CATDOLL : CATDOLL:What happened to my silver dragon?

1. What happened to my silver dragon?

It is generally believed that the main cause of the gill flipping of dragon fish is the environmental resistance function caused by poor water quality or insufficient oxygen content in the water. However, in a few individuals, even if the water quality is good and the oxygen content in the water is sufficient, the gill flipping phenomenon is still found to recur continuously, causing panic among the owners and unhealthy fish. After studying these individuals, it was found that the cause of the occurrence is mostly abnormal breathing caused by three major types of infections: fungal molds, protozoa and myxosporeans parasitic on the fish gills. These sources of infection have a common feature. Except for the large-scale growth of fungal gill fungi, other types of pathogens are almost impossible to observe with the naked eye. If it occurs in small fish, it is easy to be fatal. If it occurs in large fish, if the condition is mild, it will only cause discomfort and gill flipping. In severe cases, the detection method requires taking sample mucus from the gill arches or gill filaments of the diseased fish and observing it under a high-power microscope to determine the main pathogens.

Here is a very common problem; the average owner is almost impossible to have the ability to observe the parasites on the gill surface through a microscope, and there is no relevant equipment to detect. To a certain extent, it is indeed quite difficult to determine the cause of the disease. Therefore, it is necessary to judge various signs to preliminarily determine whether the gill flipping is caused by the pathogens parasitic on the gill flaps. The following is a summary of the various fungal molds, protozoan parasites and myxosporeans that parasitize on the gill flaps and their symptoms, so that you can make a judgment.

1. Fungal disease conditions: (The following information is partly based on the book "Fish Disease Prevention and Control Manual" compiled by Mr. Chen Qiliu)

There are two types of gill fungi in the Mycorrhizal family, Saprolegnia genus, and the order of Branchiomycetes, which mainly occur on fish gills. One type has thicker and straight hyphae with less curvature. Usually, this type of gill fungi grows as single filaments and does not enter blood vessels and cartilage tissues. It only grows on small pieces of gills. The other type of gill fungi is smaller than the former, and is distributed in a reticular pattern with many branches. It will penetrate into the blood vessels and cartilage tissues in the gills. Usually, the latter is more likely to cause death. Although there is no further literature research on the growth conditions of these fungal species of gill mold, I have found a special situation. Although the above two types of gill mold are quite lethal to pond fish, in fish tanks with better water quality management and temperature control, these molds will be surprisingly controlled to a certain amount. For large fish, such as osteoglossus and other fish species with better disease resistance, they often only have gills that are less bright red and white, and breathe more heavily, which is also one of the reasons for gill flipping. Therefore, dragon fish owners, if you find that your beloved fish has frequent gill flipping, please check whether the fish's gills are white and bloodless when performing gill trimming surgery. If such a situation occurs, most of them are symptoms caused by gill mold.

2. Protozoan Pathogenicity:

The so-called protozoa are also called protozoa or single-celled organisms. The most common protozoa are flagellates. The so-called flagella refer to the organs used to enable this protozoa to move forward with its membrane. Its other function is to be used to insert into fish tissues. The most well-known is the six-flagellate with six front flagella in the front, while most of the flagellates parasitic on the gills have only two flagella, and the main way of reproduction is cell division. When this kind of protozoa parasitizes on the gills, it will cause redness, swelling and inflammation of the gills. The worm body cannot be observed with the naked eye. When the sick fish suffers from this condition, in severe cases, its gills will be The gills are the opposite of fungal diseases, but blood red, redder than the normal healthy gills. The fish's breathing is more rapid. If it happens to small fish, it is usually accompanied by loss of appetite, reduced activity, irregular breathing or frequent gill breathing, etc., and even worse, it will be fatal. In large fish, due to different physiques, there is often only excessive breathing and gill flipping. Therefore, when performing gill flipping removal surgery, if the gills are observed to be blood red, most of the time it is caused by this type of protozoan parasite, and can be treated with Watwerlife protozoan treatment or other treatments.

3. Pathogenicity of Myxosporeans:

The main characteristic of sporozoans is that they have two stages of reproduction, asexual and sexual. In the asexual stage, one worm can split into 128. After the division is completed, each individual will have the ability to reproduce sexually and expand infinitely. Usually, this type of spore worm mainly parasitizes the gastrointestinal organs, but some species also parasitize on the gills. If the gills are unfortunately parasitized by this worm, the main symptom will be the appearance of many gray-white dots similar to white spot worms. Like the above two types, it will cause the death of small fish. If large fish have enough antibodies, they will show symptoms of gill flipping.

