SLIME DISEASE
What is it?
Also refer to Costia, as the two diseases share similar symptoms.

Not one particular disease, but more a symptom of various diseases.

It is very dangerous for a fish to overproduce mucus. If the mucus covers the gills death will occur rapidly from suffocation.

This disease will usually only occur when the fish are stressed. Common stresses include overcrowding, poor water quality, malnutrition or sudden temperature changes.

Symptoms:
Excess mucus covering any part of the body. The mucus is gray/white to blue in colour. If mucus is covering gills the fish will exhibit rapid breathing. The may also scratch against aquarium objects, however this may or may not occur. It is also indicative of many other parasitic fish diseases. Scales may be lost due to scratching.

Cure:
Firstly, make sure the water is of a high quality, check pH and ammonia levels. Do a 30-50% water change. Correct these and proceed with treatment.

General parasite treatments will work fine here. Copper based treatments, such as malachite green, work very well. These treatments may need to be repeated to ensure a full recovery. Remember to remove any activated carbon form your filter first, this takes medicine out of the water.

Salt added to the aquarium will make a great improvement. (0.6%) That's providing the fish can handle small amounts of salt.

Raising the water temperature slightly may also help, although that is not always possible.



Remember, water quality is always extremely important- so always check that first as it is often the cause of disease in aquarium fish. When treating sick fish, try to put the least amount of stress on them as possible, as stress will hinder the heeling process. Another thing is to remember is that generally, a healthy fish is a happy fish.

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