Blue Ridge Aquatics

False! 🧫 Ich is a parasite and although it can be found in most *wild* water systems, it does not magically exist in all aquariums. A fish cannot contract ich without it already being present. Yes ich can lie dormant for weeks (even longer in an unheated or low temperature aquarium) without signs of white spots, but it is *always* introduced into an aquarium either by an infected fish, infected nets/hoses, infected plants, decor, or by shared water systems. A stressed fish cannot magically get ich unless it was already present. It is extremely common in aquarium stores that choose not quarantine. Again- they can look fine and still have ich, but not show it for quite some time. Looks can be deceiving! Ask what your store does to quarantine and eliminate the spread of common disease.

We just sold out of Ich-X and Polyguard, be mindful about where you get your fish from! Lots of it going around. Bringing a new fish home only to infect all your other ones isn’t fun or cheap and is often deadly.

Have you experienced ich? What did you learn?

Because what’s one more tank?! 💚

One of the most common and most damaging myths in fishkeeping…

Fish do not magically stop growing because their tank is too small.

What actually happens is…

🐟Their growth becomes stunted from poor conditions and chronic stress.
🐟 Internal organs often keep developing even when the body can’t properly grow.
🐟 Their lifespan is shortened.
🐟 They become more vulnerable to disease, deformities, and organ failure.

A small tank doesn’t create a “mini fish.” It creates an unhealthy fish.

What does influence size:
📏 Genetics/species
📏 Diet and nutrition
📏 Water quality
📏 Temperature
📏 Stress levels
📏 Swimming space

Healthy fish in proper environments typically:
💚 Grow faster
💚 Show better coloration
💚 Have stronger immune systems
💚 Live dramatically longer

A better phrase: “fish can become stunted in a tank too small for their needs, but stunted growth is not healthy growth.”

Surviving is not the same as thriving.

📣 We will not sell you a fish unless it’s going in a minimum of 5 gallons.

Did you know: there’s no such thing as “livebearer’s disease”? 🧐 🦠 🐟

Livebearer’s disease is not a formally recognized singular disease, but rather a broad blanket term that covers a *large* range of common identifiable parasites and disease. Livebearing fish are more likely to have these specifically due to their nature (they scavenge and peck at the ground for food where many parasites reside in an infected tank) and because of how they were raised (often in crowded and poor tank conditions in large and busy breeding facilities with frequent cross contamination).

On top of parasites and disease, fish (especially livebearing) often arrive to stores with stressed with weak immune systems from poor prior water conditions which can make them that much more susceptible to becoming infected- *especially* if a store doesn’t quarantine and drops new fish immediately into sale tanks without monitoring and treating for common parasites and disease prior. Many of the parasites out there stay an aquarium *long* after the infecting fish is gone, underscoring why we choose to quarantine.

When someone says “livebearer’s disease”, they actually mean one or more of the following that haven’t been identified yet:
🧫 Internal parasites (there are a ton but the most common are the infamous camalla**s worm + tapeworms…)
🧫 External parasites (most common are: ich, epistylis, velvet…)
🧫 Bacterial infections like columnaris
🧫 Chronic stress
🧫 Tuberculosis
🧫 Poor water chemistry

Typical symptoms lumped into the term “livebearer’s disease”…
🦠 weight loss despite eating
🦠 caved in stomach
🦠 red “threads” hanging out of a fish’s a**s (camalla**s worms)
🦠 white/stringy p**p
🦠 clamped fins
🦠 bent spine
🦠 repeated deaths
🦠 poor fry survival
🦠 lethargy

PS: parasites and diseases can come in on PLANTS, CORALS, decor… anything from an infected tank- not just fish. This is why we are so extra. Quarantine your fish. Dip your plants. Dip your corals. 🌈⭐️

🧐What are some other myths you’ve heard of?

📸 Let’s see your fish + tanks! How’s everything doing? PS: we are bringing up new fish right now, no stock lists this time- just surprises.