Fish Sickness Is Hard to Diagnose at Home
72 posts in the last 30 days, all from r/Aquariums.
“I know the video is low quality and the tank doesn't look clean but I assure you I clean it. She's just in a spot I can't get well. She likes to "sleep" there idk why. Robin has been displaying this weird zombie-like behavior for 2 days at least and I don't know what to do. I've…”
“He is sitting in the bottom corner of the tank gulping rapidly. Ammonia is 0, nitrite 0, nitrate under 20ppm, temp 79.5 degrees. My only thought is perhaps he ate a piece of eggshell that the wife dropped in for the ramhorn snail, and has it stuck. Any thoughts or questions…”
“Hello! A few days ago I noticed one of my tetras looking weird. I'm not sure what is that, and I would really appreciate any advice, because I've been looking all around the net about what that even might be, but nobody seemed to have the same problem before. This tetra is…”
Several posts express concern about fish health problems, including white spots, tail rot, swim bladder issues, and general sickness. Users are seeking advice on treatment, isolation, and potential causes like stress or disease transmission.
SOURCES (60)
“This fish has already been euthanized (I did not believe he was capable of being saved at this point and wanted to choose the most humane option for him). I want opinions on what could have possibly happened. I noticed this white cloud mountain minnow…”
“PLEASE READ THIS I NEED HELP AND ADVICE submitted by /u/nonchalant6_7 [link] [comments]”
“bought 4 neon tetras to add to my tank (would total to 10), and i was floating them to acclimate when i noticed that their gills seem red. then i noticed that one of them has a huge pale patch on one side of its body. i temporarily put them in a container with an air stone because i don’t think it would’ve been a good idea to add them to the tank. help! submitted by /u/Puzzleheaded_Fig_215 [link] [comments]”
“Trifasciata apisto not looking himself, anyone know what it could be and how I can help him? submitted by /u/robbietronn [link] [comments]”
“I noticed he has been losing weight over the past few weeks. His best friend died and so I got him some new friends to interact with, but his health seems to be declining. I noticed these spots on his tail. They do not look like ick. (Yellow guppy at the top) If he needs medicine, can you let me know which kind and I will order some. Thank you. I do have otocinclus in the tank and a few guppies. That’s it submitted by /u/heywhatsup82347 [link] [comments]”
“What is wrong with my fish. it keeps going to the the corner and stay like this there. I tried to move it but it keeps going back there and did the same thing. It is the only fish I had in 5 gallon tank with filter and I feed it regularly. I had it for just 3 days. submitted by /u/PapayaSuspicious4822 [link] [comments]”
“I just added 5 cardinal tetras to my tank I already have 10 other cardinals in the tank one of them shows a lot of the new ones looks sick so I took him out of the tank and put it into quarantine but the others while they look much healthier def not fully like my established group I still see a few panting none of my other fish are I’m wondering if this could be since they were just added only a day ago or if they’re most likely sick aswell submitted by /u/Zealousideal_Fly2533 [link]”
“I lost another tetra this same way weeks ago. I had tried a salt bath but it didn't work submitted by /u/JohnnyThaFlash [link] [comments]”
“I’ve tried all medications, parasitic, fungal, viral, bacterial. None of it has helped and is getting worse. This has been happening for months. All medications were done in a hospital tank for weeks on end with consistent water changes. I need to know what this is submitted by /u/Bigb2002 [link] [comments]”
“I need help identifying and treating whatever is going on with my Severum Cichlid. Does anyone know what this could be?? And what the best course of treatment would be? Backstory: I had an angel fish that developed some sort of ulcer about 3 months ago. Around the same time, my Severum started developing some abnormalities on his fins. I started treating with KanaPlex mixed in with food. After a few days of treatment, my angelfish stopped eating so I starting dosing KanaPlex in the water. My ang”
“New fish owner, just finished cycling and added 4 embers to my planted 20 gallon. one had part of its tail fin missing but was acting normal and looked like it was growing back. now I spotted him sitting at the top like this, but he moved back to the bottom when I get closer to the tank. Should I be concerned? All others are acting normal and do not visit the top. ammonia and nitrite have steadily read 0 since putting the fish in. submitted by /u/NinjaCivil508 [link] [comments]”
