Vet Q&A-Fish

I'm weaning my kitty as it is more than 1 month old. She eats cooked chicken and fishes one time a day. When I feed her with bottle, she attacks d bottle and bites the nipples aggressively. It is very difficult to get her latched to the nipple and even if she is very hungry she doesn't drink as much as before. However, she eats meat or fish to her fill. I see this behaviour for the last 3 days. What could be the reason?

Hello, and thanks for using Boop by Petco. Sounds like your kitten is successfully weaning! It sounds like she's becoming less interested in bottle feeding, since she is taking solids, and is likely playing with the nipple now more than feeding from it. At this stage, kitten food will do her more good than meat or milk replacer. I recommend offering her both dry and canned kitten food (you may want to crush the dry food a bit if she needs help eating it), and you can also offer a bit of the milk replacer in a little saucer for her to lap up herself, to encourage self-feeding. Keep trying to do the bottle feedings until you're confident she's eating kitten food on her own, but don't stress too much if she seems to be losing interest as her "real food" consumption picks up. Hope this helps!

I have a beta fish and quite a few guppies. Can I combine them into one tank?

I assume it is a male Beta? They typically are very aggressive and will kill other Fish. You could try to put a divider in the tank to keep them separate. I have seen those at most pet stores. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hello, my fish just recently has been showing signs of sickness. My fish has a hole in his head that also looks like cotton material. It has a white/orange color to it. I am having a hard time identifying what type of sickness my fish has and what I need to do for him. Please help!

It looks like it may be some sort of fungal infection on Tiller. I would recommend to the the photo to a pet store and see if they agree. They can also sell you fungal medication to add to his water. Sometimes these infections can be serious. If you have a pet store in town that specializes in fish, they are your best reference. Best of luck!

Do I need to add fish oil or probiotics to Acana foods? i noticed they already include this in their food in balanced amounts. The omega 3:6 ratio is 1:2.5 in the Acana foods, is this ok or is fish oil good to add?

If Chloe is not experiencing any health issues like skin problems, heart issues, or kidney disease then it would be unnecessary to add in additional fish oil. Too much fish oil could result in diarrhea so I wouldn't suggest adding it if there aren't any health issues. Thanks for using Boop by Petco!?

My dog has an abscess that burst but has liver shunts and cannot receive anesthesia. Can I help him any natural way. He was n to supposed to live once the liver shunts were discovered however he now only eats raw, organic vegetables, white fish and a few organic fruits and its been 2 years healthy!

Poor Rocky! I'm sorry that he has an abscess. I would recommend taking him to the vet to have this checked - it's likely that he will need antibiotics to help get rid of the infection. If the abscess has already burst and is draining on its own, he probably will not need to be sedated for anything. In the meantime, you can apply warm compresses to the abscess to help encourage it to drain, and wipe away the discharge as often as needed to keep things clean.

Whats the best way tk get the most out of my poodle's fur. I brush her, blow dry her, and give her fish oil. What else can i do to make sure she has a tsnlge free and beautiful coat

Thank you for using Boop by Petco! The things you are already doing for Chacha will keep her coat on top shape. The only other recommendation I have to feed her a well balanced diet. You should bathe her every few weeks to avoid drying out her skin and coat. I hope all is well!

I have two purebred Siberian Huskies who are very picky. They dislike dry food so I mix it with grated cheese or meat. I’d like to get them able to just get their dry food. But they walk away and don’t eat I don’t give in through just next day give them their raw egg on top or meat or cheese. My older husky is on the leaner side perhaps too lean so I don’t want to starve him. I feed Taste of the Wild or Pure Balance from Walmart are these good dry foods? Is vitamins n fish oil ok?

Picky dogs can be so frustrating! I personally am not a fan of grain free diets. The truth is, they are a marketing fad. The reality is that only 5% of dog allergies are caused by food, and of that 5%, the majority is protein related. Grain allergies are extremely rare, and I never recommend feeding a grain free food unless the dog has a proven food allergy to grains. Grains are beneficial to dogs, as it helps fill them up and keeps them satisfied for longer. I recommend switching them to a brand such as Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, or Iams. Whether or not you make the switch of foods, it's time to get tough with them if you want them to eat only dry dog food. They won't starve themselves, they will eat it eventually. You just have to be strong and not give in. Start by putting their food down in the morning for 15-20 minutes, taking it away after this time period even if they haven't eaten. Then no more food until dinner time. This is extremely important, they have to learn they need to eat the dog food or they don't get anything else. At dinner time, again put their food down for 15-20 minutes, taking it away after that time even if they haven't eaten. No more food until their dog food the next morning. Do not give in to them, no meat, cheese, or raw egg on their food. They will get hungry enough to eat the dog food only as long as you stay strong. Good luck, I hope this helps!

I have basic aquarium at home, since 2 days all are not active and seen abnormal, shark, gold, koi are all having bleeding on their body without any reason i know. Suddenly at one time continuously fishes getting die, even I changed water at overnight on the next morning itself again water got polluted. Koi has on their body whitish and their wings got shirking. All fishes suddenly gone to corner of tank without any reason pls sort out. I don’t have much knowledge in aquarium too

I'm sorry you are having difficulties with your aquarium. There are several issues that should be dealt with right now. They are water chemistry, aquarium size and choice/number of fish. Any new aquarium should be set up and, ideally, run empty for several weeks (usually 4-6 weeks). This is so beneficial bacteria have an opportunity to populate the substrate and filter. These bacteria are necessary to break down wastes that fish will produce. The technical phrase for this is "establishing the Nitrogen cycle". These bacteria will break down wastes into ammonia then nitrites then nitrates. Nitrates can then dissipate or be absorbed/used by live plants. In high enough concentrations, ammonia and nitrites are toxic and can kill fish. Cycling a tank with fish is possible but it increases the risk of loss. Water chemistry should be checked every few days using a liquid home test kit. A water sample can be submitted for testing , but is not as convenient as testing yourself. Most pet stores or fish stores will do this for free or for a small fee. Partial water changes, no more than 30%, can be done as needed to stabilize chemistry and maintain water quality. Choices for water conditioners include NovAqua, AmQuel Plus, Prime, StressZyme or StressCoat. Tank size is another concern. With most fish, the widely accepted "one inch of fish per gallon" will be sufficient. For koi and other carp species, including goldfish, the rule is not sufficient. At full size, goldfish need 20 gallons per fish with an additional 10 gallons for each additional fish. Koi do best in larger tanks, much larger...we're talking in the hundreds of gallons or small ponds. These species produce a larger than average bio-load (wastes) that can quickly affect water quality in a tank. To combat this, large water volumes and powerful filtration are required. Any filter should be rated for at least twice the tank volume. I'm not sure what size tank you have now, it may be fine if the fish are young and small, but they will quickly outgrow it. The last issue is choice of fish. Koi and goldfish are cold water fish. They do best in water between 65F and 72F. Most species of sharks do best in the high 70sF to low 80sF. Keeping fish in incorrect water temperatures will lead to stress and illness. This could be compounded by the water quality/chemistry issues you are having currently. Until the chemistry is stable and water quality is maintained, your fish will continue to become ill and possibly die. Any treatment will not be successful in this situation. Do not purchase or add any more fish until the tank has cycled. If you have additional questions, you can post them in the forum or request a consultation to discuss the case in greater depth.

I am giving my dog fish oil for itchy skin. She is a 10 lb chihuahua/jack russell mix. How much should i give her, please?

She requires about 450mg of fish oil per day for this condition. Keep in mind that these supplements are only used as an adjunct with other medications for treating skin problems. It will not be expected to completely solve the problem. I hope that helps and all is well.