Do fish get the flu or colds?

[LAReefer4Life]

Is it possible for a fish to get a cold or flu or not likely? I've read threads as well as personal experience when the water quality was perfect but a fish randomly became less active and stopped eating for a couple days and then picked right back up.

Thoughts on the subject?

 

[Goby Bryant]

#fishmedic

 

[KrisReef]

Fish and coral can get diseases from bacteria and virus's. Still they don't have to wear a mask when they fly because they sit in the baggage section. The jury is still out if coral and fish get a buzz when people vodka dose their systems, but I do think that fish can get a hang over if you put to much vodka in their tanks.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Is it possible for a fish to get a cold or flu or not likely? I've read threads as well as personal experience when the water quality was perfect but a fish randomly became less active and stopped eating for a couple days and then picked right back up.

Thoughts on the subject?

Fish like humans have natural parasites and susceptible to virus when the immune system weakens and problems then arise which emphasizes the importance of good water quality and diet.
As for perfect water and then downslide in health, can be contributed to aggression, and injury in which stress also weakens the immunity system

 

[Spare time]

Pretty much every thing alive can get sick. Influenza is very widespread amongst animals, but the degree to which it impacts them varies. A virus can be harmless to some species, and yet the same type of virus could be deadly to another species. Most diseases that spread in human populations come from animals.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Is it possible for a fish to get a cold or flu or not likely? I've read threads as well as personal experience when the water quality was perfect but a fish randomly became less active and stopped eating for a couple days and then picked right back up.

Thoughts on the subject?

Well, those are respiratory viruses, and fish don’t have lungs.
Fish do develop viruses, some are fatal, others like Lymphocystis can be overcome.
I don’t know of any sub clinical viral infections, probably because there just hasn’t been many studies done on viruses that aren’t mostly fatal.
Jay

 

[Tired]

Exactly a flu or cold, no. Those are a fairly specific set of diseases. A disease that makes them feel lousy for a few days to a week, then resolves on its own, and is unlikely to cause permanent harm (but might still cause harm regardless)? Sure- I'm pretty sure just about anything can get those.

However, there are plenty of other reasons why a fish would act poorly for a bit and then seem fine. Stress from something would be the main thing there- a temporary increase in a tankmate's territorial behavior, maybe the fish got badly startled and bonked into something trying to escape, that sort of thing.

 

[Sharkbait19]

I’d agree that there are likely a number of mild diseases fish get. Jay makes a good point that we wouldn’t have a knowledge of them if we had no reason to study them though.
Some things are much less harmful in the wild (like ich) but become much bigger of a problem due to a set amount of fish being crammed in small quarters. When an ich spot drops off it jumps right back on soon after. Think of it like one person with the flu (or even common cold) walking around an empty park vs one person with the flu walking around a packed airport.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Is it possible for a fish to get a cold or flu or not likely? I've read threads as well as personal experience when the water quality was perfect but a fish randomly became less active and stopped eating for a couple days and then picked right back up.

Thoughts on the subject?

I thought about it some more and I came up with a possible example of a non-fatal virus that just makes a fish act ill for some time. Here is what I wrote about it:

Carp Pox
Affecting mainly carp, Cyprinus carpio this viral disease is only important to aquarists who have ponds, as it infects only koi and other ornamental carp. This herpes1 virus, (Herpesvirus cyprini CHV-1) causes raised lesions (epidermal hyperplasia) that, while unsightly, are rarely fatal to the infected fish. Occasionally there is a problem with secondary bacterial infections of the open sores. Infections typically become active when the water temperature falls below 57 degrees F. Eventually, the disease goes into remission as the fish develops immunity to the virus, but some fish develop permanent scarring. In many ways, this disease is similar to chickenpox in humans. There is no treatment and strict quarantine is the only method to limit the spread of this disease.


Jay