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Skin Irritation
Actually, my fish are not cichlids, they are local wild fish.
I've got two tanks that are fully cycled with ammonia and nitrites safely under control. Nitrates are also within acceptable range. Besides the water being a little hard and some variations on alkalinity, everything is pretty well within range. But while my fish look great, and behave and eat normally, I still see them occasionally flashing against decorations and sometimes doing some sort of shaking motion. I was just wondering if there is something else wrong with the water, or perhaps it is normal for this to happen from time to time with fish that are kept in an aquarium. Jonathan |
Skin Irritation
Actually, my fish are not cichlids, they are local wild fish. I've got two tanks that are fully cycled with ammonia and nitrites safely under control. Nitrates are also within acceptable range. Besides the water being a little hard and some variations on alkalinity, everything is pretty well within range. But while my fish look great, and behave and eat normally, I still see them occasionally flashing against decorations and sometimes doing some sort of shaking motion. I was just wondering if there is something else wrong with the water, or perhaps it is normal for this to happen from time to time with fish that are kept in an aquarium. Jonathan First, most local wild caught bass, bluegill, sunfish, are all cichlids... just so you'll know.. Not sure what you have, but since they _ARE_ wild caught, they could have any possible pathogen allowed in nature.... I'd probably be curious to what water parameters they are used to... I'd get a local water sample and check it out, compare it to your water and see what's what.... Could be the nitrates that you think is ok... if you don't have plants, it's not ok.... acceptable range for you or acceptable range for them? Post your water parameters and let some gurus break them down... not me, I"m still learning.... -- RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike streetfighter!!! ========================== 2003 TRX450ES 1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale) '98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted.... ========================== ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø is that better?? |
Skin Irritation
RedForeman,
Could be the nitrates that you think is ok... if you don't have plants, it's not ok.... acceptable range for you or acceptable range for them? Previously, nitrites were through the roof as I tried to get the tank fully cycled with fish in it. During that time, they all looked and acted fine. Now nitrites show up as zero. I'm very confident that is not a problem at this stage. Post your water parameters and let some gurus break them down... not me, I"m still learning.... I'll see if I can get some more accurate readings. Jonathan |
Skin Irritation
"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
... Actually, my fish are not cichlids, they are local wild fish. I've got two tanks that are fully cycled with ammonia and nitrites safely under control. Nitrates are also within acceptable range. Besides the water being a little hard and some variations on alkalinity, everything is pretty well within range. But while my fish look great, and behave and eat normally, I still see them occasionally flashing against decorations and sometimes doing some sort of shaking motion. I was just wondering if there is something else wrong with the water, or perhaps it is normal for this to happen from time to time with fish that are kept in an aquarium. Jonathan First, most local wild caught bass, bluegill, sunfish, are all cichlids... just so you'll know.. Not sure what you have, but since they _ARE_ wild caught, they could have any possible pathogen allowed in nature.... I'd probably be curious to what water parameters they are used to... I'd get a local water sample and check it out, compare it to your water and see what's what.... Could be the nitrates that you think is ok... if you don't have plants, it's not ok.... acceptable range for you or acceptable range for them? Post your water parameters and let some gurus break them down... not me, I"m still learning.... -- RedForeman ©® While my books are very old, they do list Sunfish as belonging to Centrarchidae family (not Cichlidae). North America has about 40 species. The common Sunfish we talk about come from the Lepomis and Mesogonistius Genus. My understanding is that fish like these migrated into marine conditions (a long time ago) to eventually become the cichlids we have now, scattered around most of the world, but then my books are old, but not that old ;~) It was just a technical point :o), I have nothing to add to Red's excellent advice. -- http://www.netmax.tk/ |
Skin Irritation