“I have a 20 gallon high tank with two guppies, some red cherry shrimp and 10 pgymy cories. 9 days ago I bought 3 more Cories (growing my school from 7 to 10). One of the Cories had a white patch, and over the past week it has grown slowly. The Cory was eating and schooling. It’s hard to get a photo but it’s not fuzzy, or slimey. I moved it into a 50L hospital tank - where it has been for past 4 days. It has become very stressed and lost all its colour, which has made it hard to monitor if the pa”
“what is wrong with this female blue grass guppy? submitted by /u/Firm_Competition8717 [link] [comments]”
“Hi, I have 4 dwarf gouramis in my 160L fish tank alongside some neons, black tetras, cherry barbs, corys and a pleco. I’ve has the DGs for about a month, and a couple of days noticed one of them was breathing fast, only swimming at the surface, very lethargic and not really eating. Is this dwarf gourami disease? What should I do, I’m only a beginner at this! submitted by /u/trustmeimabanker1 [link] [comments]”
“One of my blue emperor Tetra (kerri) does this mostly when I have the corner filter ON, every 5 minutes or so he comes down, lays down for a few seconds to a minute and goes back. The other ones act normally, other than swim slightly upwards due to the corner filter current, and also play along with eachother or run from the hiney gourami. Is this normal? By color, behavior and everything else it seems okay. submitted by /u/Stygian_Akk [link] [comments]”
“My ember tetra has a huge belly I just got it (which is why it's so pale but IS IT SICK OR IS THERE A PARASITE OR SOMETJING submitted by /u/fati_cocosmokey [link] [comments]”
“Hello. I’m looking for a bit of help. My dwarf gourami seems to be acting normally, but is tending towards a ball with fins. This is the first gourami I’ve had. Does it look normal to those with more experience? Thank you. submitted by /u/An-ony-mouse1 [link] [comments]”
“This is my first sick fish - What steps should I take?? I noticed this growth on both sides of my tetra’s tail this morning. Respiration and behavior are normal. Tank is 79°, 0 nitrite, 0 ammonia, 20 nitrate. Lives with other black skirt tetras, panda corys, clown pleco, a bajillion snails of various types, and potentially shrimps still living in the plants. These tetras are at least 1.5yr old and have been healthy and happy the whole time submitted by /u/left_tentacle [link] [”
“I was watching my phantom tetra and realised he isn’t with his school and whenever he swims away from the substrate he spirals. Is this dropsy, swim bladder or what I will send more videos if asked submitted by /u/LoachLover131524 [link] [comments]”
“My clown loach has gone downhill fast and I'm not sure what else to do. Over the last [day/few days] its fins have started looking ragged and rotten, and there are some whitish patches on its body (photo attached). It was struggling to breathe earlier, and now it's just sitting wedged in the corner barely moving. It's in a 50l tank with plenty of space. The other fish are all ok. 2 angelfish, 2 Clown loaches, 3 tetras. Can someone help advise what's best here? Does it need removi”
“help! I've had 3 upside down catfish that i bought relatively recently, one unfortunately died but i assumed it was from stress as i put it in the fish tank only a few days before. The other two have been doing great and have been really well! until i noticed that one of them has had a white splotch on the pectoral and anal fins and curls up when stops moving, (this fish has not reached full size yet.) I suspect they have dropsy and potentially a fungal infection although i only noticed this”
“Hello, I have a 20 gallon aquarium (pictured) that presently only has 2 platies and 2 other livebearers (I am unsure what these actually are, they were sold as 'banana platys' but appear much smaller than my other two platies, and are apparently also sold online as 'mini mollies'. I had purchased 3 female platies on Friday, all 'sunset' variants. From the outset they seemed to be a little lethargic, though this may just be compared to the smaller livebearers which are ver”
“can anyone tell me whether this is disease related? parameters look fine. currently isolating guppy in hospital tank… is there any way to save my guppies submitted by /u/Trick-Trouble9462 [link] [comments]”
“My molly and guppy keep die with very high rate, today i decided to use my microscope to check, and i found these worm on the skin of the fish. it seems like some type of parasite. i am doing 30% water change every 2 weeks, but still the death toll is still very high, and it is now infecting my second tank. appreciate if any guru can give me a suggestion. this is a 240l tank with lot of plant. should i totally abandon it and start over? i have about 50 fishes now. submitted by /u/Gen”
“I have this puppy thats been swimming at the top of the tank. All the other fish as doing fine but this one is just stuck up there. Any ideas? submitted by /u/Adorable_Top3674 [link] [comments]”
“I noticed my tinwini danio was like this yesterday, however this morning it’s worse; there is also less tail fin than before. I dosed seachem kanaplex and added aquarium salt last night. Is that all I can be doing now? I’m worried about the spread to all my other fish, as my nano fish / baby platys have been dying one after the other. submitted by /u/toadsterrr [link] [comments]”
