Vet Q&A-Fish

Is possible that the fish oil that's in my dogs food could become oxidized after a while? It takes me a month to go through one small bag. will there still be the advertised amounts of omega 3's? thanks!

The oil should not spoil within a month. Check the sell by date on the bag. The oils should be stable until at least that date. Keep the bag in a cool dark place, and there should be no problem and the advertised amount of omega 3's should still be present.

Hello :). I have two fish one golden and one silver like, they are put in a fairly sized bowl, they seem to be happy for about 3 months now, i change the water daily, but something weird that never happened before happened which is seeing them on the surface of the water gasping for hair, i tried to change the water and clean the bowl very well with antiseptic lotion, and dried it yet they still do this a lot but not all of the time. what is that and what do i do? thank you so much in advance :)

Begin by submitting a water sample for quality testing. Most pet stores will do this for free or a nominal fee. High ammonia levels, PH imbalances may be responsible for that. Oxygen concentration and quality of the filters should be determined as well. Lack of oxygenation could be the cause of it. If water quality is good and there are no major imbalances, Bubbles should examined to look for any sign of bacterial/fungal infection and eventually water should be treated. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Is it ok to give my dog a joint pill, fish oil and probiotics and enzymes? Or would you just do the joint pill? I've always been fond of fish oil for dogs. Her food does have a ratio of 6:1 of omega 6's and 3's so I'm sure she doesn't technically need it. i would only do those few supplements. What would you recommend? Are those ok or do you not recommend them? Thanks!

If Chloe's food does have a ration of 6:1 omega 6's and 3's, then she doesn't need a fish oil supplement. Too much fish oil can have detrimental effects on the health of a dog including interfering with wound healing. The only pill I would recommend giving Chloe would be the joint pill :-)

Thank you to the person who answered my question about the supplements. Is fish oil ok also or this not needed? Her food has a 6:1 ratio of omega 6's to 3's.

Not sure but I think I did!! Fish oil is not needed as long as her food is of good quality. That ratio seems balanced and ok. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

My dog ate some fish food and now looks like she's not eating only drinking and whatever she drinks she throws uo

withhold food for 12 hours then offer Queenie boiled boneless chicken and rice every 6 hours in small portions. if she is eating and not vomiting, continue with this diet for 2 days.After 2 days, you can put her back gradually on her normal food. If she keeps vomiting or is not eating, take her to the vet to get treatment.

Can I use Algecide for fish tanks in his tank? There is a lot of algae growth on the rocks and on the side of the tank. Is there any other advice to help me remove it?

There are different ways to control algae accumulation inside the tank: Limit the nitrate accumulation in it (regular water changes is the most common method of removing nitrate), limit the lighting period in the aquarium (4 hours a day) avoid overfeeding. Try Algone, very effective against nitrate, it is not an algaecide but it can control indirectly algae. If all these methods are not effective, algaecide are then needed.

My betta fish is doing headstands he use to be very active I'm not sure what I need to

Checking your betta's environment is always a good first step- test the water, make sure the tank is the correct temperature, you're not overfeeding, etc. If he is doing headstands, it is possible there may be a swim bladder issue (the part of your fish that helps them to move around and stay buoyant in the water). Looking up swim bladder issues may give you more information about the possible cause and treatment.

My male betta fish is laying on it's side and when he tries to swim dowm, floats back up to the top.

It is possible papyrus is experiencing swim bladder issues. Swim bladder disease is commonly caused by poor water quality, overfeeding or bacterial infection. Submit a water sample for testing. Most pet stores will do this for free or a nominal fee. Correct any imbalances. Do a 3/4 water change and change the filter media if you use a filter. Fast Papyrus for 2 days then resume feeding fresh, shelled green peas. Mash them and feed bits by hand. The peas can help if he is constipated which, in turn, can affect the swim bladder. A broad spectrum antibiotic can be added to the tank if the previous steps do not work. Tetratcycline can be used to treat most infections in Bettas. You can buy it at most pet stores in the aquatics section. Use according to label directions. Pick up some BettaFix as well.

Our lab shepherd mix 4 month old puppy itchs time to time and looks like dandruff. I use shampoos with colloidal oatmeal but still itching. Our vet said to just put fish oil on his food which we do and no change.

This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas or mites.  First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then get him to the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation.   Fleas and mites are quite common in puppies. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try discovering the cause of the allergy.   Some medications can be given by the vet in order to stop the chewing and repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics)..  There is also a nice topical spray available, it's called Cortavance and you can get it at the vets.   Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider starting on a long term allergy treatment.