Diseases of the swordsmen: symptoms, external signs and photos

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Even a novice aquarist has heard and sometimes kept such fish as swordtails. No wonder, because these are really beautiful fish that do not require special care. Therefore, even a beginner can easily cope with them. But he should also know about some diseases of the swordsmen, which can cause a lot of trouble. It is equally important to learn how to prevent them from occurring: this is usually easier than getting rid of them later.

Don't forget about quarantine

Very often swordfish diseases are carried by individuals recently purchased from an unverified seller. Therefore, it is advisable to purchase pets either in serious stores or from well-known breeders.

But even in this case, you should not put the fish into the main tank right away. It would be useful to keep them for some time in a separate container - for about a week to follow the behavior and only after that run to the rest of the fish. If you notice outward signs of disease in a swordtail, it will be easier to cure a few individuals than the entire population.

Remember to prepare live food

Andexperienced aquarists and beginners are well aware that the fish feel good only in the presence of high-quality food - primarily live. But here, too, some caution must be exercised. For example, many experts recommend pre-freezing bloodworms and tubifex in the freezer. A few days of freezing can destroy or dramatically weaken many infections or simply parasite eggs that can cause a lot of problems.

You can also disinfect food with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or methylene blue.

These simple rules can significantly reduce the risk of introducing infectious diseases into the aquarium.

Correct containment conditions

Many diseases only cause problems when the fish are weakened by improper conditions of detention, while he althy individuals easily resist them. Therefore, creating optimal conditions is an important factor in disease prevention.

Start at least with food. It is not worth keeping swordtails all their lives on dried gammarus and daphnia alone. It is very important to add additional food to the diet - ideally live (tubifex, bloodworm). In extreme cases, you can feed them hard-boiled egg yolk or beef heart chopped with a blade - this is a good help if there is no way to get live food.

Also do not forget about the temperature regime. For a swordsman, the range from +23 °С to +25 °С is considered the most suitable. At the same time, the fish feel the best, although they can live at temperatures from +18°С to +28 °С - the main thing is that there are no sudden changes that can become a source of stress and cause serious harm to the he alth of swordsmen.

Finally, don't forget to clean up. After each feeding, if there are no catfish in the aquarium collecting food that has fallen on the ground, remove the remnants of the meal so that the water does not deteriorate. Also, once a week, try to replace some of the water - about one quarter of the total.

Thanks to this, the risk of the appearance and development of diseases is significantly reduced, which we will now discuss.

Fin rot

A very unpleasant disease of swordtails, a photo of the symptoms of which is given in the article. In general, fin rot can affect various viviparous - guppies, platies, mollies.

The disease is bacteriological, that is, it is introduced into the aquarium with fish that have not been quarantined or untreated food.

It's fairly easy to spot the outward signs of this swordtail disease. A narrow gray rim appears on the caudal and dorsal fin, which gradually “devours” the fin, moving closer to the body. In advanced cases, the fish loses its ability to swim, and rot affects the nervous system.

Fortunately, if timely action is taken, it is relatively easy to cure. In most cases, ordinary methylene blue solution helps. All infected fish should be transferred to a quarantine aquarium and lightly tinted the water to a pale turquoise color. It won't hurt the fish - they don't seem to notice the difference.

You can alsouse ordinary s alt - at the rate of one tablespoon per ten liters of water.

If the rot continues to grow, then it is worth taking more serious measures - using chloramphenicol. One tablet is enough for 20 liters of water.

After the disappearance of the rot, the fish need to be quarantined for another 3-5 days.

Chilodonellosis

Speaking about diseases of swordtails and treatment, one cannot fail to mention this disease. As experienced aquarists have long noticed, it is the swordtails that are most susceptible to it. It often happens that other fish living with them in the same aquarium, including related mollies and platies, do not suffer from the disease. Therefore, swordsmen lovers should definitely be aware of this disease.

Chilodonellosis is a parasitic disease. Infected fish immediately stand out from the general mass - they lose their appetite, and the dorsal fin, usually provocatively raised, drops and almost presses against the back. In addition, a greyish-blue coating appears on the back, just below the fin.

Colodonellosis is treated with antiprotozoal drugs. Of course, before treatment, infected fish need to be transplanted into a separate aquarium. And the sooner you start treatment, the greater the likelihood of a successful outcome.

Ichthyophthyroidism

Another nasty disease, the appearance of which is usually associated with improper conditions of detention. The most common cause is too low water temperature in the aquarium - less than +20 °C. Sudden changes in temperature can also provoke it.

The fish starts to itch on the ground and any other solid objects in the aquarium. In addition, she squeezes her fins, which can also be called a very disturbing symptom.

The causative agent is an equiciliated ciliate - it is found in many aquariums, but does not pose the slightest danger to he althy fish. But those living in constant cold or stress may well become its victims.

Unfortunately, there is still no really reliable method of treatment. The only way to improve the condition of the fish is to raise the temperature of the water in the aquarium to +26 ° C. Moreover, this should be done gradually, within 2-3 days. Sometimes this improves the well-being of the fish, helping them fight the disease.

Mycobacteriosis

The disease is dangerous for all viviparous fish, which include the swordtail, as well as for gouramis and labyrinths. The behavior of sick fish immediately changes - they lose their appetite, become apathetic and lethargic. In advanced cases, orientation may be lost - the fish are not able to swim normally, even to maintain an even body position.

They may have sores and boils on their bodies. In some cases, the disease is accompanied by black dots covering the body. Due to the refusal of food, the fish lose weight, their bones protrude, and this further aggravates the disease.

You can get rid of the disease only in the early stages. For this, monocycline, tripoflavin or copper sulfate is used. Unfortunately, if the disease was not detected in time, thenthe fish can no longer be saved.

Chlorine poisoning

Swordtails are very active fish that swim around the aquarium almost non-stop all day. Therefore, their need for oxygen is greater than that of most other inhabitants. They breathe more actively and more often than other fish get chlorine poisoning.

It's pretty easy to spot the symptoms. Mucus appears on the gills, the fish become very lethargic, but at the same time twitchy. The gills, which usually have a rich pink color, brighten. The swordtails even try to jump out of the aquarium.

Very often this is the cause of chlorine poisoning. It's no secret that tap water is disinfected with this very harmful chemical. Therefore, before pouring it, it is very important to let the liquid settle for one day, and preferably two.

Ideally, an aquarist should get a special chlorometer and make sure that the chlorine content in the water does not exceed 0.03-0.05 milligrams per liter. However, such a device is quite expensive, so most hobbyists prefer to use the proven sludge method - over time, chlorine evaporates from the water and does not harm the fish.

If you recently changed the water in the aquarium and noticed signs of poisoning after a few hours, you need to transplant the fish into clean water as soon as possible - this is the only way to save them.

Conclusion

This concludes our article. Now you know enough about swordsmen diseases, external signs and treatment. This means that if necessaryyou can easily take the necessary measures to save the inhabitants of the aquarium.