FishProfiles.com Message Forums

As I said in my other posts, I had a recent outbreak of Ich (and possibly some other infection) which was quite nasty. That was 3 weeks ago now and although none of my fish have any visible symptoms, my 4 Cherry Barbs keep flashing against the substrate. I treated the tank with Melafix for a week but it made no difference.

Does anyone have any ideas about this? After the recent disaster this behaviour is really stressing me out. Help!

What is the....

ammonia?
nitrite?
nitrate?

Definitely check what is requested above. Aside from parasites, other things can cause them to scratch.

Nitrites can cause itching as can pH changes. Recently, I've suspected that certain fertilizers can also make them itch.

Make sure you are using a conditioner to remove chlorine and chloramine.

It would be good to evaluate your pH and your kH. A low kH would allow the pH to swing around easily.

It's not to say your fish aren't experiencing some other type of parasite, or you may find another ich infestation tomorrow morning. Make sure water changes don't alter overall tank temp more than 1-1.5F. Sudden drops of several degrees cause chilling and temp stress. Chilling brings on ich.

Yes I always use stress coat on the tap water. The current parameters are:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7.0

The pH has been constant there for months so I don't think kH is an issue. The water here is slightly alkaline but i've got two pieces of bogwood in the tank which keep it neutral. Infact, none of these parameters have changed in a long time, probably because I have Green-Ex and polyfilter in the filter.

I am using Flora Boost from Interpet to feed the plants. Do you think I should stop?

Last edited by bigchris at 20-Mar-2005 07:04

stop the stress coat and switch to something else. Stress coat is an irritant on some fish, and can cause flashing and itchyness. Try King British instead, unadulterated chlorine remover.



-------------------------------------------------
I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

- I couldn't figure out how you could have zero nitrates until I saw that you use a polyfilter.

Do a partial water change, then don't use any fertilizers for one week. During this week, watch for flashing and itching. I would do one water change during the week too to further dilute any ferts in the water. Continue watching for flashing.

If you don't see any flashing, then dose your ferts when you will be home for the day. Observe your fish every 15 minutes or so for a good five minutes during the first hour. Then make sure you keep checking in on them and watch them for 5 minutes at a time to see if there is flashing.

I found that Flourish Excel, which is a carbon source, causes anywhere from 1-3 of my fish to flash not long after it is dosed and it can go on for hours. I did a process of elimation, then slowly introduced one thing at a time and observed. Any time I dose excel, I can count on some flashing.

By all means, try a different conditioner as Tiny suggests too. Use that new conditioner when you do the first water change.

While your pH may seem stable at 7.0, it would still have the kH checked by someone if you don't have a kit. You should be at least 3-4kH for the pH to not swing around.

Also, check your pH early in the morning just as the first lights go on. Compare that to an evening check of the pH just before lights go out. Plants put o2 in the water by day and give off co2 by night. This can cause the pH to fluctuate slightly. Even somewhat undetectable changes in level can cause flashing.

Thanks for the advice folks. I'll try that and keep you posted.
I must admit I'm surprised with the comments about stress coat, it comes highly recommended over here cos of the aloe.
I've just done my normal w/c and fert routine today so that i can check that it's not an ailment which will just wear off or heal (damage from before maybe), but next week I'll leave the fert and run our experiment.
Thanks again!

I've decided that I'm quite confident with my parameters and the stability and I've got a strong feeling that there's still some ich/fungus left (the odd white spot on the fish) So, I've started a treatment of protizin just to get it out once and for all.

Is full dosage alright for my fish?
That's 1 pearl gourami, 1 common plec, 1 common hatchetfish, 4 cherry barbs, 2 rummy-nose tetras and 6 neon tetras. I also have several live plants.