sera guide - Healthy aquarium fish

7 Preventing and treating deficiencies and malnutrition Cause: page 21 Prevention/Recommendation: Fish withdraw minerals and trace elements from the water via their skin and the gills. The balanced mineral level of sera mineral salt as well as the iodine and magnesium in sera aquatan along with important vitamins from sera fishtamin (e.g. vitamin D3 for skeleton buildup) compensate deficiencies – e.g. in case of deionized (R/O) water. The fish are thus effectively protected against not genetically caused deformations (often on the gills or the fins). Sufficient supply with minerals and food rich in vitamins (e.g. sera micron) is crucial especially in early de- velopment stages. However, deficiencies may also lead to pathogenic physical changes also in adult fish (hole-in-the-head disease due to deficiencies in discus fish, among others). Lacking iodine leads to an enlargement of the thyroid gland to a prominent ulcer. Besides us- ing sera aquatan, it is in such cases advisable to feed food types with a high natural iodine level, such as sera marin granulat and sera GVG-mix. They contain plenty of marine algae and crustaceans. The enlarged thyroid gland tissue will regress within the course of several weeks by itself if you feed food rich in iodine every day. Mineral and vitamin deficiency caused by too soft water and unsuitable food low in vitamins Poor quality, monotonous food leading to liver fattening, among others Cause: page 21 Prevention/Recommendation: Monotonous and wrong nutrition with low quality food man- ufactured from poor quality, unsuitable ingre- dients leads to deficiencies and physiological problems. Such food can only be digested to an insufficient extent, causing unnecessary water pollution. Furthermore, there is the prob- lem that your fish are on the one hand exces- sively battened by cheap fattening food and on the other hand receive insufficient essential nutrients such as vitamins, essential amino acids and omega fatty acids. Food sold loose- ly or in transparent plastic bags is exposed to light and atmospheric oxygen. The fats quickly become rancid, and the vitamins decompose. Some low quality foods even contains ex- tremely toxic mold. Disease patterns such as a fattened liver, intestinal inflammations and related subsequent diseases. Many tradition- ally fed live foods or raw materials (e.g. beef heart) are a serious threat to the health of your fish. The first ones often transmit dangerous pathogens, whereas the latter ones are entirely unsuitable for the digestive tract of most fish due to their composition. The high quality sera foods ensure that you supply your fish close to nature, well balanced and extensively. 38