Sixy Reef
... where bordom and insanity meet...
feeding sick fish
Fish that are sick with internal or external bacterial infection as well as Cryptocaryon irritans and Ichthyophthirius multifilis can be treated through water treatments but will clear up faster and safer if fought by way of oral medication.
Although Crypt and Ich are external parasites, they usually infect fish that have been poorly acclimated, lack some sort of nutrition, are kept in a stressful environment with varying conditions and or aggresive tankmates. Usually chaging the water quality, reducing stress, and feeding healthy food stuffs in variety and regularity is all that is needed to fix the infestation.
As for bacterial infections, these are usually secondary to some other lesion or problem. These can also include the stressors listed above.
Feeding a variety of foods will help keep your fishes happy and most importantly, healthy. Unlike cats of dogs which are human bred and are no longer fit to eat a variety of foods, fish thrive on variety. Although many species need a specific staple, such as mbuna african rock dwelling cichlids need a staple food of algaes, they can also benefit from small feeding of insect larvae. Excess in either direction should be avoided.
My favorite regimine for sick fish is simple water changes and heavy feedings of medicated or highly saturated vitimin enriched foods. Selcon or Kent's Zoecon are great vitimin additives. The best way to ensure the fish recieve these is through proper feedings. Don't soak frozen foods in vitimins. Most foods have 'binders' that ensure the natural nutrients int he food do not leak out after being thawed (due to the cells rupturing during the freezing process). This inhibits anything from getting out - and in. Adding vitimins to frozen food equates to adding it directly to the water. It just isnt going to be direct enough to help the fish.
Purchasing freeze dried foods to soak in vitamins is the best way to ensure the additive is recieved by the fish. Freeze dried foods are frozen and then put into a vacuum that of whcih sucks the water out of the food. If a liquid is added to a small portion of freeze dried food, it will soak it up like a sponge. The fish then will eat the food and recieve the vitimins.
This technique can also be implemented with medications. If using a liquid based medication, simply use a small container and soak the food for 10 mintues. Then feed your fishes. If it is a powder supplement, release a portion of a capsule in the container, add freshwater and mix. Leave for a few mintues to ensure it is mixed well. Then add the freeze dried food of your choice.
This will need to be repeated for up to one week. If the fishes are not responding to the soaked food, try to dilute the vitimin/medication to make the food more palpable and tasty.
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