Freshwater

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Part II: Fish and How to Care for Them
Mercurochrome. Remove water from the main tank and sterilize all decorations
and substrate. In other words, start over.
Freshwater velvet
Symptoms: A golden-velvet or grayish-white coating on the body or fins. If
your fish has velvet, it looks like it has been sprinkled with gold dust. This
disease is very common among certain species such as bettas.
Cause: Piscinoodinium parasite. The adult parasites attach themselves to the
skin of tropical fish and then fall off after seven days or so. These parasites
immediately drop into the substrate and begin to multiply. The new parasites
are then released into the water and move around until they re-infect the fish
in your aquarium. If the parasites cannot find a living host within a period of
two to three days, they die.
Treatment: Proprietary malachite green remedy. Add 1 tablespoon of aquarium
salt for each 5 gallons of water.
Freshwater ich
Symptoms: The sudden appearance of small white spots, which look like little
grains of table salt, on the body and fins. Fish infected with this disease continually
scratch themselves on gravel and decorations during the advanced
stages. (If your fish look like they are making love to the rocks in the tank,
they probably have ich.)
Cause: Ichthyopthirius parasite. Adult parasites fall off of the host and multiply
in the substrate. Soon after, new parasites search for another living host.
Treatment: Proprietary ich remedy (formalin or malachite green). Even if you
remove the infected fish to a quarantine tank, you must still treat the aquarium
water in the main tank with medication to kill off any remaining freeswimming
parasites.