One important thing that flowerhorn hobbyist should pay attention to,
Is the typical sign of disease outbreak. Everyday, when we feed our flowerhorns we always looked and observe them. Overtime our eyes are trained when we detect some strange behavior on our fish appearance and body language
The thing about raising FlowerHorn is that you could start off with just one 10 gallon tank and the next thing you know is that you are and will be surrounded by tanks just like if you were at the aquarium. This is the same outcome that happened to all FlowerHorn Enthusiasts, Hobbyists and Breeders that I know. But having a fish tank filled with water doesn't mean it will be capable to keep a FlowerHorn well and alive... These are the best water condition for your FH.
PH is 6.0 to 7.6
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0
Temp. 82 to 86
and they are also at best potential with clean water.. meaning it is best to do a 10 - 25% water change every 2 week interval and also it is beneficial for your fish health to add conditioners and aquarium salt for stress coats.
Listed below are some of diseases, treatment, symptoms and preventions.
* Health Temperature *
Flower horn thrives in temperature between 75-82 Degrees. OUR ideal or recommended temperature would be around 80-86 degrees.
* Water Condition *
An important criteria in keeping these magnificent species is the pH level of the water that it lives in. pH level is the measurement of acidity or alkaline of the water. OUR pH recommendation is 6.0 - 7.6, Ammonia is 0, and Nitrate is 0. Like any other fish, sudden or drastic changes on the pH level can be detrimental to the flower horn fish. As precaution, it will be great to check the pH of the water periodically
* Filtration System *
Basically all you really need is enough Oxygen (O2) running in the tank, that is by having a filter that could circulate water in and out of the tank creating air while also filtering the water and or an air pump connecting to a sponge filter. Be sure that the tank is sufficiently aerated.
* Water Change *
This is one of the Most Important FACTOR of Caring for your FlowerHorns? Just like US , who would like to live in a dirty, hazardous environment.. If we don't move out of that type of an environment. We will no longer have a future and that would be the same with your FlowerHorns. So yes regular water changes are an absolute must. The most popular routine is 20-33% weekly water change. We recommend that you check your water parameters every other week to ensure that there is no harmful fluctuations in your water. Adding Aquarium salt with Water Conditioners and Treatment are also Beneficial.
* Feeding *
With a very healthy appetite, your FlowerHorn will show more of its POTENTIAL. Only feed the amount of food your flower horn can consume within 3-5 minutes At least 2 -3 times a day. Be sure to pick up any left over food that your fish does not eat because left over food is pretty much unhealthy for your FlowerHorn. It could pollute the water and also gives your Fh Digestion Problems in the future...As far as the menu goes; there are many different theories on what to feed your fish to maximize its potential. We recommend a balance diet of natural foods and pellet foods, especially AMAZONE to give the flower horn all the nutrients they need to grow.
* Fin and Tail Rot * (fungus)
DISEASE - Highly Contagious. Caused by various species of aquatic fungi, including Saprolegnia and Achlya
SYMPTOMS- Fish would stop eating and lethargic. Fins and/or tail seem to be getting shorter or falling apart and dissolving. Fins may be clumped, color may be pale.Gray, brown or white cotton-wool-like growths or tufts on the skin. Begins as a small patch but can develop and quickly kill the fish.
TREATMENT- Quarantine sick fish. Do large water change. Use fungus remedy. Treat the whole tank but isolate and treat heavily infected fish separately. Methylene blue, Acriflavine and fungus eliminator by Jungle Fungus can also be used.
PREVENTION - Water change, water change and more water change. Check water parameters. Bad water quality and fish with physical damage usually encourage the onset of the disease. Always quarantine doubtful looking fish. Avoid cross-tank contamination. Washing hand with anti-bacterial soap before or after touching sick or dead fish. Bleach all tanks/accessories after fish died or healed.
* Flukes *
DISEASE FLUKES - Highly contagious external parasites belonging to the classes Trematoda and Cestoda species in the family Dactylogyridae parasitise the gills and digestive tract.
SYMPTOMS- Fishes show signs of extreme skin/gill irritability, continually scratching and scraping on rocks etc., and "flicking" the pelvic and dorsal fins against the side of the body. Gill plates are clamped or close tight or not functioning when breathing.
