Care library
Food, health and gear
Everything around the fish: what to feed, how to spot and treat common problems, and the equipment a tank needs.
Foods
94 kinds
Dry foods
Frozen & live
Vegetables & gel
Specialty
Treats
Frozen foods
Live foods
Health problems
A guide, not a diagnosis
Ich (white spot)Small white grains like salt on body and finsVelvetFine gold or rusty dust on the skin (shine a torch)Fin rotRagged, shrinking or white-edged finsColumnarisWhite or grey patches on mouth, back or gillsDropsySwollen bellyCloudy eyeEye looks milky, white or grey instead of clear and darkPopeyeOne or both eyes bulgingSwim bladder disorderFloating upside down or sidewaysFungusFluffy white or grey cotton-like tuftsHole in the head (HLLE)Pits or holes on the head and along the side lineInternal worms & parasitesThin body despite eatingUlcers & red soresOpen red sores on the bodyAmmonia poisoningGasping at the surfaceNeon tetra diseaseColours fade in patchesDwarf gourami iridovirusColour lossShell rot & soft shellWhite, soft or pitted patches on the shellGill & skin flukesRubbing on decorSlime-coat parasites (Costia, Chilodonella, Trichodina)Grey-blue cloudy slime on the bodyNitrite poisoning (brown blood)Gasping at the surfaceLow oxygenMany fish gasping at the surface at oncepH or temperature shockFish suddenly dark, clamped or lying on the bottomGas bubble diseaseSmall bubbles under the skin, in the fins or behind the eyesAnchor wormA thin white-green thread sticking out of the skinFish liceA flat, see-through round parasite moving on the skinLeechesSmall dark worms stuck to fish or snailsLymphocystisWhite or pink cauliflower-like warts on fins or skinEpistylisShort white fuzzy tufts on red soresFish TB (mycobacteriosis)Slow wasting over weeksHexamita (Spironucleus)White stringy poopCapillaria wormsThinning belly despite eatingConstipation & blockageSwollen bellyVent prolapseRed or pink tissue sticking out of the ventLumps & tumoursA lump or swelling that grows slowlyEgg bindingA female with a very round belly that does not shrinkPoor diet & vitamin shortagePale colours, slow growthInjury & bite woundsTorn fins or missing scalesStreptococcus infectionSpinning or swimming in circlesKoi herpesvirus (KHV)Pale or damaged gillsChytrid fungus (frogs & newts)Skin peeling or shedding a lotAxolotl water stressGills curled forward or shrinkingRespiratory infection (turtles)Bubbles from the nose, open-mouth breathingVitamin A shortage (turtles)Swollen, closed eyelidsSoft shell & metabolic bone diseaseSoft or bendy shellFailed moult (shrimp)A white ring between head and tailScutariella flatworms (shrimp)Tiny white threads moving on the shrimp’s headGreen fungus disease (shrimp)A green or yellow tuft under the tail
Medicines
Always read the label first
Parasite treatments
Antibacterial
Picture comingAntifungal & general
Salt & water care
Water conditioners & stress
Antifungal
Salts & tonics
Dewormers
Shrimp & invert safe
Quarantine protocols
Equipment
12 kinds of gear
Filtration
Heating & cooling
Lighting
Air & CO₂
Testing & water care
