Chris Palma
May 24th 04, 06:39 PM
Hi.
This is my latest in a series of similar posts. I have a 75 gallon
community tank. I have lost a few fish, but not so many that I thought
there was something seriously wrong. Recently, though, I've seen a few of
my fish (particularly 2 dwarf cichlids -- d. filamentosus or d. maculatus,
I haven't identified them 100% yet) "flicking" themselves against plants
and gravel. I've been told that this is a symptom of a parasite, but I've
stared at their gills and don't see any obvious signs of anything out of
the ordinary.
Just the other day I did a 40% water change, and I was hoping this would
help. However, one of my cichlids was still flicking even after the
change. Previously, I've dosed the tank with aquari-sol, but as another
poster mentioned, it is probably a bad idea to medicate without a specific
problem identified.
My most recent tests showed 0ppm ammonia and 0ppm nitrites, but I haven't
tested very recently.
So... my question is, is there anyway that I can be more certain about
the cause of the flicking? If I don't see any visible signs of problems
in the gill area, should I still hold off on medication? Is there
anything else besides parasites & ammonia poisoning that cause fish to
flick like this? If not, what should I try next -- antibiotics? The
local Petco has some of the more common medications in fizzy tablet &
liquid forms, but I'm not sure if I can get a hold of some of the more
sophisticated medications very quickly.
i
Thanks...
--chris
This is my latest in a series of similar posts. I have a 75 gallon
community tank. I have lost a few fish, but not so many that I thought
there was something seriously wrong. Recently, though, I've seen a few of
my fish (particularly 2 dwarf cichlids -- d. filamentosus or d. maculatus,
I haven't identified them 100% yet) "flicking" themselves against plants
and gravel. I've been told that this is a symptom of a parasite, but I've
stared at their gills and don't see any obvious signs of anything out of
the ordinary.
Just the other day I did a 40% water change, and I was hoping this would
help. However, one of my cichlids was still flicking even after the
change. Previously, I've dosed the tank with aquari-sol, but as another
poster mentioned, it is probably a bad idea to medicate without a specific
problem identified.
My most recent tests showed 0ppm ammonia and 0ppm nitrites, but I haven't
tested very recently.
So... my question is, is there anyway that I can be more certain about
the cause of the flicking? If I don't see any visible signs of problems
in the gill area, should I still hold off on medication? Is there
anything else besides parasites & ammonia poisoning that cause fish to
flick like this? If not, what should I try next -- antibiotics? The
local Petco has some of the more common medications in fizzy tablet &
liquid forms, but I'm not sure if I can get a hold of some of the more
sophisticated medications very quickly.
i
Thanks...
--chris