My fishes scratching

[FishLover1239]

hello, my fish seem to scratch themselves against plants. Can anyone help me solve this problem. It doesn't seem to be a diesese but I really wish that they would stop. Any answers to this problem.Please answer soon!

 

[i3k]

You need to observe your fish really closely and see if they have tiny white dots on the fins or tail or body of the fish. If you do, the fish have ICH. If you don't see any white dots, well it's still a possibility that the ICH is attacking the gills of the fish where you can't see these tiny white dots.

It can also be ammonia burns irritating your fish, or a really high pH. So you should first check your water parameters and make sure your ammonia is at 0 and the pH level is some where between 6 and 8.

If you do have ICH, you can treat it with raising the temperature in the tank to 86 degrees. Raise it by 2 degrees every few hours until it reaches 86 degrees. Keep it at 86 for two weeks.

If you have ammonia, do a 50% water change asap. Then do 35% water changes daily until ammonia is at 0.

 

[bs6749]

What kind of fish are doing this? It could be something in the water that is irritating them. The first thing I would do is a large partial water change (PWC). That wahy most of the stuff that could be bothering them will be removed.

If it is something like an external parasite, then you may need to do a salt bath or possibly formalin or potassium permanganate to remove the parasite.

 

[FishLover1239]

okay i looked at my fishes really closely and none of them have any white dots. Also they only scratch once in a while. I am also a begginner on keeping tanks so I have no experiense in water changes and can anyone find out where you can water paremetersd. I also need to know how to check the ph. Do you need any test kit or something? Sorry its just that I only bought my aquarium 3 months ago so i am very new to this hobbie. Plese reply soon.

 

[dkpate]

You can get a test kit, and most people on here recommend the API Master Freshwater liquid test kit. You will be able to test for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH. You can possibly take some of your water to the fish store until you get a test kit, and have them test it. Most of them do it for free.
Water changes should be done once a week. How big is your tank? What kind and how many fish do you have?

 

[bs6749]

Where are you located? Most likely you won't have to do anything to the pH as a wide range is fine for 95% of the species kept in this hobby.

I suggest that you purchase a master freshwater test kit like the one in this link: Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit at Big Al's Online

You should also pick up a gravel vac to suck up uneaten food, dead plant material (if any) and wastes from the fish/invertebrates in your tank. Something like this:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18377/si4295210/cl0/ultraselfstartgravelvac10

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

I have numerous gold barbs and neons as well as danios that do this everyonce in a while. My levels are good and neutral and it happens in two different tanks. They have done this for almost a year and seem to do it just for fun. There are no signs of it harming them so it may just be part of their personality.

 

[FishLover1239]

I have 10 gallon tank with 1 swordtail,1 balloon molly,1 guppy,5 neon tetras and 1 Otocinclus. Only the balloon molly, swordtail do it and i will buy those test kits that you recommended to me.

 

[sliderfish]

I have an angelicus loach that does this from time to time, but if you have fish that are doing it constantly it needs to be addressed with water changes as recommended above. When I see my loach scratchin' I know its time to do another PWC...always done the trick