My fish are itchy???

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
W

wvera05

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 5, 2008
90
0
0
39
illinois
Hi all, let me give a lil history to whats been going on first I was away from home for 4 months and left my family in charge of my tanks unfortunatly they did not do to good of a job the tanks were flithy and to my amazement alot of my guys were still alive that was about 2 weeks ago i have been doing water changes and trying to get the water back to normal. I only have 1 test avaible right now and it's the 5-in-1 test kit (quick dip) and im saving it for a couple more water changes and then im going to check the parameters of the water.

I have been noticing that my fish are scratching themselves on sharps objects in the tank and I am currently thinking they have a parasite of sorts attacking them, also one of my convicts an older one seems to be having alil trouble with his swim bladder he randomly begins to like point up wards almost like this ( / ) in terms of the direction his body begins to make, other than that he seems to be healthy. My question is should I raise the ,do more water changes throughout the week, add any aquarium salt to ease with stress im not to sure excatly what route to take. I am currently unemployed so i am depending on my family to get me the things that i need and medication is not top priority to them. Another question of mine is if i get the water parameters back to normal will that automatically like cleanse the fish and they begin to heal naturally or is medication a must in this particular situation any advice, suggestions, or tips would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance
 
Hi all I opened up the 5-in-1 test kit and to my surpise there were about 20 test strips (first time using this product) so I starting dipping, and I got the results for both of my tanks a 55 gal and a 20 gal and here they are,

20 Gal:

Nitrate- 200
Nitrite- .5
Hardness- 300
Alkalinity- 300
Ph- 8.4

55 Gal:

Nitrate- 200
Nitrite- 1.0
Hardness- 300
Alkalinity- 300
Ph- 8.4

Again I was away for 4 months and my tanks are recuperating from all of this I have done about 3 water changes so far trying not to put the fish into shock, everybody looks fine except for the scratching i've seen and the cichlid tilting upwards (maybe Swimbladder), what do you guys recommend again im depending on my family financially right now so cant put in to many request's in terms of medications, or products if there is maybe a homemade remedy I can do that would be great, or more frequent water changes or something that doesnt require to much money would be awesome once I do find a job though I will be purchasing the things that they need , but like I said they seem to be doing okay except for what I mentioned above thanks in advance
 
about 50 % everytime over a weeks course so I did a 50 % water every week for 2weeks , and no I did not soften water , does that mean letting it sit for a couple days or do you mean adding water softener ???
 
hard to say whats causing this with out seeing it. could be some type of parasite? some one once told me of using uv sterilizers might help. hope some one else has some good input for u
 
your fish have ich. You can treat with meds, or salt and higher temps
 
i dont see any ich though, i do know what ich is , but that doesnt seem to be the case here i will keep my eye open for it though, so in regards to that should i maybe raise up the temp and do water changes twice a week or is that too much for them righ now ???
 
If I were you, I would have switched the test kits to API liquid drops to be rest assured your water parameters are tiptop and not subpar as most test strips would mislead you into. API liquid drops cost at least $25 per set which includes ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, high pH and pH. A master test kit is a worthy investment for at least a year. Check the last four digits printed on the box as it indicates manufacturing date. Purchase kits that have been manufactured within two years.

It is very easy to assume swim bladder disorder. I do not however believe this is exactly one of the issues you are looking into. Without looking at further details, misdiagnosis can potentially harm your fish more than help. It is not only ich that is responsible for frequent scratching which is highly unusual with fish. Flukes, trichodina, costia, etc are also responsible for that.

Remove all decorations that are abrasive or with sharp edges. Potentially risking your fish to open wounds can only worsen its health. If this is not an option, separate the fish in a hospital tank otherwise you really should remove all sharp decorations.

To be sure we are covering all bases, please relax and take the time to answer this diagnostics form.

1. What is the size of your tank?

2. What are your water parameters? State the brand of test kit used.

3. Is your aquarium set up freshwater or brackish water?

4. How long the aquarium has been set up?

5. What fish do you have? How many are in your tank? How big are they? How long have you had them?

6. Were the fish placed under quarantine period (minus the first batch from the point wherein the tank is ready to accommodate the inhabitants)?