"NetMax" wrote in message . .. "RedForeman ©®" wrote in message ... Actually, my fish are not cichlids, they are local wild fish. I've got two tanks that are fully cycled with ammonia and nitrites safely under control. Nitrates are also within acceptable range. Besides the water being a little hard and some variations on alkalinity, everything is pretty well within range. But while my fish look great, and behave and eat normally, I still see them occasionally flashing against decorations and sometimes doing some sort of shaking motion. I was just wondering if there is something else wrong with the water, or perhaps it is normal for this to happen from time to time with fish that are kept in an aquarium. Jonathan First, most local wild caught bass, bluegill, sunfish, are all cichlids... just so you'll know.. Not sure what you have, but since they _ARE_ wild caught, they could have any possible pathogen allowed in nature.... I'd probably be curious to what water parameters they are used to... I'd get a local water sample and check it out, compare it to your water and see what's what.... Could be the nitrates that you think is ok... if you don't have plants, it's not ok.... acceptable range for you or acceptable range for them? Post your water parameters and let some gurus break them down... not me, I"m still learning.... -- RedForeman ©® While my books are very old, they do list Sunfish as belonging to Centrarchidae family (not Cichlidae). North America has about 40 species. The common Sunfish we talk about come from the Lepomis and Mesogonistius Genus. My understanding is that fish like these migrated into marine conditions (a long time ago) to eventually become the cichlids we have now, scattered around most of the world, but then my books are old, but not that old ;~) It was just a technical point :o), I have nothing to add to Red's excellent advice. -- http://www.netmax.tk/ The classification is still correct, Netmax. Cichlids and Centrarchids are actually not even closely related. Their physical appearance is similar because they fill similar niches. You are also right about current thinkingof the origin of cichlids, they apparently were originally sal****er fishes that migrated into rivers, lakes etc. I believe that the marine damselfishes are the closest relatives to the cichlids. Saro |
Skin Irritation
RedForeman,
Post your water parameters and let some gurus break them down... Okay, here are my water parameters: Ammonia: 0.25 Nitrate: 40ppm Nitrite: 0ppm Hardess: 200ppm Total Alkalinity: 130ppm pH: 7.2 Note 1: Again, the fish appear healthy in every way except for an occassional skin irritation. Note 2: These measurements were done with test strips and so are estimates as far as I'm concerned. Note 3: The fish have all seen ammonia spikes 1ppm and nitrite spikes 10.0 showing no worse symptoms. In fact, the symptoms appear worse after water changes. I am using city water and my pipes are older. And, in case anyone's interested, my current tanks contain: Green Sunfish, Large Mouth Bass, Bluegill, and Black Crappies (White Bass, Perch, and possible a small Walleye to come). I have a 50 and 125 gallon tank--the water parameters are from my 125 gallon. Thanks. Jonathan |
Skin Irritation
RedForeman,
Post your water parameters and let some gurus break them down... Okay, here are my water parameters: Ammonia: 0.25 Nitrate: 40ppm Nitrite: 0ppm Hardess: 200ppm Total Alkalinity: 130ppm pH: 7.2 Note 1: Again, the fish appear healthy in every way except for an occassional skin irritation. Note 2: These measurements were done with test strips and so are estimates as far as I'm concerned. Note 3: The fish have all seen ammonia spikes 1ppm and nitrite spikes 10.0 showing no worse symptoms. In fact, the symptoms appear worse after water changes. I am using city water and my pipes are older. And, in case anyone's interested, my current tanks contain: Green Sunfish, Large Mouth Bass, Bluegill, and Black Crappies (White Bass, Perch, and possible a small Walleye to come). I have a 50 and 125 gallon tank--the water parameters are from my 125 gallon. Thanks. Jonathan Other than your nitrates being perfect for a planted tank, I dont' think you even have a problem... Do you have plants? Have you tested your water from the tap?? Reason is, if your tap water is significanly different, you'll know it's IN the tank... If your tap water tests the same, then the reason it's worse in the tank is your starting out with waste water, and it only gets worse.... Another thought, unless it's an internal thing, like parasites, and sometimes wild fish can carry them and never be susceptible to any problems... then one day, it just flops over. My best guess would be, if it's a new tank, it's just adjusting... if it's an old tank, and there are NO other obvious signs, changes or reasons you could think of.. maybe it just had an itch, and had to scratch it... fish do feel.. -- RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike streetfighter!!! ========================== 2003 TRX450ES 1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale) '98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted.... ========================== ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø is that better?? |
