Different methods of water pond and fish pond treatments
Dips: The fish is placed in a very concentrated tank of the treatment solution for a very short time.
Baths: The fish is kept in perhaps a more dilute concentration of the chemical for a longer period of time, e.g. 3% salt bath tonic - 10 minutes unless fish shows distress.
Swab: Concentrated solution applied by swab directly to the wound with the fish out of water. This can be stressful for the fish.
Some of the more common fish problems are given below. It is not an exhaustive diagnostic summary, but it will serve as a guide for treatment in the majority of cases. However for the reason that most pond keepers will not become aware of a disease or parasite until it manifests itself in its extreme, when it is likely that most of the population of the pool has contracted the problem, it is more than likely in most cases that a proprietary panacea type treatment for the whole pond is the most appropriate treatment. I feel that to fill the pages of this manual with sick-fish-pics would only serve to confuse many new pond keepers in their diagnosis of problems that really start with the fundamental question of the QUALITY OF THE WATER.
Fish in good water are remarkably resilient to all pests and diseases. Also take into account that many of these pathogens are too tiny to be seen unless we have laboratory conditions in which to examine the fish, and then by the time the disease is obviously manifesting itself, like for instance cotton woolly grows from the mouth region) it can look to the untrained eye to be caused by either of any number of problems. Many of the diseases that kill fish in normal healthy circumstances are lurking on the surface of the protective mucous layer that coats its scales. It is the same with us, we are host to a legion of lethal diseases and viruses that lie all over us from under nails to the back or our throats. Having a small population of many of these microbes in and around us helps us build up our immunity to them in the same way as being inoculated by a virus, and it is the same with fish. It is only when we become run down by other problems that these things move in. With fish, the water quality or the state of the environment is usually the cause the protective mucous layer to be breached and for the microbes and parasites to move in. So bearing in mind the limitations of our detective skills here is a run down of potential problems.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of a dead fish can only be relevant if death has taken place within the last 20minutes, because in this time after death most of the outside parasites will have scarpered and the micro-organisms will have spread like wild fire. This will undoubtedly result in a misleading conclusion. But having said this, you will hope to make a diagnosis before there is a body on your hands.R is therefore the first indication to you that a fish is not well.
| Behavioural Clues: | Possibilities: |
| Fish gulping for air at the surface | Lack of oxygen in the water, gill flukes or bacterial infection of the gills |
| It may hide from other fish all by itself with fins clamped in to its side. | This may be a bacterial infection or a parasite infestation. |
| Flitting, jumping and scraping against hard surfaces | Possibly a reaction to parasites or simply skittishness at spawning time. |
Spawning time
This for many fish can come at a time when they are physically at a very low ebb. The trials of a cool late spring can mean that many fish become very prone to infection having not been able to build themselves up after a long hard winter. Therefore keep an eye open for problems after any manifestations of fishy madness.
