An Itch That Will Not Go

[xman]

hi i have tried to cure a case of my fish rubbing up against objects and corners of tank for months now.
at first i treated with interpet no9 as they had white stringy poo . then i started to treat the flicking with methylene blue, it did nothing. i then tried interpet no7 as i thought after some research it may be to much slime on the fishes bodys.
that didn't work. i then moved on to interpet no 6 and treated for white spot as i saw only 1 spot on one of my fish. spot went though before i had time to treat the tank but as the fish were still flicking and i had no other options i treated them with it.
i raised the temp to 80-81f whilst treating and also left a few weeks between treatments.
water changes are done twice weakly at 10%. during treating no water changes were done.
i have a semi planted tank some plastic also.

there are no marks on the fish,spots or worms . 1 gourami has turned a shade darker or black on the bottom half of his body, also tail. don't know if it is related to the flicking.

my fish are
eel x1 growing about 12cm
golden barbs x2 full size
danios x10 full size
mollies x2 (m & f) full size, mating.
pearl gourami x2(m & f)
dwarf gouramis x 4(3m 1f)
koi angels x5
3 loaches (not clown)

tank is 406L
ammonia - 0 ppm
nitrite - 0 ppm
nitrate - 3-5 ppm
ph 6.5

canister filter tetratec ex1200
2x 300w heaters.
uv sterilizer , not used during treatment.
water cristal clear
used 3 different water treatments , currently using prime.

all fish are flicking, angels seem less affected, gouramis seem to suffer the most.

dead fish are 3 guppys after 4 days. they started flicking same day they were introduced.
1 dwarf gourami. swam insane for a few secs then died. noticed tail had been bit. had eaten well all the time.

i don't want to lose any more fish

i hope you all have some ideas.
choice of fish couldn't be avoided as i got most with my first tank which was way to small. please point out any potential problems with the fish. mollys are doing fine(no salt) but they also flick.

 

[WILDER]

Check the gills to see if there pale with excess mucas on them, or red and inflamed.
Have you lost any fish.
Do any of the fish labour breath.
Fish can flick with flukes but you won't see them with the naked eye.
Also meds can make fish flick and rub.

http/article.dphnet.com/cat-02/flukes1.shtml

 

[xman]

apart from the gouramis hovering at the top now and then , presume they take in air. rest swim normaly ,they all get exited if you go near the tank and swim up when feeding time.
gills seem clean apart from some of the danios look maybe slightly red inside. hard to tell as they dont stay still long enough to see. other fish look normal.

i have treated for flukes but nothing changed.
only used meds when i noticed the fish flicking and the white poo.

 

[WILDER]

I think you are dealing with flukes and they can take ages to get rid off.
Had them with my fish and what a nightmare ended up stripping the tank down in the end, then medicating again.
White poo can mean constipation, bacterial infection, to internal parasites.
Check the anus of the fish to see if it looks enlarged or red and inflamed.
What do you feed your fish?

Had any bacterial infections on top.

http/www.fishdoc.co.uk/disease/flukes.htm

 

[xman]

they no longer have white poo.
i feed my fish tetramin flakes, frozen blood worms odd peas and organic cucumber ,along with algae wafers.
the flicking has been present since i got the fish. they were fed only on tetramin at that time.
substrate is a single level of gravel , tank is vacumed clean each water change. i also match the temprature of the water i replace.

 

[WILDER]

Wouldn't worry about the white poo if it's gone now could of just been constipation.
If water quality is good and they are flicking with no visable symtoms it points to skin and gill flukes.

 

[xman]

well it sort of does. sometimes the fish do look like there gills are moving fast but they don't go up for air, other times they are normal. when i treated with methylene blue which also kiils fluke they flicked all way through it. same with interpet no7 anti slime and velvet, fish carried on flicking.
to this day they seem to flick more and more. definitely getting worse.

what would you recommend , treat again? if so with what...

 

[WILDER]

JBL Gyrodactol
There this med but your ph is not right for it as the ph has to be in the 7 region.
Do you have another mature tank.

 

[WILDER]

http/www.flubenol.co.uk/

 

[xman]

only a much smaller tank, home to 2 discus. my tap water ph is also around 6.5. perfect for my discus. i cant move all the fish in with the discus though.

 

[WILDER]

Sorry was thinking of stripping the tank down and taking some mature sponges from another tank to kick start it again.
I would try and get that med I left a link too.

 

[xman]

hi. bought the flubenol 15. added it to the tank today as per the instructions.
what i want to ask is once it has been dosed how long do you recommend i wait for maximum benefit before i do a water change.
the guide says don't change any water for 24 hours, but i'm guessing thats the bare minimum.

 

[WILDER]

In the article it says up to 4 treatments.
I would ask bloo she used it.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=142441