TREATMENT- Do 75% water change and treat the tank with formalin (Quick Cure, Formalite III and Livebearer) Feed sparingly and wash all filtrations. These diseases are extremely contagious.
PREVENTION- Maintain a much higher standard of aquasystem hygiene. Water change, water change and more water change. Always quarantine doubtful looking fish. Avoid cross-tank contamination. Washing hand with anti-bacterial soap before or after touching sick or dead fish. Bleach all tanks/accessories after fish died or healed.
* Ichthyopthirius Multifilis * (ICH, white spot disease)
DISEASE- Highly contagious. Caused by ciliated protozoan. Ichthyophthirius multifilis in freshwater tanks It is a pesky little parasite. It is very contagious. Caused by frozen live food which were contaminated with ich...
SYMPTOMS- Small, pure white, clearly-defined spots. It's liked sprinkled with salt all over his body and head, even eyes. May be less active, may have stopped eating, fins may be clumped. Lethargic and they may scratch against rocks and gravel and show increased gill movement Ichtyophthirius has a direct fish-to-fish cycle and thus can build up quickly in the limited space of an aquarium.
TREATMENT- Do a 75% partial water change and treat immediately with appropriate medicine (Aquarisol + 1 tablespoon salt per 10 gallon). Ick is temperature sensitive, raising the water temperature to 85+ degrees for a few hours every 2 or 3 days may be effective. Ick is a parasite and highly contagious and is spread very easily it is recommended to treat the whole tank instead of individual fish.
PREVENTION- Quarantine newly purchased fish from LFS for 3-4 weeks or even from a reputable fish breeder. Water change, water change and more water change. Avoid cross-tank contamination. Washing hand with antibacterial soap before or after touching sick or dead fish. Bleached all tanks/accessories after fish died or healed. Washing newly purchased plants/accessories under running hot water may also protect from contaminations.
* Hexamita* (HITH, hole in the head)
DISEASE - caused by Hexamita Protozoa parasites (Hexamatiasis). It is very common on wild caught species and even in tank-bred specimens. Usually affects cichlids such as discus, angelfish, oscars and gouramis. This are the diseases that I always feared most. Highly contaigious.
SYMPTOMS- Small, whitish/greyish/or creamish "worms" crawl out of head region of Discus family fishes. Hexamita or Hexamatiasis also exists as a low level infection of the intestines. Not eating, lose weight, very dark coloration, white-stingy feces, clamped fins, lethargic and head standing.
TREATMENT- Do 75% water change. Treat it metronidazole. One capusule of 250 mg per 10 gallon. Metronidazole is not absorbed through the gills, therefore in order to be effective the fish must be forced fed thru syringe. If the fish doesn't improve, euthanasia is recommend to ends fish suffering.
PREVENTION- Water change, water change and more water change. Always quarantine doubtful looking fish. Maintain warm temperature. Do not feed with tubifex worms. Maintain oxygen level. Avoid cross-tank contamination. Washing hand with anti-bacterial soap before or after touching sick or dead fish. Bleach all tanks/accessories after fish died or healed.
* Mouth Fungus *
DISEASE : Mouth Fungus Caused by: by the Flexibacter bacterium.
Symptoms: hazy-white marks can be seen on the body, fins, and mouth of the fish at the onset of the disease. Cotton- or wool-like tufts appear in the mouth area, and most fish lose their appetite and appear quite thin. Occurrences: This disease is common in newly imported freshwater fish. Overstocking or a sudden change in water conditions can also trigger it.
Treatment/Control: 1. Add 1tbs of aquarium salt per 5 gal. 2. Raise temp to 82-86. 3. Remove carbon 4. Treat with Metronidazole, Primafix,or Fungus Cure 20-30% water change every 3 days Always feed a balanced diet and add a vitamin supplement.
* Mouth Diease *
DISEASE: (Cause of disease a) External injuries. Infected by Saprolegnia sp. c) Infected by parasites living on the surface of the fish body.
Symptoms : The mouth is swollen or attached with thread-like filamentous material.
Diagnosis: Check if the mouth is swollen or attach with external material. Remedy a) Single out the infected fish Cure fish with antibiotics. c) Add in Methylene Blue or Malachite Green, Zinc-free oxalate. Prevention Be careful while catching the fish and avoid it to get injury.
