Symptoms and prevention methods for common diseases in silver arowana

Common diseases of silver arowana include flipped belly and sunken eyes, enteritis, white spot disease, drooping eyeballs, and gill curl. In fact, silver arowana is not as easy to keep as people imagine, and it is quite tricky for many beginners. Below are some experiences shared by veteran keepers regarding common diseases of silver arowana. Let's take a look.

Flipped belly and sunken eyes

[Symptoms] The belly faces upward, and the whole body bends into a C shape.

[Causes] The problem of arowana flipping its belly is one of the more difficult conditions to treat. Causes include shipping, fright, prolonged high temperatures, and water quality deterioration, and there are also cases of spasms, belly flipping, thrashing around, and even sudden death from unknown causes. Upside-down positioning, vertical positioning, and belly flipping occur because the fish's swim bladder is punctured or squeezed by infected and swollen internal organs, or because rotting internal organs gasify and accumulate inside the body.

[Prevention and treatment] Use a floating splint to treat arowana with flipped belly. The upper part is a piece of white foam of suitable width and size, and the splints on both sides are acrylic boards. Secure them with rubber bands and adjust the size of the internal space, then gently guide the fish in from the rear. The internal space should be just enough to hold it in place, but not so narrow that it pinches the fish's body. The fish's eyes should protrude in front of the splint to ensure breathing. After several days of repositioning and floating treatment, a fish that has regained its strength can swim out of the splint on its own. The survival rate of silver arowana with flipped belly and sunken eyes will not exceed 5%. But if we do not right a belly-flipped arowana, then there will not even be this 5% chance.

Enteritis

Improper feeding is the main cause of enteritis in arowana. This is also the most common cause of enteritis, and at the same time it is the easiest one to prevent. However, there are specifically two situations:

1. Enteritis caused by food

[Symptoms] String-of-beads-like white feces, accompanied by conditions such as cloudy eyes, bulging eyes, and head holes. In the later stages, it can also cause other arowana diseases such as red and swollen anus, prolapsed anus, and ascites.

[Prevention and treatment] To prevent this type of enteritis, feed the arowana according to the "four fixed principles." After illness occurs, treatment with metronidazole tablets can be used. When feeding the arowana, the owner should pay attention to handling the food. Arowana food is mostly small fish and small shrimp. The owner should disinfect the fish and shrimp in advance. The feeder fish and shrimp can be kept in clean water for several days, or bathed in potassium permanganate solution, to avoid internal parasites on live bait causing enteritis in arowana. When feeding, fish scales, shrimp rostrums, and similar parts should also be removed in advance to prevent them from scratching the arowana.

2. Enteritis caused by indigestion

[Symptoms] The silver arowana is anorexic or refuses food, the body color becomes dark or black, and most of the time the arowana stays away from the group and faces the wall. The feces are loose or purulent white.

[Prevention and treatment] After illness occurs, furazolidone can be used for treatment. Add 4-6 tablets per 100 liters of water and bathe for 3-6 days. Once the arowana seeks food or the feces return to normal, stop the medication and change the water.

White spot disease

[Symptoms] Part or most of the body is covered with small white spots, which affects the fins and reduces the arowana's appetite, and the silver arowana can often be seen rubbing its body.

[Causes] Caused by parasitic protozoa.

[Prevention and treatment] Raise the temperature to 30 or even 34°C and add 3% concentration of small salt. If that still does not work, it must be treated separately in a medicated tank. Spread 0.1-0.2 ppm mercurous nitrate over the whole pond; spread 500 ppm copper sulfate and 500 ppm magnesium sulfate over the whole pond.

Drooping eyeballs

[Causes] Caused by long-term feeding of bottom-layer food.

[Prevention and treatment] Cover the entire fish tank with opaque black paper, add a white lamp above the fish tank, feed top-layer food, or place an object on top of the fish tank to attract the silver arowana's attention. After 3 months, remove the black paper.

Gill curl

[Causes] Unclean water quality, insufficient space, insufficient dissolved oxygen, and sudden changes in water temperature.

[Symptoms] In the early stage, irregular movement of the fish gills can be seen, breathing is rapid, the soft membrane on the gill cover turns outward rather than inward, and the red color of the fish gills can be seen.

[Prevention and treatment] Increase the dissolved oxygen content and let the silver arowana rest under dim conditions. If the silver arowana has no interest in food at all, siphon and replace 20%-30% of the water daily, change the water quality for 6 days, and add salt to reduce the risk of parasite attack.