Category:Viruses and viral diseases

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A virus (Latin, poison) is a microscopic particle that can infect the cells of a biological organism.

They infect a wide variety of organisms: both eukaryotes (animals, fungi and plants) and prokaryotes (bacteria).


Viral populations do not grow through cell division like bacteria, because they are acellular; instead, they use the machinery and metabolism of a host cell to produce multiple copies of themselves. Over time so many of the host cells are infected that the natural function of an animals organs are damaged and the virus kills the host.

Because viruses use the machinery of a host cell to reproduce and also reside within them, they are difficult to eliminate without killing the host cell.

This is why it is very rare for chemical treatments to be used to treat viruses as to kill the virus usually means killing the cell and tissue surrounding it.

The most effective medical approaches to viral diseases so far are vaccinations to provide resistance to infection, and drugs which treat the symptoms of viral infections rather than the virus itself.

Aquatic pet owners often ask for, and vets or pet shops often prescribe, antibiotics. These are useless against viruses, and their misuse against viral infections is one of the causes of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

Unfortunately little is known about viruses in the aquarium hobby and there are no known chemical treatments. The best we can hope for is to ensure the animals are kept in clean and healthy condition so that their natural immune system can deal with the viral infection. The aquarist can help boost the immune system by feeding their animals a varied diet. A mono diet can not supply all the nutritions an animal needs.

  • It is difficult at time to identify the disease your animal has. Here is a list of Diseases Symptoms followed links to the actual disease.

Types of Viral diseases found[edit | edit source]

  • Lymphocystis (Cauliflower Disease)
  • Dropsy
  • Fish Pox (Carp Pox)
  • Koi Herpes Virus (KHV) - Cyprinid Herpes Virus 3 (CyHV-3)
  • Goldfish Herpes Virus (GHV) - Cyprinid Herpes Virus 2 (CyHV-2)
  • Spring Viraemia of Carp (SVC)
  • Dwarf gourami iridovirus (DGIV)
  • Infectious Spleen and Kidney Necrosis Virus (ISKNV)

Links[edit | edit source]

Pages in category "Viruses and viral diseases"

