flashing?? sorry this is kinda long :(

[sillygirl423]

I brought home plants Saturday and by Sunday all 3 of my guppies are flashing. I did a 100% water change vacuuming the gravel twice. Added quickcure cause that's all I had, and was not able to get to the fish store until this weekend. Soo because I have cories I did half doses of med from Sunday until Thursday (50% wc each day). Went to return the filter this morning and they are still flashing! Parameters have all been normal ammo 0 nitrIte 0 nitrAtes between 10 & 20 originally but have been below 10 since daily water changes. My question is now what? I can get salt tomorrow, but is that going to be too much on the cories after just enduring the meds? Also what could this be? The only change to the tank was adding the plants.

Edit: no white spots on any of the fish

 

[LyndaB]

Went to return the filter this morning and they are still flashing!

Did you remove your entire filter while treating with meds? You want to remove just the carbon. You need the beneficial bacteria to stay wet and have a food source. If you removed your filter, you may be in trouble.

Sometimes fish flash for no apparent reason. I will not medicate my tank until I'm certain I'm treating a disease. Your fish may actually continue flashing due to the new plants and the meds you've used. Your water params are good, so you don't have anything there to worry about.

Did you rinse off your new plants at all before you placed them in the tank? Any chance you brought a disease in on a plant? Did the plants come out of a community tank in the lfs?

 

[jcolon]

Sometimes fish flash for no apparent reason. I will not medicate my tank until I'm certain I'm treating a disease. Your fish may actually continue flashing due to the new plants and the meds you've used. Your water params are good, so you don't have anything there to worry about.

+1 with librarygirl ... Aside from a parasite which represents the worst case scenario for flashing ... I've had my Barbs flash on plants at random .. no red or white spots, bloches or outbreaks.

Sometimes, right after a PWC, they'll flash because of new minerals / nutrients for those with hard water.

Continue to monitor ... what your doing is about all you can do.

 

[sillygirl423]

Did you remove your entire filter while treating with meds? You want to remove just the carbon. You need the beneficial bacteria to stay wet and have a food source. If you removed your filter, you may be in trouble.

Sometimes fish flash for no apparent reason. I will not medicate my tank until I'm certain I'm treating a disease. Your fish may actually continue flashing due to the new plants and the meds you've used. Your water params are good, so you don't have anything there to worry about.

Did you rinse off your new plants at all before you placed them in the tank? Any chance you brought a disease in on a plant? Did the plants come out of a community tank in the lfs?

I didn't know fish flashed for no reason, I was told it was because something was wrong I took a trip to that fish place in Lancaster ( let me just say WOW!!) And couldn't not buy something so I figured a few plants (cheap enough) I asked if I should soak or rinse them in tap water or use prime and the guy told me I could stick them right in the tank. There were a few fish in the tanks but mainly just plants.

Edit: I just removed the carbon sorry my filter has the bio-wheels down inside

 

[LyndaB]

The fish are probably fine. Just use dechlorinator, nothing else, and let us know what happens.

Some people actually do a mild bleach/water rinse prior to putting the plants in the tank. I usually just rinse them.

Did you remove your filter, though? You haven't answered on that one.

 

[sillygirl423]

Sorry I did my edit a little late, I only removed the carbon the filter has the bio-wheels down inside not the pads.

 

[sillygirl423]

Should I put the carbon back? And do I need to continue daily pwc's just in case?

 

[LyndaB]

okay, good..........

 

[sillygirl423]

Will the fish get used to having the plants if it is the new plants making them flash?

 

[LyndaB]

First things first....... take a step back from the fish tank and breathe...... in with the good air, out with the bad.

Sometimes the closer you are to the tank, the easier it is to let yourself get all worried. I'm very guilty of this myself.

Regarding the carbon, since you used meds, I'd probably put it back in. But remember that carbon (if you choose to use it and many don't) does need to be replaced very 30 days, unlike filter media that should only be replaced when it's falling apart.

If this were my tank, here's what I'd do. Put the carbon back in. Leave the tank alone except for doing readings. If your water params are okay, I'd suggest waiting at least a week to do a partial water change. Watch the fish for signs of illness, although I don't believe they are sick.

I didn't ask, but why are you doing daily water changes?

I just now saw in your first post that you did 100% water change. This is never good for the fish. You've given them a surplus of minerals and such in the new water column. Fish are sensitive to big changes in many things, such as water, pH and temp. Your corys are especially sensitive.

 

[sillygirl423]

Oh because of the meds, I read that a 50% water change with meds helps the fish breathe better and keeps the water pristine to help fight off secondary infections.

 

[LyndaB]

Keeping the water pristine is a great step towards maintaining a healthy tank. However, there is such a thing as keeping a tank too clean. By taking the steps you did, it may have been overkill and disrupted the environment for the fish. Make sense?

You're doing a great job with your detective work. In the future, though, you may want to hold off on any meds unless you know what you're treating. Most things can be helped just by keeping the tank clean. With your params as good as they are, it's obvious you're doing a good job.

A 50% water change is always a good thing. Daily water changes on an established tank, not so much.

I take the opportunity every day to carefully observe my fish. I have a few that seem to like flashing yet it's obvious there's no real issue. These fish just seem to like scratching their itches. For some fish, flashing is their "normal".

 

[sillygirl423]

I didn't mean to do 100% lol I was just trying to get the tank as clean as possible, I made the mistake of getting baby dwarf tears and I had a lot of leaves in the tank.

 

[LyndaB]

I think you're good to go. Just watch the fish for the next week and see if, left alone, the flashing subsides.

Some fish, too, will have reactions to anything new put in the tank, as to fish, that's the opportunity to re-establish their hierarchy.