Vet Q&A-Fish

Hi vet,I have a pair of budgies in which the female budgie is facing some problem.From last few days its beak turned into brown colour and it's mostly feeds on cuttle fish bone.It makes small squeak sound when male is feeding to eat. I have also another problem that it is facing difficult to poop and it's rubbing it's vent and mostly sits in the nest box or sits under the cage for sometime. I need a help to solve problem beacuse I love my birds a lot.

Thanks for reaching out about Katrin. The brown thickening of the cere is common with females who are reproductively active (ovulation). It also sounds like she is straining with difficulty defecating, possibly egg bound. A veterinary visit is recommended as this can become serious and possibly fatal. Other possibilities exist and a veterinarian should be able to assess and provide a diagnostic/treatment plan. Good luck.

Hey so I have have 10 goldfish that are all about 10-20cm long (tail included) in a 6ft tank and Larry which is one of my Fish has a white patch on the side of him could you please tell me what this is and how to tear it please help Me I love him so much.☺️☺️☺️Ps hope you can see the white dot in the photo thank you

Thanks for reaching out about Larry and including photos. The white spot appears to be an area that lost a scale, which should grow back. Does not appear infected at present. The tank appears a little green, so test water quality and change as needed. Monitor lighting and how much you feed as that can stimulate algal blooms. Fish should needs to be purchased new every 3 months as vitamins (especially vitamin C) degrade quickly. Good luck.

My betta fish is losing parts of her back tail, and I really need help. I've had her for about a year, and she has started to turn gray on her belly. I have already treated the tank for fin rot, but nothing happened. Is it a bacterial infection?

Thanks for reaching out about M.S. and including photos. Have you tested the water quality for pH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates? Betta pellets need to be replaced every 3 months as vitamins degrade quickly. Bacterial fin infections are often associated with poor water quality. Rarely do water additive for infection improve the condition so systemic antibiotics might be a better choice. A veterinary visit would be needed to diagnose and prescribe medication. good luck.

Hey! Just got a beta fish and he is swimming fine... but after I fed him, he seemed to “hyperventilate”! But then again, he’s swimming fine. Is this okay? He’ll also swim really fast at some points. Is he just nervous?

Monitor for redness, white spots or fuzzy growths on him. The swimming fast may be "flashing", which a fish with an infection will do to "scratch an itch". Maintain pristine water quality via filtration and partial water changes. Use only aged or conditioned water that is temperature matched to prevent stress or shock when performing water changes. Bettas do best between 78 F and 80 F. Monitor water chemistry to confirm 0 ppm ammonia and nitrites with nitrates at 320 ppm or less. If you don't have a home test kit, most pet stores will test water for free or for a small fee.

hello lost my beta yesterday in my 2.5 tank was treating for cloudy eye want to put my female in that tank want to be safe i have a moss ball and a snail in that tank can i still use them if so would i need to rinse them very well before putting my fish in that tank going to drain the tank and start over should i let the tank cycle before adding my beta thanks

I am sorry for the loss of your fish. Bettas are quite hardy, but cycling the tank would be recommended if you are starting fresh. The moss ball and snail can be placed back in the tank once it is set up. Cycling may take 3-4 weeks ina small tank. Monitor the chemistry closely. Once ammonia and nitrites are at 0 ppm and nitrates are 20 ppm or less, you can introduce fish. Cloudy eye is typically due to injury, poor water quality, stress or a combination of the three.

My Shibu/Ridgback had one side of her snout swollen when we took her to the vet he said she was stung by a bee and that some hairless spots were due to high exposure to pollen. He gave her a cortisol shot and put her on antibiotics and i started to give her Zyrtec daily. Her snout is not black and she has more hairless spots. She is on a fish based diet could that be the cause of the hairless patches and should I be concerned about her snout?

Hi there and thank you for using Boop by Petco to address your concern. Without pictures it is difficult to say for sure what the cause is. I would recommend applying a topical antibiotic ointment such as Sentry wound ointment and apply twice daily until resolved. This can be found at your local Petco. If this does not help or it worsens, I would recommend having her examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

My cat is more than a year, she's good in health but she doesn't eat her food. I give her homemade food like boiled chicken, liver, eggs She doesn't eat fish nor she eats cat food (I prefer to avoid) Whatever I cook she eats little bit and then I have to feed her... We provide her both dry and wet food(homemade) Please help...

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Boop by Petco. I'm sorry to hear that Kaira isn't eating like you believe she should. Home-made diets are typically NOT recommended by veterinarians, as it is very difficult to ensure cats are getting the proper amounts and percentages of nutrients. Cats have very particular needs when it comes to food, and they can become sick if they are either missing certain nutrients or if they get too much of others. Unless you consult a board certified Veterinary Nutritionist who can come up with an appropriate homemade diet for Kaira, I recommend feeding her a commercial cat food formulated for adult cats. There is nothing wrong with feeding normal cat food, in fact, they are much safer and preferred over homemade diets. A significant amount of research goes into formulating cat foods and making sure they are complete and balanced. I hope this is helpful!

Two of our 6 goldfish have died and 3 have blood spots on their heads. The two that died didn't have blood on their heads. We came home and the water seemed white and the fliter had stopped. We took them out but we don't know what's wrong or what to do

I am so sorry that this is happening, and I am sorry for the loss of two of your fish. With you mentioning the filter stopping, there could be a number of issues going on. Filters perform a number of tasks, depending on the type you have. First, they help to keep toxins (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates) from building up in the water through the support of good bacteria - when the power goes out, sometimes the bacteria can die. This can put a lot of stress on the fish. Also, the oxygen levels can decrease when the power goes out (not sure if this occurred for you or not) and this can cause fish to die, and others to get stressed. When stress occurs, sometimes fish will injure themselves if they are panicked and trying to move around the tank. From the pictures, it looks like the reddened spots are under the skin and could be related to trauma. There are other issues that can result in spots that look like this as well. I would recommend getting your filter started back up, doing a water change, and then testing your water quality. Once it is back to normal, you can put your fish back in the tank. If your filter didn't stop due to a power outage, I would recommend considering replacing it, or attempting to find the underlying problem that resulted in its malfunction in the first place. For the reddened spots on the head - if they are due to trauma, they should resolve over the next week or so. If you see progression, or if there is a lack of improvement, then I would recommend taking one of the fish in for evaluation by a veterinarian, as there may be something else going on. I hope that this gives you a place to start, and good luck!

what kind of fish are these? and would they be good with a male betta

It is very difficult to see the markings of these fish from the pictures. Many fish may be able to live with a Betta if there is a large enough tank. Here are some guidelines on how to pick tabkmates for a Betta. No nibblers – if a fish nibbles at a Betta fish they will get bit back! Bigger fish and colorful fish could be seen to be intimidating – you don’t want to intimidate a fighting fish! Think of the size of your aquarium – you should always have 5 gallons of personal water space for your betta fish Many bottom feeders* are fish that can live with bettas Remember the dietary requirements for both tank mates Add a few tank ornaments and live plants for any intimidated fish to hide (just incase) You can find some more info here. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/category_home.cfm?acatid=158