In addition, there are many different parasites that will directly affect the breathing of fish. In short, when performing the gill flipping surgery, you should carefully observe the flap flipping action to prevent the above situation from happening again.

2. If you put 10 bottles of gentamicin in a 1.8-meter fish tank, the silver arowana will die

Silver Arowana is particularly sensitive to drugs, so the dosage should be halved compared to other fish species.

3. The silver dragon has blindness syndrome, with a white spot in the middle of one of its eyeballs, but is in good condition. My tank is 1.5m×0.6m×0.7m, the water is clear, the nitrifying bacteria are good, and the pH value has not been measured. I don’t know how the dragon became blinded. Could anyone give me a good remedy? Thank you!

Eye ptosis: caused by long-term feeding of bottom food, it will recover if it is returned to the pond. Cover the entire fish tank with opaque black paper, add a white light on the top of the fish tank, feed top food or place an object on the top of the fish tank to attract the attention of the silver arowana, and remove the black paper after 3 months.

Gill Flipping: Caused by unclean water, insufficient space, insufficient dissolved oxygen, and sudden changes in water temperature. At the beginning of the disease, you will see irregular gill movements, rapid breathing, the soft membrane on the gill cover facing outward instead of inward, and you can see the red color of the gills. Change the water quality as soon as possible and provide more oxygen. The gills will turn from soft to hard. There is no choice but to perform surgery. Surgery requires: scissors, gloves, disinfectant alcohol, clean and damp cloth, and anesthetic. Find a clean plastic bag, fill the bag with water, put the silver arowana in the bag, add anesthetic to the water in the bag, wait for the anesthetic to take effect, take the silver arowana out of the bag and put it on a clean and damp cloth. Use scissors (make sure it is sterilized) to trim it, then put the silver arowana back into the tank, increase the dissolved oxygen, and let the silver arowana rest and rest when it regains consciousness. Let it rest in dim conditions. If the silver arowana has no interest in food, replace 20%-30% of the water every day, change the water quality for 6 days, and increase salt to reduce the risk of parasite attack.

White spot disease: caused by parasitic protozoa, a part or most of the body of the silver arowana is covered with small white spots. It mainly affects the fins and reduces the appetite of the arowana, and the silver arowana can often be seen rubbing its body. Raise the temperature to 30 or even 34 degrees Celsius and add 3% concentration of small table salt. If it still doesn't work, it should be treated separately in a medicine tank. The main symptom is that the diseased fish has white spots all over the body, like sprinkled with white powder. In severe cases, it is like a layer of milky white film covering the fish. The cause of the disease is that the small Ichthyophthirius parasitizes on the fish body. The main prevention and control measures: 1. Sprinkle 0.1-0.2ppm mercurous nitrate throughout the pond; 2. Sprinkle 500ppm copper sulfate and 500ppm magnesium sulfate throughout the pond.

Eye mask syndrome: Due to unclean water or external factors, the fish's eyes are covered with white matter. Raise the temperature to 30 or even 31 degrees Celsius and add 3% salt, and start the normal water change procedure. Usually, the condition can be improved in 4-6 months.

Edema: caused by sudden changes in temperature or pH, the arowana loses balance when swimming and stops eating, and dies after a few days. Increase water flow, gradually raise the water temperature to 34 degrees Celsius (1 degree every 2 hours), add 1% salt, add tetracycline every 2 days, and use black water to adjust the water quality according to the instructions until it improves.

Biting its own tail: There are two suspected reasons. First, it is infected by bacteria. Second, the silver arowana thinks its tail is the enemy's tail. The silver arowana bites its own tail, and its tail is messy. Quickly changing the water quality, increasing the dissolved oxygen, raising the temperature to 34 degrees Celsius, and adding salt can solve the problem of bacterial infection. Change 20%-30% of the water for 6 days. If there is no improvement, you can put a mirror in the fish tank to distract the arowana's attention or you can give the arowana another kind of fish. If the silver arowana still does not get better, you can only choose the last resort, which is to cut off the tail. Cutting process: Put the arowana in a plastic bag, add anesthetic to the water in the bag, wait for the drug to take effect, put the silver arowana on a clean and damp cloth, and use scissors (sterilized) to cut the tail into a fan shape (cutting it into a fan shape will make the arowana grow a more beautiful tail), change 20%-30% of the water every day, change the water quality for 6 days, and increase salt to reduce the risk of parasite attack.

