Fish Disease and Treatment

Whenever you buy new livestock, you can place it in a QT (Quarantine Tank) or put it directly into your DT (Display Tank). The choice, of course, is yours, and it's important to understand that there are pros & cons no matter what you decide. We live in a day and age when everyone is looking for...

Well after seeing several posts in threads about losing fish. I thought I would put together a little article to share my experiences with QT’ing fish. Over the last several years, there seems to be a higher need to QT your fish. Most of the fish I receive on line have internal parasites. This...

Copper Testing Simplified! Using Hanna Instruments High Range Copper Checker HI702 Photo by: https://hannainst.com Have Trouble reading visual tests when using copper to treat fish for parasites? Problem Solved! I first want to start off saying, I have been in the hobby a little under a...

Journey of a Regal Tang Meet the newest addition to my reef tank. This Regal Tang has been through the ringer and come out the other side in a miraculous and amazing way. He went through almost 4 months of quarantine and I’ll admit that this was the most frustrating fish I’ve ever dealt with. I...

The Bacterial Infection Predicament Please do not view the information below as a shortcut to quarantine. Use it only in an EMERGENCY SITUATION when treating a fish with parasites/worms PLUS a serious bacterial infection. So, your fish has a nasty bacterial infection. :eek: You've treated...

photo by @Dreadnaught So why is everyone pushing quarantining these days? I do not need to quarantine, my LFS treats fish in copper? I have done this for years without any problems, why now this push? These are common questions I imagine plague many people new to reefing and seasoned veterans...

How to perform a freshwater dip Freshwater dips are a very important diagnostic tool when you have a sick fish. Since it can help flush out the excess mucus that can and does build up in the gills with a parasite infestation, it can be lifesaving as well. It will even confirm a flukes...

Sterilizing Quarantine Equipment After running a batch of fish through quarantine (QT), whether it was a successful QT or not, it’s a good practice to then sterilize the equipment before getting your next group of fish. The reason being, especially if your QT was unsuccessful, that there can be...

Pictorial Guide to Marine Fish Diseases Use this guide to find a picture that most closely matches your fish's symptoms. Click the link, if available for more detailed information on the disease and how to treat it. Ich (Cryptocaryon Irritans) One of the most well-known parasites in the...

The following chart is a quick reference guide on what QT protocol should be used according to which type of fish you are running through QT. It will give you an idea of which methods are generally safest with certain species but is not meant to be absolute in most cases. All fish are...

All images have been sourced from copyright free, public use image websites or used under fair use guidelines, as they best illustrate the article content. If you’ve been an aquarist for any amount of time, chances are, you’ve lost a fish. It’s a painful and traumatic experience, especially...

Velvet Transfer Method - Updated 02/2021 Quarantine Goal The best way to avoid having disease in your main display is to have a proactive and comprehensive quarantine system from the start, as professional aquarist have learned from experience. This article is to encourage all marine aquarist...

(The following article was originally posted as a discussion thread on Reef2Reef by Humblefish. But it is so helpful and well done, R2R staff has turned it into an article) The purpose of this article is to discuss the pros and cons of ich eradication and ich management and present the best...

In 2010, Dr. Dhai Xu of the American Chemical Association stated, “Outbreaks of external parasitic disease can result in losses of 50-100% of aquarium livestock.” He went on to say that marine and freshwater ich are so common, that nearly every home aquarist or commercial aquaculture facility...

Editor’s Note: The reef aquarium hobby is not for the faint of heart. Maintaining a complex ecosystem can be a daunting task with many variables in play that all have effect on one another. However, beyond the effort to maintain the ecosystem and address common day-to-day issues, there are...

Editor’s Note: In the saltwater aquarium hobby, there are many challenges ranging from day to day tasks of maintaining a stable ecosystem to the more difficult issues that can arise due to disease or other problems in the reef. However, some of the rarest issues are those which require something...

The reef aquarium hobby is not for the faint of heart. Maintaining a complex ecosystem can be a daunting task with many variables in play that all have effect on one another. However, beyond the effort to maintain the ecosystem and address common day-to-day issues, there are catastrophic...

Alright folks I wanted to share some pretty shameful realities about my past and dealing with Acanthurus tangs. To anyone that doesn't know, common Acanthurus tangs include Powder Blue, Powder Brown, Goldrim/white cheek, Achilles, Sohal, Clown, Carribean Blue, Orange Shoulder, Chocolate, and...

How to Quarantine The purpose of this article is to present an argument for quarantining saltwater fish, and then show the reader how to setup a Quarantine Tank (QT) and discuss quarantine protocols. Why quarantine? Setting up a QT does not have to be expensive or complicated. The saying...

This Article is Sponsored by @uniquecorals I spoke with a fairly advanced reefer the other day, who had a terrible tragedy in his reef that could have been avoided with a very simple practice; one which he should have developed during his hobby "infancy." But he didn't. And he paid the price...