you, help yourselves.  There's several resources out there for identifying diseases, and I'm going to post them and maybe talk a little about some of the more common disease issues.  This will be an ongoing project.

First, we'll start with the easy stuff: resources.

Here are some links to the sites I use for help diagnosing things:


Pics of various issues seen in aquariums:
The Fish Palace

Hole in the head:
Chiclidfish.com

Understanding Ich:
Peter's Ich Notes

Lumps & Bumps:
Dan's Comments

Columnaris:
Flippers and Fins

Treating Camallanus:
Camallanus Treatment

Gill Disease:
Gill Disease

These are a few, I'll update this regularly with other and I'll try and give some brief insight into some common aquarium problems.

[DavesGirl]

Quoted from another thread I responded to:

Anchorworm is caused by a crustacean parasite, Lernaea.

The males have a shorter lifespan and die after mating.  Females are what you see attached to your fish.  The juvenile stages of this parasite can live without a host for a week (5-7 days).

The most effective treatment (my book tells me) is an organophosphorus insecticide, such as Metriphonate to kill juvenile stages and you must continue to pull off adults that are attached.  A pair of pliers (small) or possibly tweezers could work.  You should grab hold as close to anchor spot as possible and pull it away.  Then dab area with a antiseptic cream like Mecurochrome.  I use neosporin creme.  The gel won't stick, don't bother trying.  The fish will be stressed a little, but to minimize the stress, a few tips:

Have all tools ready and a helper handy.  Handle fish by keeping it restrained in a soft damp cloth - and only kee it out of hte water for a few minutes at a time.  The plucking process may need repeated in a week or two, so be patient.

I'm not sure how long out of water they can survive, my educated guess is: not long.

[Gwenz]

I once found this tropical fish Disease Chart and I think it is very useful. I believe it contains all freshwater diseases described. It has the information on the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. I think it is a great reference source for those suspecting they have sick fish. So I am posting it for those who may need it.

Here: http://www.klsnet.com/files/fishchart.htm

Just in case anyone asks, OTC medication in the "Treatment" column means "Over The Counter". It is basically whatever the medication your fish store has for the disease you know your fish has. I hope the chart I gave you will help many of you out. I think it's very good and very useful.

Gwenz