How can I tell if a fish is sick?
📅
👁 5171 views 💬 48 replies Nutrition & Diet
A
Expert Answer
Healthy fish are active, school, have smooth bright bodies, and eat eagerly. A fish that lingers at the bottom, separates, swims slowly, or loses appetite may be sick.
Sick fish may gasp at the surface or show body changes such as swelling, weight loss, rotten gills or fins, white frost, or scale loss.
👤
Pet Owner Experience
With my fish the early tells were clamped fins, not eating, and hanging at the surface or bottom, any of those and I'd test the water first, bad params cause most illness. Look for white spots, ragged fins, or rapid gill movement, those point to specific bugs. I'd do a partial water change and quarantine if something's off, and don't overfeed, rotting food is a silent killer in a tank.