* DROPYSY *
Description: Dropsy is a bacterial infection of your fish's internal organs. Being internal, it is difficult to diagnose and is often not treated early enough to save the host fish. It attacks fish that have been weakened due to excess stress resulting from poor water conditions, overcrowding or being moved. It causes excess body fluids to build up making the fish appear bloated or it's scales to stick out. Early stages of this infection may present themselves as popeye as excess fluid causes the eyes to bulge.
Symptoms: The visible symptoms of drospy come from the excess body fluid buildup inside the fish. Bloating, as well as eyes or scales that protrude more than normal may be signs of dropsy. Avoidance of other fish and loss of appetite are also common.
Treatment: Commercial treatments are available from your local fish store. Just ask as soon as possible. If possible, keep some on hand as you must treat this disease as soon as possible if your fish is to have any chance of survival. Usually by the time the scales of the fish are protruding, it is too late. NEVER USE SALT (sodium chloride, a.k.a. aquarium salt) for treatment of dropsy. This will KILL your fish in a very short time. The affected fish are already having a difficult time getting rid of salts due to kidney dysfunction. This causes the blown up appearance and concurrent scale standing. The osmotic imbalance caused by addition of sodium to your tank water will make this condition far worse. Use Tetracycline, Maracyn and Maracyn 2, Kanacyn, or broad spectrum antibiotic foods.
* Gill Disease *
Poor water condition is likely to be a main contributor factor that causes gill disease, or from dirty baits infection.
Symptoms / Behavior: Rapid gills movements, fins being clamped together, swollen gills and discolored gill filaments with excess mucus. In general, gills diseases are divided into 2 main types: bacterial infections and parasites infections. Different type will bring different symptoms and undoubtedly, different ways of curing affected fish.
Treatment: For gill disease caused by parasites infections, treatment is done with formalin (150 ~ 150 ppm), then changing the water after an hour or treats it with metriphonate (0.25 ~ 0.4 mg/L); For gill disease caused by bacterial infections, it is suggest to use Furaltadone ( 10 ~ 10 mg/L), Tetracycline ( 10 ~ 20 mg/L) and other medicines for treatment. While treating the gill disease caused by parasite infections, the medicine will destroy the bacteria, therefore, improve the general water conditions often eases this problem. It would be better to use activated carbon or change the water in order to filter off the medicine and built up the biological filter system earlier on.
* Pathogen Infection *
During the changes of season occurs, it will cause changes in the water to occur. Drop or increase in temperature will deteriorate the quality of the water, which leads to the weakening of the fish mechanism, promoting growth to other harmful bacteria and resulting injuries on the body of the fish. Some of the injuries are obvious and visible, but it is the unseen materials in the contaminated water that causes these. The unseen and unwelcome guests are usually harmful bacteria or parasites. Different types of bacteria will cause different kinds of diseases. Detailed and close observation is needed to find out about the disease in order to provide the correct treatment for your fish. Thanks to the booming of the other fishes earlier, most fish food manufacturers has their own specialized medications on different diseases sold in the market now. Before purchasing any medication, it is ADVISABLE for you to first ask the fish breeder if they could help you to identify the type of disease by explaining to them the symptoms and allow them to choose the correct medication for your Flower Horn. The next step is to read the instructions CAREFULLY and USE THE CORRECT DOSAGE as printed on the label. Follow the instructions as directed and taking into consideration the extent of infection or injuries on the fish, the size of the fish and also the water volume in your aquarium.
* Intestinal Infection *
Disease: (Cause of disease a) Unhygienic feed Improper feeding, the quantity is too much or too little. c) Parasite infection in the intestines.
Symptoms : Excrete of the sick fish is slimy and stick to the anus. The fish will gradually lose its appetite and will discharge blood from the swollen anus.
Diagnosis : Observe whether the excrete from the fish is stuck to the anus. Remedy a) Use medication for getting rid of parasites as remedy. Feed the fish with antibiotics. c) Provide proper and nutritious feed. d) if the disease is caused by indigestion, don't feed the fish for few days. Prevention Feed the fish with appropriate amount of food, not too much or too little. Should be careful with hygiene of live food.
source : http://www.flowerhornrus.com/sicknesspreventions.htm
