Flashing fish with no other visible symptoms

[TheFOne]

Hello everyone,
I read these forums all the time and have never posted. But I can't find answers to my specific questions. So thank you for helping

Currently I have 6 tanks set up.
Usually only 4 but I've had to help a friend house her fish while she moves.
I mostly have Molly's, platys and guppies. I won't go into too much details for each individual tank cause all of my established tanks have the same symptoms.
I've notice lately that all my fish are flashing, all of them(well not sure about the snail ��)Not all the time but randomly. There are no signs of anything else.
Water parameters for all tanks(API liquid test)
55g/20g/10's
Ni=0
Na=40
Amm=0
Ph=7.4
(I won't even go into the pain of liquid test kits!! Is there not a faster way to test for nitrates?? And can u really see a diff in the color of 40ppm and 80ppm? Looks the same to me! Ok...I'm done complaining)
In the last two months I have added a couple of new fish, some new and old fish died, and I've switched fish around from 20g to 55g and vice versa. My point is I think that's why I see the same symptoms in all of MY main tanks (55g & 20g mainly) 10gallon has just snail and algae eater and the other 10 is a hosp tank (empty) My other 2 10's house someone else's fish, so I'm mainly talking about my 55 and 20.
Sorry if I'm all over the place.
20g has guppies only
55 has Molly's, platys, 2 silver dollars and 2 Cory cats
And 2 swordtails. And unfortunately a few mollys and platys that belong to my friend. I'm overstocked temporarily, but ive had these problems before adding my friends fish (yes she knows of the issues and i want to fix before she takes her babies back) Regardless, I know I need a bigger tank but haven't had a chance (or $$) to get one. But I do give fish away and I let fry get eaten.
I use 2 bio wheel filters on my 55g, 1 bio wheel penguin 350 and 1 bio wheel penguin 200. I use a top fin 40 on my 20g tank. I have air bubble strip things in both tanks and 55 has a decor that has bubbles along with the air bubble strip.
I do water changes (15-25%) every 2-5 days. i know thats a big span but sometimes i do one one day and not have a chance for a while. with the number of fish, i want them comfy with good water, so sometimes its every other day (water changes with a 55g arent fun) We moved in May, so i had to move my 6 tanks to my new house, then about a month later, bought the 55g, then had to move fish again, so I know they've been stressed and I lost some cause of it and I know immune systems get weak so I'm sure that's the cause, just have to find the problem. Ok...hopefully I've answered enough of the questions you might have.
I've pretty much concluded they have some kind of parasite that I can't see.
No white spots (I've dealt with ich before), no visible worms, no swollen gills...even though I'm not sure if I could tell if they did. They look normal, all of them do. Oh one of my red wag platys is losing color, almost like he's turning grey! ��
So I decided to treat with tetra parasite guard, just a few hours ago.

My questions (finally)
1. When removing the carbon from the filter cartridge, does every small piece of carbon have to come out of there? The filters are still good and I didn't want to chunk 6 filters cause they have carbon in them, so I cut them open and got 99% of the carbon out. Will the few small pieces left soak up the meds??

I read that carbon is only good a certain amount of time and it gets full to where it won't soak up anything else. Does that include meds? One med box (maracyn) says you don't have to remove carbon that's 6 days or older?!? Then I read it'll soak up all meds period. Any insights?
This is all so confusing about the carbon stuff.

2. Any ideas on what the flashing could be other than parasites?
3. I recently got my 55g...after I moved. The tank used to be a hospital tank. It sat out and dry for 6 months when i bought it. I cleaned it rigorously before setting it up. I have new filters but use the old rocks along with new ones. Could there be issues because it used to house sick fish? Or being in a garage, dry for 6 months, cause anything to die off??
4. Is there anything else I should be doing? (Short of dancing on one leg while rubbing my head!! �� Sorry...I feel I do so much for these guys, which I don't mind but can't imagine there could be more)

Anyway thanks for reading this long post and thanks for all the advice you're hopefully about to give me.

Just to clarify--nitrates for 55 is 40ppm, for 20, 30ppm. I can tell that the 55 IS 40ppm and not 80ppm

 

[jlk]

Welcome to AA!!! Thank you for all the info! Ok, is the only symptom your seeing is an occasional flash? Are there any other symptoms? Flashing is such a vague symptom by itself it's really hard to make any kind of diagnosis. It indicates irritation at something (water quality, stress, parasite, etc) but I will be honest here, I am not sure what.

As there has been quite bit happening here (moves, tanks, new fish, friends fish, etc), I would start with water quality and work on getting this pristine and see if this makes any difference. Really pay attention to their appearance, appetite and behavior and see if you notice anything odd. Things like discolorations, spots, veining, gulping at the surface (or at bubblers/filter outflows), heavy/rapid breathing, slime coat issues, shrunken/bloated stomachs, strange waste, etc are all things that can help point to a more specific issue that needs to be addressed.

