Our Diagnosis
It sounds like your fish has an internal bacterial infection
How to be sure
Internal Bacterial Infections can make your fish’s stomach look either very bloated or very hollow. Internal organs can be inflamed and this can make eating and breathing difficult – so your fish may be gasping at the water surface and losing weight. The infection can also cause ulcers, reddening of the fins and vent as well as a discoloured body.
All this will leave your fish feeling very poorly so prompt treatment is a must.
Step 1 – Treat your fish
- Remove the carbon filter out of your filtration – but don’t forget to return it 7 days after the last dose.
- Use Anti Internal Bacteria treatment treatment, you can check the correct dosage for your aquarium size here.
- Also dose with Aqualibrium First Aid Salt – it helps boost your fish’s ability to fight the illness.
- Give your fish some time-out to recover – avoid excessive cleaning, re-decorating or adding new fishy friends.
- To re-treat, or treat another problem, follow the on pack guidelines for using more treatment.
Watch Out! – Treatments can sometimes reduce oxygen levels in the water. If you see fish gasping at the surface, you can increase oxygen by adding an air pump.
Step 2 – Treat your aquarium
- When fish are sick, always test your aquarium water for excessive ammonia, nitrite, nitrate or pH imbalance.
- Treat any unhealthy results to rebalance your water quality and give your fish the best chance of getting fighting fit again.
- Check all your equipment is working properly – especially filters and heaters (check your aquarium temperature with your thermometer). Carry out any maintenance needed, or replace faulty or broken parts.