“Hello, i am a new fish keeper and I got my corydoras a week ago (4 albino and 4 peppered). One of my albinos has been acting strange for the past few days. He keeps sitting in corners or in tight spots, not really moving or being with the rest of the group. I put a photo of my non sick cories first so no one has to see a potentially ill fish if they don’t want to. My tank was cycled for 2 months before getting my fish. My parameters are Temp: 26 c Ammonia: 0.0 Notates: 0.0 Nitrites: 0.0 Ph: 6.8”
“I had my Dojo loache in a quarantine 10 gallon for a bit and now it looks like he has prolapsed anus and is not buoyant and barely responsive I already gave him a salt bath and I don't know what to do submitted by /u/Competitive-War-115 [link] [comments]”
“I was given 3 black skirt tetras last night by a family friend who knew I kept fish. Her son wasn’t taking care of them and she wanted them to get healthy and happy again. They are currently secluded in my hospital tank while I rehab them, but I’ve never owned black skirt tetras before so I’m not sure where to start with tank setup. I have a couple different sizes of vacant tanks already that I would need to build, but I’ve got 4 already fully functioning and pretty self sustaining freshwater ta”
“Hi I realized my guppy have pine doing and got skinnier than yesterday? what happened. submitted by /u/GuppyAndPlatyPals [link] [comments]”
“I know that fish diseases can be so, so many things. Is anyone able to identify what’s wrong with my CPD? It started acting weird a few days ago- I’ve had this specific one for about a year and a half maybe. It’s just acting lethargic, gasping, and it appears to have a rough surface on the scales, but it’s not ich. Maybe velvet? Honestly I’m not sure. I dosed the tank with hydrogen peroxide in the meantime but, anyone got any ideas? submitted by /u/littlemissturnip [link] [comm”
“I know the video is low quality and the tank doesn't look clean but I assure you I clean it. She's just in a spot I can't get well. She likes to "sleep" there idk why. Robin has been displaying this weird zombie-like behavior for 2 days at least and I don't know what to do. I've done a 20 percent water change like 3 days ago everything is treated the water parameters are fine (I don't have testers so I took water to my LFS who is an hour away.) The only thing I”
“One of my ember tetras is acting very strange. He looks like he's shivering, and was floating in place at the bottom of my tank until I disturbed him by trying to target feed. He also seems more opaque than the others. I didn't notice this behavior yesterday. He is staying away from the school submitted by /u/Myskullisflaminghair [link] [comments]”
“My poor twig catfish(Benson) has been like this for a few days now. I asked a catfish specific group and got no answers other than "feed peas" I did give some peas (I did take the shell/skin off) and i didn't see Benson eat any, hes still grazing on the wood and glass and moving around some. Im so worried and not sure what to do! Hes my favorite fish:( submitted by /u/frostbite_owo [link] [comments]”
“He is sitting in the bottom corner of the tank gulping rapidly. Ammonia is 0, nitrite 0, nitrate under 20ppm, temp 79.5 degrees. My only thought is perhaps he ate a piece of eggshell that the wife dropped in for the ramhorn snail, and has it stuck. Any thoughts or questions welcome. Doing a half water change right now in case oxygen is an issue. submitted by /u/Ok_Blueberry_6736 [link] [comments]”
“I have 8 of them but this guy was laying on his side and the side pointed towards the sky was red by the gills but my water parameters are good and they eat daily, in my last post I listed what I think caused this but I need more help submitted by /u/AnnualLimit170 [link] [comments]”
“Bought this fish 4 days ago. Noticed this today and placed into hospital tank (left rest of the ones i bought in quarntine tank). Any idea what this is? submitted by /u/charlesamerrill [link] [comments]”
“One of my glowlights has recently gotten this wound/lesion/injury. Wanted community advice on if this is a disease and I should separate it, or if it’s just a tumor that isn’t contagious. Behavior is otherwise normal: stays in their school, eats, swims away from me. Apologies for pic quality… tetras don’t seem to like being photographed submitted by /u/Natural-Hat-3700 [link] [comments]”
“Hello fellow freshwater enthusiasts! I have been battling a bacteria infection in this tank for WEEKS.. water parameters are good. My tetras have been dying suddenly one by one, my mollies and baby angelfish keep going nose up, and baby blue electric acara has cloudy eye and lethargic… Please don’t judge. I have the mollies (except one) and the angelfish in hospital tanks that are being treated with klanaplex. All bottom dwellers are doing fantastic/thriving. What do I do?! I’ve done a few water”