7. What temperature is the tank water currently?

8. Are there live plants in the aquarium?

9. What filter are you using? State brand, maintenance routine and power capacity.

10. Any other equipment used (aside from heater and filter which are two very important components of the tank)?

11. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day? What is your lighting schedule (assuming you do not rely on sunlight for our viewing pleasure)?

12. When did you perform your last water change and how much water was changed? How often do you change your water? Do you vacuum the substrate?

13. What foods do you provide your fish? What is the feeding schedule?

14. What unusual signs have you observed in your fish?

15. Have you treated your fish ahead of diagnosis? If so, what treatments did you use? State your reasons for planning ahead of proper diagnosis.
Click to expand...
 
1. What is the size of your tank?( 55g)

2. What are your water parameters? State the brand of test kit used.(Jungle 5-in-1 Test kit Quick dip)

3. Is your aquarium set up freshwater or brackish water?(Freshwater I do add aquarium salt)

4. How long the aquarium has been set up?( alil over a year now)

5. What fish do you have? How many are in your tank? How big are they? How long have you had them?(3 male Convicts, 2 tinfoil barbs, 1 parrot cichlid)

6. Were the fish placed under quarantine period (minus the first batch from the point wherein the tank is ready to accommodate the inhabitants)? ( No I bought them all at the same time minus one of the tinfoil barbs)

7. What temperature is the tank water currently? (80 degress)

8. Are there live plants in the aquarium?(No all plastic)

9. What filter are you using? State brand, maintenance routine and power capacity. (Whisper for 55 came with tank, i clean the fliters like once a month and replace when mecessary)

10. Any other equipment used (aside from heater and filter which are two very important components of the tank)? (Air bubbles is all)

11. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day? What is your lighting schedule (assuming you do not rely on sunlight for our viewing pleasure?(its in my room so it must get light from my window but its not right next to it)( I turn on lights at night mostly)

12. When did you perform your last water change and how much water was changed? How often do you change your water? Do you vacuum the substrate?(like 4 days ago i did like a 50 % water change, and yes i do vacuum the substrate)

13. What foods do you provide your fish? What is the feeding schedule?( I feed a pellet brand called top fin from walmart not the best brand forgive me, when i was employed i would provide bloodworms, earthworms, and krill)

14. What unusual signs have you observed in your fish?(they have been scratching themselves on substrate, and one of my Convicts tilts upwards once in awhile like this (/)


15. Have you treated your fish ahead of diagnosis? If so, what treatments did you use? State your reasons for planning ahead of proper diagnosis.( Ihave not used any medication prior to this i thought i should ask first as it doesnt seem life threating yet. (Also dont know if you have already read this but i was away for 4 months and asked my family to watch over them while i was away but i think they didnt get cleaned not even once while i was away and the tank was a dieaster area so i have been trying to undo that mess and know that is why they are acting like this.) Thanks in advance for any suggestions
 
Were they actually scratching the same body area? Assuming they do, flukes may possibly be the issue here. Praziquantel can treat for this one but praziquantel does not come cheap. It is available as Prazipro in some stores. Here's the dosing regimen.

Remove carbon.
Add 2.5 milligrams per liter of water.
If you are using the powdered version, it is difficult to dissolve. Predissolve in tank water by shaking it up in a small container.
Dosing
Day 1 -- remove carbon, perform water change with vacuuming, and add Prazi to tank
Day 2 -- add Prazi
Day 3 -- do nothing
Day 4 -- do nothing
Day 5 -- do nothing
Day 6 -- add Prazi
Day 7 -- add Prazi
Day 8 -- normal partial water change with vacuuming
Day 14 - normal partial water change, then add prazi
Day 21 - normal partial water change, then add prazi
Day 28 - normal partial water change, then add prazi
Day 35 - normal partial water change, add carbon, treatment is complete
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom