# head shaking?



## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Two of my fish are shaking their head a lot. Here's a little history:

January 16th: my male krib suddenly died. I noticed he had (once or twice) some clear/white stringy feces. When I found him, his body was swollen. I don't know if this means that he had bloat, or if all fish swell after they die (I don't know how soon after his death I found him).

shortly after, I purchased a S. daemon. He shook his head a lot, but I just thought that's the way he was....I thought he was just a crazy fish.

Few days ago, I noticed my Severum was breathing heavily and was not being active. He wasn't hanging out at the top of the tank, rather, at the bottom. When I walk up to the tank, he perks up!

Everyone eats well. I feed TetraMin tropical crisps, hikari sinking pellets, blood worms, brine shrimp, and veggies. Severum poop looks good. None of the fish are flashing at all.

40 gallon tank

pH: 7.6 (I started adding peat 2 weeks ago, so the pH goes down to 7.2 then back up to 7.6 every time I change the water. I'm thinking to just take the peat out. too much change).

ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: ~10
water changes: 40% twice per week (did one this morning). I use AquaPlus (for chlorine and chloramine) to treat the water. No, I didn't forget to use it 

I've added fenbendazole, because I know it can take care of gill flukes and velvet. And yes, I know that gill flukes take a looong time to get rid of.

Note: I really have no idea what's wrong with my fish. I don't SEE anything different on their bodies. Help!


----------



## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

I'm sorry  Was my post too long to read?

My severum is shaking his head a lot, and he's breathing heavily. No other symptoms. What could be wrong with him?


----------



## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I think you may be on the right track with the gill fluke treatment.

How long have you been doing it? Any improvements at all since you started?


----------



## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

I started only yesterday. No improvements yet.  Appetite is still good. Lots of head shaking (many times per minute). After a few days, if I still see no improvement, maybe I could try a more traditional med for gill flukes? PraziPro or Parasite Clear. I don't want to start dumping all kinds of stuff in there though. Maybe I'll be patient with the fenbendazole first 

Thanks for replying, I really appreciate it!


----------



## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

PraziPro seems to be the best for fully eradicating them, so I would consider switching to that, too, if you don't see any subsiding of the twitchy behaviour!

Good luck! Squeeze in all the water changes that you can!


----------



## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

I think that my Sev looks a bit better. It could be my mind playing tricks on me...but he's definitely not worse! I'm going to keep using the Fenbendazole a few more days (should I go longer?) and then if the fish aren't completely better or if things change, I'll go a different route.

I'll update in a couple of days!


----------