Fin rot: The fins become gray and rotten due to bacterial infection. Change the water quality as soon as possible, increase the dissolved oxygen, gradually increase the water temperature to 34 degrees Celsius (1 degree every 2 hours), add 1% salt, and maintain good water for 6 days.

Swollen and protruding anus: Intestinal infection caused by eating unclean or sharp food is the most difficult disease to cure. The infection can disappear but the anus is still protruding. Increase water flow, gradually increase the water temperature to 34 degrees Celsius (increase 1 degree every 2 hours), add 1% salt, add tetracycline every 2 days, adjust the water quality with black water according to the instructions, and temporarily stop feeding sharp food.

Saprolegniasis: secondary infection caused by fungi parasitizing on the injured part of fish. It is extremely harmful. You can apply chlortetracycline or erythromycin to the affected area and soak it in tetracycline solution, or soak the wound in 2% salt water for 15 minutes. You can also use Haibao phenoxyethanol medicine. The diseased fish is surrounded by fibrous Saprolegnia, and the hyphae are attached to the skin tissue. After the fish gets sick, they swim inactively, lose their appetite, and gradually die. The cause of the disease is the result of infection by aquatic mold. The main prevention and control measures: 1. Soak the wound in 12% salt water for about 15 minutes; 2. Dissolve 3 grams of borax in 10 liters of water and soak the fish for 5 minutes, then move it to clear water for recuperation; 3. Spray 0.5ppm malachite green all over the pond.

Cat head lice disease: a disease caused by arthropod cat head lice parasitizing fish and sucking fish blood. If the number is small, you can directly remove the parasites by hand and apply antibiotic ointment. If the fish is young or the number of parasites is too large, you can use 1:80,000 potassium permanganate solution to soak the diseased fish for 1 hour, once a day for a total of three times when the water temperature is 25-30 degrees Celsius. You can also use Haibao Kefu Chongling medicine.

Erythema: (Printing Disease) A viral disease, it can be said to be a terminal illness. You can try to raise the water temperature to 36 degrees Celsius and use oral antibiotics combined with medicated baths. It is recommended to try Heinamin.

Autotomy: When a juvenile silver arowana is frightened, its dorsal fin, caudal fin, and anal fin may be partially or completely broken off near the bottom of the body. The broken surface will not bleed too much. The broken fin will grow back on its own. To prevent secondary infection, a certain amount of methylene blue can be added. (The dosage is 10% of the normal dosage)

Spine curvature: Symptoms are that the spine of the silver arowana is curved into an S shape. This may be caused by improper use of medication during the juvenile period, poor water quality, insufficient exercise or malnutrition. Treatment is almost impossible, the key is prevention: keep the water clean, pay attention to balanced and sufficient nutrition, try to prevent other fish diseases and try not to use medication, put in a water pump to increase the exercise of the silver arowana, and the aquarium should be as large as possible.

Too much fat: The reason is that you eat too much and don't exercise enough, so you will naturally grow like a pig. You won't die, but it will shorten your life and cause you to be unable to lay eggs. Prevention: 1. Stop eating for 1-2 days a week. 2. Put in a water pump or choose a few silver arowana to play with fat fish to increase exercise.

Dragon's beard is tangled: The water quality is poor, which leads to poor appetite and lack of energy. In this case, you can change the water to improve the water quality and increase food intake.

Fish scale decay: There are two possibilities for fish scale decay: 1. Long-term medication 2. Infection with external parasites. For the former, you can just change the water and reduce the dosage of the medication, while for the latter, you need to use drugs to kill external parasites.

Anorexia: The sick fish does not eat all day and lies motionless at the bottom of the tank. The water quality is fine and very normal. This is caused by the change in the water environment that makes the silver arowana feel urgent. Change the bait to slowly adapt the fish.

Anchorworm disease: A parasite about 1 cm long with its head hooked in the fish can be found on the fish. In the early stage, the fish appears restless and has a poor appetite. The parasite site becomes red, swollen and bleeding. In severe cases, it can cause tissue necrosis. The cause of the disease is long-term use of goldfish as live bait, which brings anchorworms into the water where the dragon fish are raised. Prevention and control measures: Feed other meat animal bait instead; soak the fish with 5-10ppm potassium permanganate once a day.