Need help from Dat owners

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Scorponok

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 26, 2005
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I am trying to figure out if Dats scratch themselves due to water chemistry and assuming no parasites. Please post the following information, Thanks.

1. Does your Dat scratch/flash/rub? Yes or No.

2. Your PH, KH, and GH level.

It's ok if you can't test for water hardness. Just post your PH level.
 
Mine rub themselves against stuff. All my dats do it here and there including other fish. No parasites....PH around 7 Why are you having problems? Or are you just sick of them rubbing?? You could always treat for parasites to make sure but ive gone down that road and treated when i seen them rubbing and now they still rub and i havent feed them feeders in along time other than the crayfish a week ago so that just leaves me to believe they just sometimes get a itch.
 
Scorponok;4054517; said:
1. Does your Dat scratch/flash/rub? Yes or No.

2. Your PH, KH, and GH level.

It's ok if you can't test for water hardness. Just post your PH level.
Click to expand...

1) Yes. but out of 12 , I only see 1 or 2 rubs maybe once ot twice a day. Its never the same ones eaither.

2) PH 8. I only test nitrates otherrwise. Water is not too soft as limescale builds up in pipes.
 
FunWow!;4055841; said:
Mine rub themselves against stuff. All my dats do it here and there including other fish. No parasites....PH around 7 Why are you having problems? Or are you just sick of them rubbing?? You could always treat for parasites to make sure but ive gone down that road and treated when i seen them rubbing and now they still rub and i havent feed them feeders in along time other than the crayfish a week ago so that just leaves me to believe they just sometimes get a itch.
Click to expand...

It only bothers me to not knowing why dats are the only ones rubbing in the same tank but not the other fish. And yet it's such a common phenomenon for dat keepers world wide. When they scratch there should be a satisfying explanation. So far is all speculative. I have ruled out parasites for I did gill scrapes and performed microscopy on them and can't find any parasites. On top of that, I have converted the tank into brackish so that should have killed off any freshwater parasites, BUT, they still flash. So my conclusion for now is the water chemstry, that they are bother by it. Whether their such behavior is normal or agitation, I am itching to find out the real cause.
 
Have you ever noticed if your filling up a tank with brand new water dats tend to all go to the spot where its coming into the tank??? and they'll just stay there under the new water until it stops. Maybe they like the feeling?
 
Interesting observation. Yes, I have noticed that as well. Now you got me curious, when you say they like the feeling you think it's because of water quality, chemistry, water flow, current, temp.....those new water coming out of the hose/siphon hasn't even been treated with dechlorine yet. Why they go close to it?
 
Now thats a mystery that i would like to know aswell. They'll stay in it until i shut the water off. If you ever happen to figure it out let me know and i have hard water aswell.
 
mine don't rub but my PH is around 7.2 and the temp is usually around 80 degrees f
 
My ph is at 7.8.

My Dats and Geophagus were rubbing themselves and I noticed one of my new acquisitions with a few white specs on its fins. Should have quarantined.
I didn't see any specs on any of the other fish in with them.
After almost a week with salt added and the temp at 86* mine have stopped itching.
I'm going to keep the salt and temp up for two more weeks.
 
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