Starting your first aquarium can be fun and exciting, but to get off to a good start, you need to know how to buy healthy fish. The best tank setup in the world will be ruined if you bring home even one sick fish that can infect the entire tank. So the question is, how to do you know if the fish a fish is health or sick? Review and follow this checklist and you can be sure you are buying healthy fish for your aquarium.

Your first step in buying a healthy fish is by looking at the tank that fish are in at the store. The tank should be clean without algae growing on the sides. It should have fresh, circulating water that is being cleaned continuously with a filtration system that is running. There should be plenty of fresh, live plants growing in the tank that don’t have growths or fungi growing on them and of course, all of the fish in the tank should be alive and active. If the tank has dead and decaying fish or crustaceans lying on the bottom of the tank, disease could be spreading to the other fish. Now you know the fish you are considering buying are living in a healthy environment and the fish should be healthy also.

A good idea before you purchase any fish for your aquarium, is to do some research before you go to the store. Learn which fish cohabitate well together, the best number of fish for your tank size, and what variety of fish you would like. Once you have decided on the variety, look at pictures of the fish. By doing this, you will know what a healthy fish of this species is supposed to look like, the coloring, and size. This will give you a good idea to go by at the store.

Once you are at the store and have made sure the tank environment is healthy, your next step in how to buy healthy fish is to examine the fish. If the fish are healthy, they should:

1. Be swimming horizontally
2. Have good control over their swimming
3. Have erect fins – clamped fins indicate damage or parasites
4. Have fins that are intact – not torn or ragged
5. Have bright colors – avoid dull or pale looking fish unless this is normal for that particular variety.
6. Eat well
7. Be active and energetic – lethargic fish indicate sickness
8. Be swimming – not laying on the bottom of the tank
9. Have clear eyes – cloudy or bulging is a sign of unhealthiness
10. Be free of growths or nodules – indicates tumors or parasites
11. Be free of boils, ulcers, and peeling scales
12. Be free of spots

Learning how to buy healthy fish is easy and by following these helpful tips of observing the tank and knowing beforehand what a healthy specimen looks like, you will be sure of bring home only the best and healthiest fish to your tank.
 

This disease is a common bacterial infection that is also known as Columnaris and can occur from overcrowding and low oxygen levels in the tank or being brought in when a new fish is introduced into your aquarium. The bacteria enter the fish through their mouth and gills, or through any small wounds that the fish may have.

Symptoms

The symptoms of Cotton Mouth disease are first seen in frayed and ragged fins shortly followed within 24 to 48 hours by mold-like lesions or sores. The sores can be obvious as with a ‘saddleback’ lesion, which extends from the dorsal fin down each side on the fish like a saddle, or they can appear to be only a ‘paler’ area or not as shiny as the rest of the fish. After these first signs, the mouth will become eaten away and the gills will change color to either a light or dark brown. As signs of gill damage set in, the fish will begin to breath rapidly and laboriously. Within 48 to 72 hours after these signs appear, the fish can die.

Treatment

If you have diagnosed your fish as having Cotton Mouth disease, you need to begin immediate treatment. Your first step is to isolate the sick fish from the healthy fish and give it medicated fish food that contains oxytetracycline, an antibiotic. If the fish isn’t eating, you will need to apply a topical antibiotic such as TMP Sulfa, Sulfa 4 TMP, or Triple Sulfa made for this disease.

Next, change the water in the tank and vacuum the gravel. Add aquarium salt to improve gill function and discontinue carbon filtration during the treatment. Increase aeration and water agitation to dissolve oxygen levels. This will help the fish that are having trouble breathing due to gill damage.

It is important to recognize the symptoms of Cotton Mouth disease in your fish because it is highly contagious. Because this disease spreads rapidly, it has the potential to infect every fish in the tank, and destroy all of your fish. Keep your tank well aerated, clean, and don’t overcrowd it. These precautions will help prevent this fatal disease.