Skin Irritation
RedForeman,
Other than your nitrates being perfect for a planted tank, I dont' think you even have a problem... Do you have plants? Have you tested your water from the tap?? Reason is, if your tap water is significanly different, you'll know it's IN the tank... If your tap water tests the same, then the reason it's worse in the tank is your starting out with waste water, and it only gets worse.... Another thought, unless it's an internal thing, like parasites, and sometimes wild fish can carry them and never be susceptible to any problems... then one day, it just flops over. My best guess would be, if it's a new tank, it's just adjusting... if it's an old tank, and there are NO other obvious signs, changes or reasons you could think of.. maybe it just had an itch, and had to scratch it... fish do feel.. I do not have live plants in the tank. I didn't quite follow your comments about water being worse in the tank. There are no indications of parasites and all fish seem to have the problem equally. This tank is newer but I have an older one and things are pretty much the same. I guess I was just more curious of a more general question of if this is normal, or there is simply something bad in my water. I'll assume by the comments so far that you don't see this in your fish. I wonder if others with the type of fish I have see the same problem. Thanks. Jonathan |
Skin Irritation
Jonathan Wood wrote in message ... RedForeman, Other than your nitrates being perfect for a planted tank, I dont' think you even have a problem... Do you have plants? Have you tested your water from the tap?? Reason is, if your tap water is significanly different, you'll know it's IN the tank... If your tap water tests the same, then the reason it's worse in the tank is your starting out with waste water, and it only gets worse.... Another thought, unless it's an internal thing, like parasites, and sometimes wild fish can carry them and never be susceptible to any problems... then one day, it just flops over. My best guess would be, if it's a new tank, it's just adjusting... if it's an old tank, and there are NO other obvious signs, changes or reasons you could think of.. maybe it just had an itch, and had to scratch it... fish do feel.. I do not have live plants in the tank. I didn't quite follow your comments about water being worse in the tank. There are no indications of parasites and all fish seem to have the problem equally. This tank is newer but I have an older one and things are pretty much the same. I guess I was just more curious of a more general question of if this is normal, or there is simply something bad in my water. I'll assume by the comments so far that you don't see this in your fish. I wonder if others with the type of fish I have see the same problem. Thanks. Jonathan My africans do this as well. It's not a normal thing though. having said that there is no one particular cause for the problem. some people say it is a result of a sudden change of water conditions, particularly hardness, but I don't really agree with that in my case. others say it is due to a large amount Iron and other heavy metals in the water, and others think that it's due to plain old nitrite and ammonia presence. parasites will certainly cause it, especially ich and flukes.. it's annoying and frustrating that I can't make the water conditions perfect for my fish. this is the treatment that I use on my tanks that seems to work for a while, but the fish tend to return to scratching after a while: 1. treat with an anti-parasite medication. 2. add activated carbon to your filtration to get rid of any nasty heavy metals etc in the water. 3. I add a product called "easy life filter fluid medium" that says it has 101 benefits, and it seems to make the fish a little happier. good luck, and if you find a new cause/cure please let me know. |
Skin Irritation
"Jonathan Wood" wrote in message link.net... Actually, my fish are not cichlids, they are local wild fish. I've got two tanks that are fully cycled with ammonia and nitrites safely under control. Nitrates are also within acceptable range. Besides the water being a little hard and some variations on alkalinity, everything is pretty well within range. But while my fish look great, and behave and eat normally, I still see them occasionally flashing against decorations and sometimes doing some sort of shaking motion. I was just wondering if there is something else wrong with the water, or perhaps it is normal for this to happen from time to time with fish that are kept in an aquarium. Jonathan parasites are so common in wild caught fish that I would suspect perhaps gill flukes and recommend that you add some fluke tabs. Rick |
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