Common reasons for Fish itching them selves?

[SpeshulEd]

You say you don't use dechlorinator, and your city recently had a boil water advisory. It is possible that your city increased their chlorine concentration as a precaution, and this is the reason your fish are showing distress.

If your city treats the water with chlorine/chloramine, you should be using a dechlorinator with every water change. There's no reason not to. A lot of fish can probably survive water changes with chlorinated water, but that doesn't mean that it's not doing long-term damage.

I would agree with this. The city water might have bumped up its chlorine.

Also, fish flash from high nitrates, ich, gill flukes, etc. Sometimes its just random, other times its a problem. I have seen my fish do it to get poo off as well.

If it seems random, I'd just keep an eye on things, if it seems to be constant, I'd keep a closer eye on things and try to narrow the problems.

At this point though, I'd say some Prime couldn't hurt things.

 

[Lupin]

sometimes my fish do it randomly too..
no cause what so ever!
if you are concerned about ick
invest in a UV sterilizer

Actually, there is a reason why a fish has to scratch, not purely out of doing it just for pleasure or the fun of it which they normally don't.

A UV sterilizer is not necessary. It can work but only to an extent when the free swimming protozoans pass through the system otherwise it is pointless to invest in one. The key to ich prevention is quarantine. Don't take quarantine tanks for granted when they can safely protect your precious little fishies. What costs more? A quarantine system or a bunch of medicine bottles and constant water changes?

The following can cause scratching.
1. Ich.
2. Gill and skin flukes. Only microscopes can verify this.
3. Trichodina, chilodenella and costia. Again, microscopes only.
4. Silt irritation.
5. Fiber glass scattered around the tank.
6. External parasites such as ergasilus, fish lice and anchorworms.

 

[justin guest]

and ammonia

j<><

 

[Lupin]

Good point.lol I kept forgetting a few things lately.

 

[BigJ]

The Nitrate was off the charts.. Could this be the isssue? I'm assumeing so.. I'm allready hammering the tank 25 gallon per day water changes.. It's a 90 gallon btw.

 

[koop171]

Not sure what it could be but I would jack the temp up a few degrees. I always keep mine at 82-85 and I've never had ick in my tank. My g/fs tank has had it twice. and we just jack the temp up and add salt. but it's possible that it's not ick. but I still would jack the temps up.

 

[jworth]

the type of fish in there may also prefer higher water temps. the pbass i saw you posted recently for example are better off mid 80's

 

[BigJ]

the type of fish in there may also prefer higher water temps. the pbass i saw you posted recently for example are better off mid 80's

Mid 80's really? That seams a little high. But i could be wrong. Did you read that somewhere? Or is this just opinion? The water changing seem's to be calming the itching alot. My guess was the Nitrates are getting to them.

Anybody keep there bass in the mid 80's?



thanks everybody

 

[SpeshulEd]

I would say the nitrates were causing the issue. Just keep up on your water changes.

I'm still learning pbass, but all of mine are at 78 degrees and I haven't noticed any real issues.

 

[Rockbass6]

What do you have for filter media? you could check there and find something to keep your levels lower. With barebottom there isn't as much area for the bacteria to seed. I would have at least driftwood in the tank, or some kind of bioballs/ceramic filter rings in the filter. I think nitrate is your problem or possibly a new tankmate brought something in. Fish ich themselves for a reason, I would do what your doing waterchange bump the temp, salt and keep the lights off they should recover quickly.