I'm trying everything!! I've tried heat, heat and salt, and meds from the store. Yesterday, one was scratching again. Could it be something other than ich?
does anything other than ich make a fish scratch
- Thread starter lovemybarbs
- Start date
Any toxins such as ammonia, nitrite or high nitrate can irritate the fish as well as particulate matter and ectoparasites such as Ich or gill flukes. Test your water before medicating and keep us posted.
The Nitrate was .25. My water changes have been regular. The only thing I can think of is the fact that there are some dead leaves in there, but not many, on the remaining live plants I have in there.
you said the nitrAte was .25, that is very low for nitrAte, most test kits don't measure it that low. Did you mean nitrIte? if so, that is not good, nitrIte should be 0. It would be good if you could test and post values for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. ammonia and nitrIte should be 0, nitrate below 40, preferably below 20.
Emily
Emily
I believe it is the gill area. Sorry, been battling a house of the flu. The test I did probably was nitrate, I'd check but I'm at work. It was very extensive and had me add powder. I've been doing about a 30% water change every week regularly so I'm not sure what could have caused this except for possibly a recent fishy death. If they are scratching the gill area, what meds should I get?
I got some test strips. My kits are old and I don't trust it. Nitrate is 40, Nitrite 0, ammonia is 0. I am going to do a water change and then give them some tetracycline. Poor babies.
Hmmm... Test strips aren't the best, but will do in a pinch. The api master test kit, which is a liquid test kit is the best, IMO. (no powders or anything, all liquid and drops and stuff). Tetracycline is an antibiotic, so your tank may go through a cycle again, so I would test the water lots, and keep a very close eye on water quality.
Emily
Emily
If it is gills flukes, which is what I suspect, I would try a anti-parasite medication that contains praziquantel. Also vacuum the gravel twice to get rid of any parasites that are still in the early stages of their development before adding the medication. Make sure carbon or other chemical media are removed.
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