“Yellow Glo Skirt Tetra - Unsure what the red is from. Does it look like trauma to you? Like it got hit with something, kind of like a bruise? Orange Glo Skirt Tetra - I noticed bumps near the base of his tail. Is that just aging and poor gene quality? Will either of these ailments spread to my other fish, or are these individual cases? Also, my glo Skirt Tetras often seem bloated as they eat up all the food before any of my other fish get there. Because of this I only feed the tank once a day. I”
“I feel depressed and I have another one I don’t want it to die too The father is clean They are well fed Since I found The body I guess its not other fishes fault? So why I lost my babyyy submitted by /u/Arshiorange [link] [comments]”
“I recently added this female guppy with 3 others, 2 remain now but one of them has a bent spine and seems very stressed. Any suggestions? submitted by /u/DifferentFuel3082 [link] [comments]”
“Any idea what this is some fish have it on mouth gills tails body I’ve lost around 20fish now I’ve tried treating with NTlabs anti bacteria but no luck any help is appreciated TIA submitted by /u/Spotted-Corydora [link] [comments]”
“I know I have posted quite a bit on this subreddit lately. Please forgive me. I recently bought some fish from a pet store. I did research on guppies prior to purchasing what I thought were guppies, along with an oto, a cory, and some cherry shrimp which i did personal research on afterwards. I was told by the woman at the pet store confidently that otos and cories do not need tankmates of the same species. (They do.) I was told by the woman that the five fish I purchased were guppies. (They see”
“Looking at the topmost neon. A quick google about a bent spine like this says potentially Neon Tetra Disease, thought I would come to the experts. They have all looked normal until about a week or two ago, when I noticed a slight curve in this one. Should quarantine him? Any help is appreciated greatly. 10gal, 1 rosy barb, 3 rummynose tetras, 4 neon tetras. Nitrite 0, nitrate 16ppm submitted by /u/Picklefan92 [link] [comments]”
“I have a Terra that is swimming around uncontrollably and I think it may be swim bladder. I’m not sure how to help or if it’s too late to do something. My tank is bare right now because I’m getting rid of all the fake things and took out anything that would hurt it. I planned to redo the tank next week with only real plants and a new substrate. What can I do to help my fish ASAP? submitted by /u/ChronicPainInTheA [link] [comments]”
“Hi all, I performed a water change like normal and noticed one of my tetras had a red line coming out the bottom of it, does anyone know what this is and how to treat it? I’ve got 6 other neons in there and a betta so just want to know if this one should be separated asap. It’s a 36L tank, been running for a year with a filter and heater. I’ve dosed broad spectrum but if anyone knows the specifics of what this could be that would be amazing 🫶 submitted by /u/Melofu [link] [com”
“It’s like a skin eating bacteria. But I’m not sure. First, 1/6 of the fish will start to loose its color. It started with a long uniform swelling across his body. Then on that swelling, the scales will be lifted, but only at that area. (Other places are fine) Then it will consume his entire body day by day as it spreads. submitted by /u/Puzzleheaded_Pea_308 [link] [comments]”
“I have a betta tank and recently put a red bristle nose pleco with my betta. At the store they all looked fine I noticed in a different tank with neon tetras that they had ick but I thought since the bristle noses were in a different tank and all looked good that maybe the tanks used different water sources if that makes sense. Anyways, now my betta has ick and I’ve been using ick-X for three days now with 1/3 water changes before every dosage and I removed the filter media because it has charco”
“My tiger endler is hanging out at the surface. He's listless only ate a little when I dropped the brine shrimp in front of him. Previously he acted like this a month or two ago with clamped fins. I treated with Fritz Expel-P and he was back to normal. The parameters are the same as is the temperature. submitted by /u/pangogirl98 [link] [comments]”
“This is my 3 year old Pirranah.. I think he's sick..he's been swimming erratic the last month now he's at bottom of tank and some film on him..our pleco is dead too. I'm doing half water change .I feed them brine shrimp and bloodworms..do I quarantine him? My 3 others ? submitted by /u/amyjane777 [link] [comments]”
“Hey friends, I've been a betta owner for less than a year and Crêpe is my third betta after losing the first two suddenly and unexpectedly (they're all PetCo buys so my partner and I think the first two had genetic issues). After the last betta died, I kept the tank up with just Cow, my nerite snail, for a few months until I was ready to do another fish. Then I got Crêpe and have been so happy cause she is my pride and joy and my world. So a few months ago, there started to be slightly m”