itchy fish?

[trabadoor22]

I've got some cichlids that seem to be scratching their skin on rocks lately and I'm just wondering if it may be some sort of a disease. Their skin seems fine and I don't see any signs of diseases, but I just want to make sure. If anyone knows why their doing this or if they are ok let me know. Thanks alot.

 

[Dangerdoll]

my first guess would be ich...... because of the itching. What kind of cichlids are they?

 

[Gettin' Tanked]

This rubbing against the rocks is called flashing and it is often an early indicator of disease. Pay careful attention for other symptoms such as white spots, raw spots, white cotton-like fuzz, etc. and be sure to come back and post your findings so the good folks here can help.

 

[trabadoor22]

Thanks for the responses. I just checked today and I noticed that my convict cichlid has something going on with his fins, kind of like tail rot or something. It looks like the white cotton-like fuzz that you described. It also looks like he might have ich on his body area. All the other fish in the tank seem fine though. This is the only tank I have so I can't really separate them. I'm wondering what I should do and what medication to give. I bought some melafix today which I have used previously for other fish that I had before and it seemed to work well for fin damage. Would it be ok to use for now until I can pick up something else? Let me know what I should do. Thanks alot.

 

[trabadoor22]

Anyone? I just got some aquarium salt to put in the tank. The box says it's supposed to help stressed out fish, whatever that means. I also bought some Rid Ich medicine. I ended up putting in some of the salt, the box said 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons. I'm just wondering if this will do the trick or should I use the Rid Ich as well. Thanks.

 

[NotCalebSherida]

that dosage of salt and increasing my water's temp to 80 worked very well for my ich-ed out fish and i hear it's a fantastic remedy.

I'd be careful about dosing with medicine, just because it may hurt other fish... i can't commet on that because i don't have experience with it.

 

[MamaBarb]

Trab - I am a faithful proponent of Aquarisol - it fixes lots of things. The label gives instructions for daily therapuetic doses, as well as for weekly prophylactic doses. I have not lost a fish to disease since I started using it. I have a spotted pim that I've had for 11 years and kept a tinfoil for over 9 years. I have 2 tinfoils now that I've had for 3 years.

I would recommend the Aquarisol, frequent water changes and keeping the water in tip top shape. Also feed top quality foods so the little guys are in good shape to fight off the nasties.

Good luck.

 

[chunksofpoooo]

Try the salt and temp remedy teamed up with freaquent water changes, it works best. Generally people try to avoid meds because there have been too many cases of medications harming or even killing your fish. I believe there are a few threads about ich treatment floating around in the newbie forum.

 

[NikkO]

My blood parrots used to do that a long time ago but i never saw them with a disease.

 

[daveedka]

Flashing has many causes, most of which aren't good. As said watch your fish closely, fish that have had gill burn from ammonia may flash the rest of their lives, most parasites and many fungi and bactrial infections cause the same thing. And as mentioned some fish just flash for no appearant reason. Flashing itself does not prove a problem, but definately shows a need to do frequent water testing and keep a very close eye on your fish.
Dave

chunksofpoooo,
clean out your PM box, I want to send you a reply, but I keep getting a message that says you don't have room for replies.
Dave