Just like us, fish can be sick from tons of health-related problems if their immune system is weak. A strong fish immune system can help the fish fight off most of the potential diseases and parasites.
Most aquarium fish have a lifespan of years, and some species can even live for decades. For novice fish keepers, it is no easy task to keep the fish alive to their life expectancy. Luckily, there is plenty of useful information from more experienced hobbyists. Many of them have kept aquarium fish for years or even decades. With some useful tips, you can skip a lot of trials and errors, and keep fish as healthy as possible. Healthy fish with a strong immune system can live even longer than their natural life expectancy.
Tips to help boost fish immune system and overall health:
1. Keep the Water Quality Excellent in the Aquarium
Since fish live in water, it is essential to keep the water quality high if we want them to stay healthy. Just as human beings can become sick due to air pollution, poor aquarium water conditions can make the fish sick and even die. To have excellent water quality in an aquarium.
2. Keep the Fish Stress Free
Stress will weaken the fish immune system. Anything from polluted fish tank water, too high or too low water temperature, too few hiding places, unstable water conditions, too crowded, or too few fish in the case of schooling fish, to aggressive tank mates can all cause the fish to be in constant stress. Make sure you provide the best environment possible for the fish. Do not overstock the fish tank. Have plenty of hiding place. Research the individual fish species about their natural habits, compatibility, etc., before you get them.
3. Feed the Fish an Excellent Diet
Not all fish foods are the same in ingredients and quality. Some fish foods are better than others due to superior ingredients. Look for ingredients such as “whole salmon,” “whole krill,” “whole shrimp,” etc., on the label. Stay away “Fish meal” in most cases. High-quality fish foods can go a long way to boost fish health as well as their coloration. My favorite fish foods are New Life Spectrum Pellets and Omega One Flakes.
4. Supplements for Fish
Just like us, fish need vitamins and other micro-nutrition to be healthy. While some high-quality fish foods already have vitamins added, the vitamins they contain can degrade over time after the seal is broken. Thus giving the fish some extra vitamin supplements will be just like us taking vitamin supplements to make sure we get enough of everything.
VitaChem is an excellent multi-vitamin supplement for aquarium fish. Another superb supplement I have used to boost fish immune system is Garlic Guard. It contains garlic extract and vitamin C. Both VitaChem and Garlic Guard can be used to pre-soak fish foods before the feeding. Pellets and freeze-dried fish foods are particularly useful for pre-soaking. I have been using these products since I got the “secret” from someone who had over two decades of fish keeping experience.
5. Aquarium Water Additives
Although they are not direct immune system boosters, some aquarium water additives can provide the fish a safer aquatic environment. Products such as Tropical Science Immune Plus contains beneficial bacteria to out-compete the harmful bacteria in the aquarium water by eating up their food source. Some water conditioners like Prime, Amquel +, NovaAqua have secondary functions such as detoxify ammonia and nitrite and can provide the fish with a protective slim coat. Hence, they can indirectly boost the fish’s chance of fighting off diseases and parasites.
When you take great care of your aquarium fish with the best of everything, they will stay healthy and strong. In many cases, they can live a lot longer than their wild counterparts in a home aquarium. A tankful of healthy and colorful fish is a lot more enjoyable to watch.