Common Cichlid Fish Diseases

Although you might believe otherwise fish will suffer from sickness. It is your personal responsibility to do the best that you can so that their health stays optimum at all times. In most situations cichlid diseases appear due to parasites, fungi or bacteria.

There are different symptoms that you must look for as they are common when any cichlid is showing bacterial infections. We can say that common ones are bloating, fins inflammation, internal organs inflammation, fin fraying, abscesses, eye cloudiness, bulging eyes, sluggishness, sores and breathing problems. Common bacterial infection examples are exophthalmia, ulcers and Pop-eye.

If the cichlid is suffering from a fungal infection you will usually see him swimming around erratically. Also cotton like growths can appear around eyes, mouth and even on skin. If it is infected by parasites you should see a loss of appetite, heavy breathing, mucus growths on its body, sluggishness, worms, scratching and visible spots. Different common cichlid parasites are lice, leeches and anchor worms.

One highly common cichlid diseases is Hole-in-the-head. Appetite loss and weight loss are really common in this case and the condition is also known simply as Hexamita. In the event that you notice head depressions you are in front of a clear sign that the fish is dealing with this. It might also suffer from Ichtyophthirius, commonly referred to just as Ich. The fish is to show different salt like marks on the body with the first ones appearing on the head. Breathing turns out to be really rapid and scratching is common. The cichlid will also show cloudy fins and eyes.

Another highly common cichlid disease you need to know about is Dropsy. Common symptoms include a swollen abdomen and red scales appearing around it. In most situations there are three reasons that cause this: bacteria, cancer or parasites. In most circumstances salt treatment can cure Dropsy.

Many more cichlid fish diseases can appear. You really have to provide a good tank maintenance at all times and keep the diet well balanced if you want the fish to be healthy. Also, you should look at them and whenever something becomes odd you should check it out and see if there is a problem. While most possible diseases are really easy to cure some will be fatal in most circumstances.