Oh no! Your beautiful angelfish that you’ve had for 10 years is swimming at the top of the tank and gasping for air, or that big batch of guppies, tetras, or gouramis keep dropping one by one every day! What about those damn goldfish from the fair you keep killing… that’s why their so cheap right? “why do my fish keep dying? I dosed (insert fish medication) that the guy at Petco told me!”. I get this question a lot and just as quickly as customers ask it I always respond with the same questions. “when was the last time you did a water change and have you tested the water?”

First of all disease is everywhere just like the common cold. Ich, cotton mouth, millions of species of bacteria, fungus, and viruses live in the air we breathe and the water we drink… That’s right, your tap has horrible fish diseases. In fact, inside that tiny box with cute little swimming creatures is an ecosystem of malicious microscopic organisms constantly trying to kill them. So how are your fish alive? Because of the immune system. Just like with humans the fish immune system is constantly fighting against a barrage of sickness, and only when the immune system is compromised (by for example ammonia) your fish will start to get sick.

 

Knowing how people get sick is knowing how fish get sick . If you’re breathing in mustard gas for a couple days, most likely you’re gonna die… Just being honest. So why then is it a surprise when you’re fish which has been swimming in 2.0 of ammonia for a week finally decides to pull the plug? And if you’re sleeping in your bed, and right next to you at the headboard is a nice, large, steamy dump that’s been sitting there for weeks. Why the hell is it a surprise that you get pink eye, or some other flesh eating bacteria. The point I’m trying to make here is that an unhealthy environment leads to unhealthy fish. You can medicate all you want, it’s not gonna solve the problem. You have to fix the problem at the source and 9 times out if 10 the source is the water. Honestly a 75% water change is better than any medication on shelf to this day and mixing that with a beneficial bacteria to alleviate any ammonia or nitrite is just an extra layer to the cake. I can not stress enough the value of regular water changes AT LEAST monthly but I always like to recommend weekly to bi weekly water changes. Only when you are positive that the water in the tank is safe, should you even fathom medicating.