my severum and parrot are flashing. I added the tiger barbs 2 days ago. every thing seems fine. tonite i did a water change and alittle redecorating. when i was finished they started flashing. they werent flashing before. will stress form water change/redecorating cause this or are they getting ich. no signs of ich/spots or anything. should i medicate or wait to see?
will stress cause flashing?
- Thread starter rjrevers
- Start date
i'm thinking maybe if i treat now and it is ich it will be better to get it now while it isnt encapsulated on the fish since this is the time they are vunerable
i dosed my tank last night w/ a 1/2 dose of rid-ich. I was reading on-line today that if fish are flashing but not showing a lot of white spots that they may have a light case of ich and be okay w/out treatment. i'm wondering if i should continue w/ the medication tonite or wait it out. I hate to medicate if i don't have to, but i also dont want a severe outbreak either. I made the mistake of picking up 2 of my new fish from petco cause my lfs which i've never had a problem with only had 5 in stock. I have only had an ich outbreak twice, both times after getting fish from this same petco. i guess i should have known better.
there are a lot of things that can cause a fish to flash.
my keyholes use to do it when I did large water changes.
flashing can be the result of parasites, bacterial infections or other irritants.
in the case of my keyholes I just upped the amount of prime I added by a bit and they haven't flashed since.
my keyholes use to do it when I did large water changes.
flashing can be the result of parasites, bacterial infections or other irritants.
in the case of my keyholes I just upped the amount of prime I added by a bit and they haven't flashed since.
while Ectoparasite infestation is the most common cause of this behavior, the flashing/scratching 'could' be something else. fish can be irritated by metals such as iron, copper in the water. If this is the cause, the fish seem to 'flash' most often right after a water change and less as they 'get used' to the irritant. Then the cycle is repeated at each water change. note that this reaction to metals is not the same for all fish all the time. have your water checked for heavy metals or ask your municipal water company for an analyses. This is a good place to start.
Fish can also flash in response to parasites other than the more obvious Ichthyophthirius (ich). Gill flukes for example which are not obvious externally but require a more internal investigation (gill scraping and viewing under a microscope). Gill flukes usually result in reddened, muccous covered gills.
Elevated levels of ammonia, nitrite or high/low/widely fluctuating diurnal shifts in pH can also cause irritation.
Fish can also flash in response to parasites other than the more obvious Ichthyophthirius (ich). Gill flukes for example which are not obvious externally but require a more internal investigation (gill scraping and viewing under a microscope). Gill flukes usually result in reddened, muccous covered gills.
Elevated levels of ammonia, nitrite or high/low/widely fluctuating diurnal shifts in pH can also cause irritation.
do you think I should hold off on any further meds unless i see spots? this was after a water change, though it never happened before. i let my water sit for a day or two before using it for changes and also condition before using but maybe it was the water? chicago has a pretty good and pretty stable water supply. Never has any fluctuations in readings
I'll hold off then cause i would rather not as well. thanks for the info. everything I looked at last night online showed flashing as a sign of ich. when i searched the forums for flashing i saw your advice on other causes such as water etc. i wish i would have seen that last night. i will remove meds(replace carbon) tonite and hopefully it was just from water change. will letting water sit longer before changes help if the water is the problem?
do you not use water conditioner? if you're on municipal water system (living in chicago i assume you are) then your water likely contains chloramine. letting the water stand will degass chlorine but does NOT take care of chloramines. i'd use a conditioner that does.