Occasional 'flicking' But No Signs Of Disease.

[jonnyf84]

Hi everybody,

My fish occasionaly flick but there are no signs of disease, this has been going on for weeks.

What can this behaviour mean?

Thanks
Jonny

 

[Colin_T]

they could have a minor skin irritation caused by poor water quality or a small number of skin parasites are infecting the fish.
What is the water quality like and what fish are flicking?

 

[jonnyf84]

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 25
PH 7.5
26 C

4 Adult platys
30 platy fry (1month and 2 weeks old)
1 RTBS
1 Bristle nose

I had a persistant bout of white spot that ended 2 weeks ago, i treated for 2 weeks and got the all clear then bought the RTBS, a couple of platys flick occasionally (they'v done this since i bought them) and today i noticed the RTBS flick for the first time.

Oh also the Bristle nose is only a few months old and i think the white spot med took its toll and it now has pretty bad fin rot but it hasn't affected the other fish.

Note: the tank is only 2 and a half months old.

 

[Colin_T]

it could be there is still some whitespot parasites in the tank, or something else like costia or trichodina. Do the fish have any grey film on their body or head? if not then it is probably just small numbers of whitespot. Keep an eye on them over the next week and see what appears.
You can try doing daily partial water changes and gravel cleans for a week. If there are any residual parasites or other problems building up, the water changes will help to dilute them and could clear the problem up.

 

[jonnyf84]

ok thanks. No theres no grey film - if there was what does that mean? ok i will just keep a eye on them, the rtbs seems to be flicking more and more so i dont think its looking good. Do you know anything about bristle noses been sensitive to white spot med as i don't know how to explain the fin rot.

 

[Colin_T]

If fish develop a grey film over their back or head it can be costia or trichodina. These are a type of skin parasite that bites into the skin and irritates the fish. In large numbers they cause tissue damage and eventually kill the fish. If there's no grey film then it's unlikely to be that.

Bristlenose and other scaleless fishes (catfish, eels, loaches, etc) are sensitive to all medications but especially anything with malachite green, methylene blue or formaldehyde/ formalin in. These chemicals don't normally cause fin rot to a fish but can damage the skin, which then allows bacteria and fungus in to do more damage.
If the fins are dissolving/ rotting away, then you might need to treat the fish with something else. If the fins have split and look frayed but are not getting any worse, then don't bother treating it. Just keep an eye on the b/nose and make sure no white fluffy stuff (fungus) appears on the damaged fins. And that none of the damaged fins become red and inflamed (bacterial infection).

Triple sulpha or Tri Sulpha can be used to treat various problems in scaleless fish including fungus, bacteria and whitespot. You can use them at full dose and they don’t affect the beneficial filter bacteria and won’t affect fish.

 

[jonnyf84]

great thanks for the advice.