Multiple Fish Flashing. Nitrate Issue?

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USMCSS

USMCSS

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
May 3, 2005
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So my 55 gal has been doing fine up until today. I have added fish to it and the current stock list is five 7-8" CL's, 4 small gourami, 3 yoyo loaches, 2 tire track eels that are the size of earthworms, and my new 6" fire eel. Everybody has been eating and acting fine until this morning when I woke and noticed the gourami doing what appeared to be breathing from the surface and it was then I noticed 2 of the yoyo's "flashing" as they swam around foraging for food as if they had an itch that needed scratching. I then tested the ammonia and nitrate. Ammonia was perfect but the nitrate was very high at probably over 100 so I went ahead and did a 75% water change. Well this evening I noticed gouramis doing the samething and the yoyo's still flashing so I did another 25% water change, waited a couple hours and checked nitrates again and still at the 100ish range (see attached pic) and the gourami and yoyo's are STILL doing it and now the fire eel maybe doing it as well but hard to tell. I went ahead and fed them just now before I head to bed and everybody is eating just fine except the tire tracks are nowhere to be found and they're usually always out and about. Even the CL's came out and have been clicking quite a bit which they never do. I haven't noticed any signs of ich but I went ahead and raised the temp trying to bring it to 85. For filtration I'm running the Fluval 405 plus I have plenty of aeration as I have 2 powerheads with airlines from an air pump running to them. Any ideas what the problem could be and have any solutions I should try? Any meds I should try adding just in case that would be safe for all species in there? Like I said, everybody is active and eating good, just those damn nitrates are sky high. I even did a large change on my 125 this morning then tested the water in the evening and nitrates were only around 60. Mind you my tap water tests at 40 and PH in the tap and tanks is 7.8-8ish but the flashing has not been an issue before.

Disclaimer: I'm well aware that the eels will all eventually need larger tanks but they are only be housed in the non-aggressive 55 for grow out purposes and then moved in with my 14" ornate bichir and some catfish. This isn't by no means anywhere near my first tank and I'm by no means a newb. I've just never had this problem before.

boldtogether boldtogether

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I'm far from an expert on fish disease and illness, but will share my experiences. Although it doesn't sound like it was quite to the extent you've described, I had noticed random flicking with my clowns and a few other of my fish in the past. I ended up treating the tank with prazipro and added a UV and haven't had an issue since.

Regarding the nitrates, I have roughly the same size group of clowns as you in a 120. Just from what I've seen with my own tank, I think you'll need several large water changes a week to keep your nitrates at bay.
 
Can it be the beginning of an ick infestation. It may take several days of flashing before white spots show up. Inspect the fish carefully daily, specially the loaches which are highly suceptable to Ick. As soon as you confirm white spots, don't delay treatment as ick kills loaches quickly. I recommend Quick Cure from Mardel which is a combination of Malchite Green and formalin, and use only half dosage because loaches are sensitive to MG.
 
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If you're combating an eminent ICK invasion and it is suspect, start the treatment, at half dose, anyway. As far as nitrates....I don't believe high nitrate will makr fish flash. They are obviously irritated by something. Test pH as well...it should be neutral but pH may not be the issue. kH and GH...
KH is Carbonate hardness and is actually a buffer in tap water. If your KH is high then it may be creating an uncomfortable water for your fish that may be coming from a softer water.

GH is General Hardness, particularly Magnesium and Calcium. When a fish is said to thrive is say, soft water, this value is what is meant.

I would suggest you go the fish store/s you got the fish from and ask if they would share their water perameters with you. If they are useing different water than you, the water chemistry could be way off and making the fish uncomfortable. Aside from external parasites, an extremely hard alkaline water can make certain fish uncomfortable as well as very soft acidic water...
I would begin with:
1).Raising temperature anticipating ick.
2). As temp increases, mildly dose tank....or not, if you aren't comfortable.
(Personally, I would hold off just a little until I did number 3)
3). Inquire at the lfs about their water chemistry and explain the situation. They will help you I am confident....if you need to raise the GH, take those steps, lower, same. Keep a close eye on the fish...particularly the clownsfor ick.
4). If the water chemistry turns out to be about the same as your tap, low dose the tank for ick.....if that is what you believe may be the cause.
You got all the fish at different times....but they all are flashing...I really would be surprised if it were ick. Also, you do have a new setup so the tank is still "settling"...
 
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Water tested and GH is pretty high but really not much I can do about that. Tank is already full of driftwood and with frequent water changes, I'd be causing a big fluctuation in the levels if I tried to budge the GH too much with chemicals, etc.

For treatment I have raised the temp to 85, added 11 teaspoons of rock salt, and added 28 drops of the ich treatment the manager of my LFS recommended who is without a doubt very knowledgeable and wasn't just trying to up sell me as that med was $3 and there were plenty of other meds that were much more pricey. I've bought almost all the fish in the tank from that store with the exception of the 8" loach and so he clearly wants the fish to succeed because he knows I'll be buying from there much more in the future.

Since adding the salt the yoyo's seem to be flashing a little less. One of the gouramis tends to sit at the bottom alot going off for air occasionally and swimming around here and there. I'll be doing the treatment for about a week. I'll provide updates.

Ich.jpg

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My advice here is get some Seachem Prime, and some Seachem Paraguard.
What are your nitrites at? You could be in the middle of a mini cycle.
the prime will help if its ammo/nitrite issues, and the paraguard will take care of ich and be much much much easier on all those scalless fish you have in the tank. salt and medication are dangerous games when it comes to loaches and eels.
 
USMCSS said:
I already use Prime with every water change and nitrites were fine the other day.
Click to expand...
then I'd switch gears, the loaches could be flashing due to the salt, I've seen mine do it during a salt treatment before. They are also sensitive to meds.
 
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