Hi all, looking for some advice. I have a 10 gallon tank with some guppies, endlers and a couple of snails. All the fish have been itching for a week or so, but have no sign of velvet or itch or any other physical symptoms, except one endler who has become inactive and has lost his vibrant colouring Just in the last day or so. Water parameters all fine but have done a couple of 50% water changes over the last week but its made no difference. I am a relatively new fish keeper so would appreciate some advice on this matter please.
Itchy Fish, No Spots!
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When you say "itching" what symptoms are they showing exactly?
It could be some sort of parasite, possibly gill flukes. An anti-parasite medication could very well do the trick. Increase aeration, as the gill flukes, if that's what it is, will cause the fish to have trouble getting oxygen from the water.
It could be some sort of parasite, possibly gill flukes. An anti-parasite medication could very well do the trick. Increase aeration, as the gill flukes, if that's what it is, will cause the fish to have trouble getting oxygen from the water.
The only symptom I'm seeing in all the fish (with exception to one endler) is itching themselves off the plans, sand and ornaments, other than that they are healthy looking, active, not gasping for air at top of tank etc. one endler s looking unwell, lost his colour, very dull looking, spending a lot of time separated from the others and just hanging around the same area of the tank for long periods of time and I'd say he looks thin. I was tempted to quarantine him but given the rest are all itching I suspect the entire tank needs treatment for whatever it is.
I was briefly reading up on gill flukes last night, sounds like a possibility, is there any other definite signs that would confirm or rule it out? What kind of treatment would be required? I also have snails in the tank so will I have to remove them while treating the tank whatever treatment may be?
I was briefly reading up on gill flukes last night, sounds like a possibility, is there any other definite signs that would confirm or rule it out? What kind of treatment would be required? I also have snails in the tank so will I have to remove them while treating the tank whatever treatment may be?
Water results from today:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-40-80
PH- 7.8
The ph is higher than normal, the tank ph usually sits at 7.2. I tested my tap water to see what I was getting and it was about 6.8, given I've done two large water changes in the last week what would cause the ph to go up to much in the tank?
Upon closer inspection of the fish I don't see any irritation or problems of their fins/gills/body etc.
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-40-80
PH- 7.8
The ph is higher than normal, the tank ph usually sits at 7.2. I tested my tap water to see what I was getting and it was about 6.8, given I've done two large water changes in the last week what would cause the ph to go up to much in the tank?
Upon closer inspection of the fish I don't see any irritation or problems of their fins/gills/body etc.
I've only just started about 8 months ago and had no experence I had the same problem i thought it was white spot but it wasn't the fish would rub them selfs against the sand and orniments. So i brought the Kusuri Wormer. And since then didn't notice any itching but i think it will kill off your snails so you might need to take them out. Other experenced members will be on here to advice you more.
The only way to be 100% sure of gills flukes would be to take a sample from their gills... I doubt you are interested in doing that. In the meantime, you can treat the tank, as if they have gill flukes, and see if their condition improves. There's no "pineconing" where the scales stick out, is there?
I'd go for a parasite med then... specifically one for gill flukes.
Melafix and Myxazin have no effect on parasites. I've never heard of "itch" treatment. If you mean "ich" treatment, then you are correct. It does nothing to gill flukes as the parasites are too different.
Salt could work. You could certainly try salt first, especially if you already have aquarium salt on hand (this has no shelf life, so its a nice thing to keep around as a fishkeeper). Badmanstropical suggests using salt for THREE WEEKS as a full tank treatment. What fish are in the tank? Any scaleless fish where salt would be a BAD THING?
Badmanstropical also suggests a dose of 4 ounces of salt per 10 gallons of water. Salt water contains less oxygen than freshwater, so increasing the salinity will require increasing aeration to make sure the fish have sufficient oxygen.
There are other medicines like formalin but it could cause other issues. I'd keep that in reserve as a last resort if the salt fails.
Salt could work. You could certainly try salt first, especially if you already have aquarium salt on hand (this has no shelf life, so its a nice thing to keep around as a fishkeeper). Badmanstropical suggests using salt for THREE WEEKS as a full tank treatment. What fish are in the tank? Any scaleless fish where salt would be a BAD THING?
Badmanstropical also suggests a dose of 4 ounces of salt per 10 gallons of water. Salt water contains less oxygen than freshwater, so increasing the salinity will require increasing aeration to make sure the fish have sufficient oxygen.
There are other medicines like formalin but it could cause other issues. I'd keep that in reserve as a last resort if the salt fails.
Yes sorry I meant 'ich' treatment.
I do have salt so I will try that! I have endlers, guppies and snails? Will the snails be ok with salt? I have a new tank that I only got tonight, bigger, should I wait until I have this resolved to set it up and move them over or would it make no difference?
I do have salt so I will try that! I have endlers, guppies and snails? Will the snails be ok with salt? I have a new tank that I only got tonight, bigger, should I wait until I have this resolved to set it up and move them over or would it make no difference?
I could see both having pros and cons...
Sticking with your current set-up:
PRO: Less salt needed to be used, easier to do water changes more frequently and refill with properly salted water.
CON: Less oxygen in the total volume.
New tank:
PRO: more volume to keep nitrates levels at lower levels - more oxygen in the water.
CON: More salt needed, chances for an ammonia/nitrite spike increased.
If it were me, I'd stick with my current set-up for now.
Sticking with your current set-up:
PRO: Less salt needed to be used, easier to do water changes more frequently and refill with properly salted water.
CON: Less oxygen in the total volume.
New tank:
PRO: more volume to keep nitrates levels at lower levels - more oxygen in the water.
CON: More salt needed, chances for an ammonia/nitrite spike increased.
If it were me, I'd stick with my current set-up for now.
OptimusPrime
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Be careful with any meds that contain copper as some 'ICH' treatments do, they may harm your snails.
ESHA Exit & ESHA 2000 are the two i was advised may be ok to use with snails present. I'd still move them if you have a spare little tank for a few days.
http
/www.eshalabs.eu/pages_engels/product_engels.html
ESHA Exit & ESHA 2000 are the two i was advised may be ok to use with snails present. I'd still move them if you have a spare little tank for a few days.
http
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