Viruses

Viruses in Fish

There are more ways of treating Bacterial, Fungal and Protozoan diseases in fish than Virus diseases. Frequently with viruses, prevention is more practical than cure. One form of prevention is to quarantine any new fish. The other main one is to keep the fish healthy so they can resist all types of disease better.

Keep your fish healthy

Any form of stress will make your fish more susceptible to diseases of all types, including viruses. Their aquarium or pond should not be overcrowded. Sometimes people worry that there are not enough fish in the tank. This would be a rare thing to occur. Much more common is the tank with too many fish. One of the main problems with fish bowls is that people want to have more, or bigger fish in them than the bowl can take.

Lack of Company

Although you need to avoid overcrowding, there are many types of fish that will only be happy in a school. If you want to get any of these, you first need a big enough aquarium. Most of the tetras, barbs and Rasboras need at least 4 fish of the same species to avoid damaging stress.

Water Quality

The water quality is related to the previous 2 points. If you overcrowd your fish, you will be more likely to have poor water quality. Related to this is the danger of overfeeding. If you put a lot of food in your aquarium, there will be more decomposition and a build-up of Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates as well as an increase in the number of bacteria in the water.
A good filter will help to avoid water quality problems, but is not a substitute for having a big enough tank for your fish.