The Seven Parasites You Need to Know About that Can Harm Your Pet Fish

Your pet fish need to be protected from seven known parasites that can harm them. When fish have parasites they are very contagious and must be separated from the other fish in the tank. The infected fish have to be treated and the tank completely disinfected.

The seven most common parasites you should know are:

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  Fish lice - these parasites are lice that attach themselves to the fish and can turn just about the same color as the fish so they are hard to detect. The fish will be rubbing up along side of the tank when infected with the lice in order to try to remove them.
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  Anchor worms – these parasites are females and have an anchor shaped head. They will bury themselves into the fish and there may be a little bit of bleeding on the fish where the head has attached itself. There also may be a little worm that is white that is coming out from that spot.
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  Leeches – these parasites are wormlike and attach themselves on both ends of the fish. You must remove these as soon as possible.
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  Flukes – these parasites are gill flukes that turn your fish’s gills a pink or red color. Your fish will tend to stay toward the surface of the tank where he is able to get air. These skin flukes can cause localized sores and swelling.
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  Ichthyophthirius – these parasites are known as Ich or white spot. You will be able to see a raised white spot on your fish that is about the size of a grain of salt. It is one of the most common types of parasites that are found.
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  Oodinium – these parasites are known as velvet and can create a golden velvet coat on the body and the fins of your fish. It is hard to find on gold fish because of the color.
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  Hexamita – these parasites are also known as hole in the head disease. They are basically internal parasites. These are harmful to your fish when he is weak because of age, stress or bad water conditions.
  
  
  
  
  

What Pet Fish are the Best Choice for New Pet Fish Owners?

When you are looking for a new pet and decide the best way for you to go is pet fish, what kind are the best? You may not know a lot about what it takes to have pet fish and if you are new to being a pet fish owner, there may be some kinds that are better than others to start out with.

Some of the best types of pet fish for you to try as a beginning pet fish owner are:

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  Betas – these beautiful fish are often displayed in bowls at the local pet stores and have long fins that are shades with blue, purple or red and are very easy to care for. They have to be kept alone in a bowl because the males are known to bitterly fight and there are rarely female fish available in pet stores. Don’t put them with other species of fish either because other fish will nibble on their fins.
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  Goldfish – these are a relatively easy fish to care for as long as you provide them a tank of the right size. They need to have a big enough bowl or aquarium or they will not survive very long. Goldfish are very common pet fish and you should not have more than one or two in the aquarium.
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  Zebra Danios – these pet fish are very hardy and can survive well in any size of aquarium. Being tropical fish, they will need a heater in the tank in order to maintain the water temperature of at least 70 degrees.
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  Platys and Swordtails – these pet fish are in the same category because they are similar in appearance the have basically the same kind of requirements. They are tropical fish and can be found in most pet stores. Their aquariums need to be kept at 72 degree.
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  Corydoras – these pet fish are easy to care for and very active. They are a type of fish that spends most of their time swimming alone in the bottom of the tanks. They are tropical fish and need to have their tanks at 72 degrees.