Common Fish Diseases Are Caused by Stress

Just like humans, fish get sick when they are stressed out. This is because our immune systems work the same way. When we are stressed out our immune systems drop down and we can become sick. If you can avoid stress with your fish, they will not get sick as often as they usually would. There are also other factors that can cause them to get a disease but most times it's from something associated with being stressed out.

So then we ask ourselves, "What causes fish to get stressed out?" The number one thing that causes fish to be stressed out is poor water quality. This is like living in the dump, I'm sure you would be stressed out as well. When you don't clean the fish tank and you leave their waste and excess food in the water, the water quality goes down. This causes fish to get stressed out.

Another thing which causes stress is water temperature. If the temperature decreases more than two or three degrees or the water increases more than a couple degrees, your fish get stressed out as well. Make sure that you maintain the correct temperature and keep a heater on to make sure that the water doesn't drop below a certain temperature as well.

Over-crowding will also cause stress. More fish means more waste and less oxygen. Make sure that you only have one fish per gallon of water to avoid over crowding. More fish means more food which will also mean more waste as well. Remember to never over-feed your fish because this contributes to higher nitrate and ammonia levels. Then you will have to clean the tank more frequently or you will have poor water quality.

If you follow these simple rules you will avoid stress in your fish tank. If you avoid stress in your tank then your fish will remain healthy and happy. Fish will live longer lives if you follow the rules above. They will have clean water, less waste and good water quality. Remember to avoid over-feeding and over-crowding. Only feed your fish small amounts of food through out the day.

If your fish do end up getting sick because something slipped by, you will want to purchase medication for them as quickly as possible. You can purchase the medication from any local pet store in your area. Make sure to get enough to treat your entire fish tank with medication.