5 Common Catfish Diseases And Treatment

What are the common diseases in catfish? What are the various ways to treat them? This and many more are what we intend to address in this post. In this post, we will show you some of the common diseases in catfish and their possible treatment.

Some of these diseases include but are not limited to gill rot, crack head, jaundice, dropsy, and amenia disease. The presence of environmental pathogens, low resistance or immune deficiency, and unsatisfactory water environment are some of the causes of these diseases.

Improper treatment of these diseases could lead to catfish mortality. Symptoms such as decreased appetite, bloating, stunted growth, and potential weakness leading to fish inactivity, can be induced by them.

Catfish Diseases and Treatment

Amenia Disease

This is one of the common diseases affecting catfish. This disease is said to kill fish at a faster rate. Infected fish are seen with tiny bodies and bigger heads just like kwashiorkor.

The disease is usually caused as a result of overstocking and poor feeding. To avoid this sort of disease ravaging your farm, you must do the following:

• Improve the quality of the feed you give to your fish
• Ensuring clean and well-oxygenated water. To achieve this, you should change the water in your fish pond at least 3 times weekly

If parasites or infections are causing the anemia, medications may antibiotics or bitter leaves to treat your catfish. See how you can use bitter leaves to treat catfish with different diseases.

Crackhead Disease

Crackhead disease is prevalent among catfish, particularly those in earthen ponds. However, it’s important to note that catfish in concrete or tarpaulin ponds are not exempt from contracting this illness.

It is caused by a deficiency of essential nutrients, particularly:

• Calcium
• Phosphorus
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D

This deficiency can be due to poor quality fish food lacking the above-listed nutrients and the inability of their system to properly absorb the nutrients.

If you are the one producing the feed yourself, ensure all the essential nutrients mentioned above are added to the feed. However, our article will guide you.

To treat the affected fish, the following will help:

• Switch to a high-quality catfish feed formulated for proper nutrition.
• Quarantine affected fish to prevent spread (if possible in your setup).
• You can consider consulting an experienced hand.

Gill Rot

Gill rot is one of the most common diseases found among African catfish species, but that does not mean that there are no treatments for them.

The first sign that when a catfish is affected is that the fish becomes whitish. Gill rot is also known to affect their respiratory system which results in weakness and causes them to be inactive.

There are several methods to treat gill rot, depending on the severity:

• Frequently change up to 50% of their water every 2 days
• Ensure proper filtration to maintain good water quality
• Use a saltwater bath for the affected catfish. Use it to bathe affected fish for 5-10 minutes. Monitor them closely and remove them if they show signs of stress.
• Antibacterial medications specifically designed for gill rot are available at stores you can also use them
• Maintain a healthy diet for your catfish to support their immune system during recovery.
• Also, monitor the affected fish closely throughout the treatment process

Note! Gill rot is an infection. That means that when one fish is affected it could be possible that others have been affected too. As you treat the sick ones also administer drugs to the rest of the fish.

Jaundice

Jaundice is commonly found in newborn babies. Surprisingly, this can also be found among African catfish.

In catfish, jaundice manifests as a yellowing of the abdominal region, indicating an excess of bile pigment in their bloodstream. Symptoms include decreased appetite, loss of balance, and increased rate of mortality.

Unfortunately, treating jaundice is difficult because it’s a symptom, not a specific disease. Jaundice indicates a problem with bilirubin metabolism, often caused by underlying issues.

Here’s how to approach jaundice in catfish:

• Continue regular water changes to provide a healthy environment for recovery.
• Provide high-quality catfish food formulated for proper nutrition.
• Quarantine the affected fish to prevent possible spread to other fishes
• Consistent cleaning of the pond and water parameter monitoring can help prevent issues that lead to jaundice.

Possible Causes of Catfish Diseases

Three common causes of catfish diseases are:

• Presence of environmental pathogens
•  Low resistance of the fish (immune deficiency) and
•  Unsatisfactory water environment.

Other factors that could expose the catfish to diseases include but are not limited to;

• Stress
• Improper feeding
• Disease Organisms
• Acidic water
• Inbreeding and
• Overstocking

To gain insight into determining the appropriate stocking density for your pond, we have a comprehensive guide on stocking density of catfish in concrete ponds and in plastic tanks to assist you.

For detailed information on the effect of the factors listed above, have a look at the causes of catfish mortality and how to prevent catfish fry mortality in case you are into hatchery too.

Sign to Look Out For in Catfish Ponds

Two major or common signs could be a pointer that something is wrong with the fish stocked. These two factors are:

1. Reduced Feed Intake: This happens to be the first sign of many fish diseases. Once there is a drastic reduction in the speed at which the fish rush for food, just have it that something is wrong.

As a fish farmer, when you notice your fish no longer rush for food, the next thing should be to sort them and critically observe to see what could be the cause.

2. Abnormal Swimming Pattern: An abnormal swimming pattern can be seen when the fish begin to float on water, jumping, lying flat, robbing themselves against the wall of the pond, moving in a circular pattern, and losing balance in the water.

The best time to observe these signs is either in the morning or evening during feeding hours. This means that one must have to pay close attention to how the fish behave in the pond at all times.

Final Note

Understanding some of these common catfish diseases and their treatment requires practical training.

The diseases discussed in this article may seem common but have impacted negatively on catfish farming. Water quality, overstocking, and poor-quality feed have been at the center of problems in fish farming. Therefore, among others, water quality and stocking should be looked into at all times.