If your fish has some kind of illness or disease, often it is treatable. This is a list of common fish diseases and their cures.

Good water quality and overall fish health can prevent many of these diseases or aid in the recovery of them. Anytime you have a sick fish you should remove them from their tank and isolate them in a quarrantine tank.

Ich (White spot): Ich is a parasite that grows on your fish. Your fish may stop eating as much and rest on the bottom of the tank. It may have white spots on it or rub its scales on objects in the tank.

It can be treated simply by slowly raising the water temperature to 82-86Degrees Farenheight. Raise the water temperature slowly over several days. Use this heat method only if it is safe for your fish and if you are using medication in addition. 

You can use a very low dose of salt in your tank if you have fish that are not sensitive to salt. This method can be used with the heat method. This can help eliminate the Ich. Other chemical treatments must also be used very carefully because they can be harmful to plants, fish, and invertibrates.

This parasite can spread to any fish in the same tank.

Fin rot: Fin rot is either a bacterial or fungal infection. This disease usually affects fish who are otherwise unhealthy, fish who live in a tank with very poor water conditions, or fish who are over or underfed. These situations can be easily fixed by cleaning the aquarium and changing the water regularly, in addition to regular feedings. Be careful not to overfeed your fish. See the article on feeding here.

Dropsy: Dropsy makes your fish appear bloated. The fish may also become lethargic and stop eating. The cause of this condition is a bacterial infection. Antibiotics can help this infection, as can raising the water temperature a few degrees.

Hole in the head: This disease starts with infections creating a hole above the mouth on the head. If not treated, it is fatal. It may be possible to treat this disease by removing the carbon from the filter. Stress reduction and good nutrition will help the fish heal from this disease.