You also mentioned new and old fish dying- any obvious symptoms prior to or upon death? This may give us a clue as to what is happening now as well. Hopefully, we can figure what's going on here!

 

[jlk]

Forgot the carbon! A few tiny rocks will have little effect especially if they have been in the tank for a couple of weeks or longer. Carbons effectiveness is short lived but as to a set time, there really isn't a clear cut answer. It depends on various factors from the stocking density to your wc schedule to your actual water (and everything it may contain) and so on and so forth. It may be effective for a couple of weeks in a 10g tank with a single betta while only last a few days to a week in a heavily stocked cichlid tank. If using meds, a general rule of thumb to follow is if the carbon has only been in the tank for a month or less, remove it before using them. Hope this helps a bit!

 

[TheFOne]

Thank you very much for the replies!!

It's funny cause I sit and watch my fish all the time, my husband is like "what are you doing?" But since I do that, I know all my fish, I do a "head count" every morning and evening (I look for everyone, make sure they're eating)
Ok so to answer ur questions, my water has been good lately. I have seen some ammonia (.2) and nitrites (.1-.2) when I added my friends fish and another time. I've done more consistent water changes and fed them less (my babies seem so hungry all the time). But I've got it stable right now. I'm taking about the 55g, my 20g has the same fish and always perfect water. I moved some fish into that tank, from the 55 a while back. I needed more female guppies cause I had more males and my 2 females were getting harassed big time, so I left a few males in the 55 until I had more females. That brings me to new fish dying. I'd get a few female guppies from my lfs and a few died. No visible signs at first, I could always tell if they were gonna die cause they'd stay in one spot and not swim around. But I've had the same fish, a few babies and great water for weeks in that tank. But they'll flash too, even the babies.
Ok so next thing, by flashing I mean they'll rub up against something, a rock or plant. Usually they'll swim past once and brush their body against whatever. Some make two passes, scratching twice. It's not just the females, not just the males or babies. It's random and I've seen multiple fish do it, different times and different days over the past month. That goes for both tanks. It's like they have an itch, that's all it looks like but I know all the fish don't itch like that. At least not most of the fish in the tank.

Ok so illnesses or signs before fish die, I do have one puzzling one that I can't se to find info on. It started with my female creamcicle molly (who I just loved). She's had 3-4 litters (is that what a batch of fry is called??) so I have a few of her offspring (this will become important shortly).
I noticed about two weeks ago she was being harrassed in the 55g....big time, and it looked like she couldn't even get away and looked so worn out and sluggish. I moved her to my hospital tank to catch a break but I noticed she kept her tail fin pulled in (does that make sense?) curved like a C. Then it was apparent that she was only swimming with her dorsal fins, not even using her tail fin, and it was curved to the side kind of funny, like a crooked "c", I hope you know what I mean, it's hard to explain. She stopped eating by this point and the day before she died the scales on her tummy were sticking out, like dropsy. All she could do what sit in a plant before she died. I know I should've put her out of her misery but I kept thinking she'd recover. During this time I was treating with maracyn 2 and copper safe. Now I've noticed two of her babies (juvenile babies) having the same curved spine. Not being able to use their tail fin at all. It's weird. That's one case and the only other fish I had die (with a symptom) is a sunburst platy. Her tummy looked weird and it looked as if her insides were trying to come out of her anus area. By the time she had these symptoms, she died that night?!?

The only other things I've noticed is my red wag platy starting to lose color and my male black molly isn't the same. Not social, not going after food like normal. Hanging around one spot, most of the time. He'll move to eat but it seems like he's scared or is being picked on, although I haven't seen it. But with a coupe other dominate male Molly's in the tank (friends fish), maybe it's the case?!?
I hope he isn't sick but other than being stand-offish, I don't see anything else with him?

Hopefully I've given you more info to help.
Thanks

If u want a pic of one of the babies in this weird C position, let me know and I'll take one

 

[TheFOne]

Another problem, one of my friends red wag platy is just hanging out with clamped fins. Eats some, but mostly hangs up near the heater or down within the plants. The other problems I mentioned, they all had the clamped fins too.

Thanks

 

[jlk]

Ok, I am going to have to sit down at my computer tomorrow and read through this as I am a bit lost from my cell trying to keep track which fish and what happened (aside from flashing and some clamped fins). Hopefully, we can figure out something more definitive here!

 

[jlk]

Ok, the molly that died sounds like she dropsied which could have been the result of almost anything (parasites, protozoa, internal infection, water quality, etc). The c-shape in the babies could have been the result of malnutrition or genetics or water quality issues or disease of any combo there of. This is not that unusual as fry are more susceptible to dietary and health issues than any other age of fish and loss is a common occurrence. Is everything else still status quo here (flashing and clamped fins)? Still a few fish acting a bit more oddly than the rest?