Dvrich89 Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 0 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrates ph 7.4 temp 79° gh was 3° but raised to 8-9° a week ago for the first time I have a 55g community tank and a 29g guppy tank. My fish are flashing in both aquariums since I bought them in June and started treating in July. I’ve treated with ich-x, kordon ich attack, paraguard, prazipro and wormer plus. Nothing has helped. The zebra danios in the 55g flash a lot during water changes. I use api stress coat during water changes. I didn’t know if the gh was an issue so I raised that but that’s only been a week ago. I lost a few guppies but not sure if it was related. I have 7 adults and 3 different fry births. They are all doing good. At this point I have stopped treating. I’m running carbon so there are no meds present. I live on well water that contains iron. It does turn things rusty looking. I’m not sure if that would cause the issue. Any idea what this could be or how to treat? I had a ton of small snails that snuck their way into my tank. This wormer plus killed them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNye Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 (edited) @Dvrich89 Are both your tanks run at 79 and what other fish are in the community tank other than the zebra danios? I don't know for sure, but its possible that 79 is a bit high for them and is irritating them in some way. I would maybe try to lower to 75-76 and see if that changes anything? It could also just be that there is so much iron in the water it is irritating them. I would assume if nothing changed after treating with all those medications that its most likely an irritating rather than a parasite that is causing the problem. Just my opinion though. Edited November 7, 2020 by BNye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dvrich89 Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 (edited) @BNye55g- I have 2 angels, Golden Chinese algae eater, peppered corydoras and yoyo loach. My guppy tank is set at 79 as well and they flash also. If it’s an irritation I hope they will be ok long term. Idk what else to do for them besides try a different water source which I’m not sure how I would go about doing that for a 55g and 29g tank... Edited November 7, 2020 by Dvrich89 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNye Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 @Dvrich89 How often do they flash? Is everything in the community tank flashing or just certain fish? Any weird discolorations or anything on the fish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 I have kept fish for a while, but this is the first forum I have joined so I am not up to date on all the terms and acronyms. Flashing is one of them. What is this and what does it look like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNye Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 @DanielIt is when fish rub against objects or will like turn on their side and hit the gravel. Its almost like the fish is itching itself against something. Can be a sign of irritation of the skin/slime coat or of external parasite. This is my best understanding. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dvrich89 Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 (edited) @BNye in my 55g, the zebra danios do it the most and it’s everyday if I sit down and watch the tank a while I will always see at least one do it. They do it a lot during water changes. My larger/older angel has flashed some, not often, and my younger/smaller angel did it a few times the other day during a water change. The angels rub against the glass. I did have a clown loach in there that would flash like crazy when he would get over top of my slate rock. The guppy tank I will notice daily as well. There is nothing visible on any of the fish. Never has been. I had a couple guppies die a few months back but they looked like they had an illness (no flashing) and I was told probably due to the water being too soft for them. But I have 7 adults and 30 fry that are all doing well now. Edited November 7, 2020 by Dvrich89 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 18 minutes ago, BNye said: @DanielIt is when fish rub against objects or will like turn on their side and hit the gravel. Its almost like the fish is itching itself against something. Can be a sign of irritation of the skin/slime coat or of external parasite. This is my best understanding. Got it! That makes sense. My fish (not all of them, but some of them, usually larger fish like discus or angelfish) have always done that and I have always assumed it was an external parasite. It never occurred to me to give a medication for that. My reasoning being everything is riddled with parasites all the time (including me) as humorously expressed in this bit of doggerel from the great Jonathan Swift: Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em, And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so on ad infinitum Out of caution or lack of knowledge I have always been reluctant to put anything other than water in my aquariums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNye Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 @Dvrich89 During water changes it could just be the crud getting kicked up while changing sticking in the slime coat and irritating the fish so I wouldn't worry to much about during water changes unless they hurt themselves. What do there gills look like? Are they really red? Doing it every once in a while is normal, but if they do it a ton, besides water changes then there is something bothering them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNye Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 @Daniel Not always something to worry about unless you can see signs of distress or they are doing it all the time. I had African cichlids that would just scrape the sand when they felt like it lol. I don't worry to much either unless it seems to be harming the fish. I don't love putting anything, but water in my tanks either. Seems to be that is the way aquariums work. There is always something smaller that I have to try to figure out if it is fine to be there or going to cause a problem later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dvrich89 Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 @BNyethey look and act normal and healthy. Just the flashing. I can usually sit in front of the tank at any point in the day and eventually see zebra danios flash. Same with the guppies. 🤷🏻♀️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNye Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 @Dvrich89 In my opinion, I probably wouldn't worry about it for now unless it seems like they start hurting themselves or it is affecting there quality of life. I think it might help still to bring your tank temp down to 75F-76F and see if they continue to flash as frequently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dvrich89 Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 @BNyeOk thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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