mysterious ill fish

[eja206]

hi all

i am having some confusing problems with my tank.
about a month ago i moved some fish from one tank to the other and got a few new fish.
my 10 gallon now has 4 male guppies, 2 platies and a hillstream loach.
the tank has been set up for well over a year.
all the fish has been flashing, or scratching themselves on flower pots, driftwood, plant leaves, everything. this has been going on for about 2 weeks, but i still can't see any signs of white spot or fungus or anything on the fish. i change the water regularly, feed every other day, have a filter and keep the temp at 23 degrees C. (73 degrees F).
i don't have a test set so can't give water params any time in the next few days.

if anyone has any advice on what may be wrong or what i can do it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

 

[dkpate]

The ich could possibly be in their gills where you can't see it.

 

[marchmaxima]

ich or parasites comes to mind. Any physical evidence around the gills? Red/swollen? worms in the tank, etc?

It could also be a sign of a mini-cycle. A mini-cycle sometimes occurs when you add new fish. Simply put, your new fish are pooping extra stuff and the ammonia caused isn't being taken care of by the bacteria becuase there is not enough bacteria yet to eat it.

Definitely get a test kit ASAP. I assume the fish started flashing after you added the new ones?

Also, increae your temp slowly (1-2 degrees a day) to 30C and keep it there for a few weeks. If it is ich, the higher temp will take care of it and the eggs eggs too.

And in the meantime, until you get the test kits (get the liquid reagant ones not the strips) do an immediate 50% water change... and then smaller changes every couple of days.

See if that helps, but any further info will help too.

 

[eja206]

thanks, that is very helpful.
i wil certainly do the water changes and adjust the termperature.

to be honest it could be either parasites or a mini cycle (a mini-cycle would make sense as i did a massive clean before putting the new fish in).
yep the flashing began after the new fish were added.

 

[Blueiz]

73 degrees f is to cool for tropical fish, you need to up the temp to at least 76 degrees f (25 C) and keep it at that level when you're not treating for a disease.


I don't know that your hillstream loach will be able to tolerate temps at the level (30c) suggested by the prevous poster. These fish are classified as coldwater fish, and aren't really suitable to be in a tank with tropicals to begin with..

Before I did anything to the tank, I would wait and check the water parameters since the only symptom you have right now are flashing fish. While ich can and does live in the gills of a fish when they are affected, you typically do not have a tank of fish with no spots at all.

 

[eja206]

Blueiz,

Thanks so much for your help, i didn't know hillstreams were only coldwater, i thought they could live in either. luckily i have a 20g cold water tank, so i can transfer him in the near future, then i wil certainly raise the temp full time.

For now i think i wil begin the water changes and raise the temp to 25C. if nothing changes then i wil consider raising it more for treatment.

 

[eja206]

right, water changes in both tanks done, and hillstream loach transfered to cold water tank. the tropical tank is now running at 25C.
I wil let you know if the problem persists, thanks again!

also, now the bottom feeder is gone from my tropical tank, does anyone think i could add a few pygmy cories? just a thought... (once the flashing is cleared up, obviously!)

 

[marchmaxima]

I don't know that your hillstream loach will be able to tolerate temps at the level (30c) suggested by the prevous poster. These fish are classified as coldwater fish, and aren't really suitable to be in a tank with tropicals to begin with..

I stand corrected! I didn't know that they were non-tropical. You learn something everyday.....

 

[Blueiz]

I stand corrected! I didn't know that they were non-tropical. You learn something everyday.....

Yeah, they aren't advertised as coldwater in some places, of which I find strange, but the reccomended temp is like between 65 and 75 degrees. They also like fast flowing water.. I don't have any personal experience with them..

 

[eja206]

well i have had my little hillstream loach for about 6 months now, and he seems to be hardy and happy so long as there is a rocky habitat for him to graze on!
i hope he will be happier in the colder water though. he was transfered last night, and seemed fine when i checked him this morning!
when i got him for the fish shop him and about 50 other hillstream loaches were in warmer water, advertised as cold water and tropical!

 

[eja206]

has anyone got any opinions on getting the pygmy cories (see one of my posts above?)

 

[Blueiz]

I think adding pygmy cories would be fine, since they are bottom feeders and you don't have any others, 5 would be a good number.

How are your fish?

 

[eja206]

um... i think they are fine...
i havn't seen flashing, so hopefully it has either decreased or stopped altogether.
going to keep an eye on them though and continue regular water changes.

thanks so much for your help!

my aquarium is now at 25 degrees C, is this the optimum temp?

 

[eja206]

well, a week and 3 relatively large water changes later...
the largest platy is still flashing regularly, and generally behaving in a skittish manner. if he is still flashing, i assume the others are also doing it occasionally, even though he was always the worst by far.
in every other way all the fish look healthy (hungry, accept all foods, active, bright and colourful).
who knows, i am at a loss.

just going to continue to ensure they have lots of clean water... not much else to do really!

 

[eja206]

update - more help needed please!

hi,
so after 2 weeks of water cahnges every 2-3 days, my platies are still flaching and flicking like there's no tomorrow. guppies still seem to be showing no signs of discomfort. all eating and swimming well, but the platies seem agitated and restless.
i have been looking at the worst 1 of the 2, and possible some red/irritated patches on his skin on the top of the head (hard to tell though, as he is lots of different colours, including red).
i gradually reasied the temp, its now 26 C, no noticable effect.
i am guessing by this stage it is not ick, but sill think something is wrong.
any suggestions welcome.
the platies don't seem to have a smooth, slime coated body. looksa course. not sure if it's just my imagination though, have been studying them so much!

so guess i want to put some antibacterial treatment in?
if i do, will it affect the dwarf cories?

thanks in advance.

 

[dkpate]

Are you able to get Melafix or Pimafix there? You could possibly try that, and it is fine for all fish, since it's all natural.
I wish you luck!

 

[eja206]

yep i have some melafix, will try some of that.
thanks!

 

[joy13]

Since you aren't seeing any white spots have you looked for a faint gold dust appearance of the fish? To me it sounds like velvet. If it is velvet treat like you would do ich but velvet needs light to reproduce.

 

[eja206]

hm, ok, have read about velvet, and will look closely when i get home. so should i go with melafix or white-spot disease treatment?

 

[joy13]

Velvet is a parasite so go with a good parasite medicine if it is velvet. The easiest way I have found to check is with all lights out and a flashlight. I have only had it on a betta in all the years I have kept fish, it wasn't that bad of a case so I was able to treat it with blackout and water changes.