# My orange heads are flashing



## bernreuther (Jan 29, 2007)

I just noticed my two male geophagus orange heads flashing. They've never done this before.

The water params are all good and I just did a 50% change yesterday and 10% today (due to a filter leak). The females and three juvies (as well as all other fish in the tank) seem fine. The original male (the other is new as of this weekend) is also a bit clamped and his black side dot has become more of a black blurry line... the newer guy looks normal though.

I am dealing with a leaky Eheim filter issue so for O2 exchange and some minimal filtration I added a sponge filter last night, which I suspect may somehow be the cause of this. The sponge used to be used in a fry tank that became a hospital tank but for the past 6 weeks has been in an empty tank with 100% different water, bubbling just to keep the bacteria alive (though now that I think of it, if I didn't add any ammonia, I probably killed the bacteria anyway). Anyway, even though none of the fish that were ever in that QT ever had any gill flukes or parasites or anything like that, I kind of wonder if maybe something bad was alive in the sponge the whole time?

Or do geos just flash a bit when stressed by constant busywork around the tank, changing light conditions, water levels, and O2 levels? None of the other fish are showing any signs of O2 deprivation (tragically, I've experienced that before). I can see how they'd be unhappy with the changing conditions... but flashing?

The thing is, I wasn't that concerned about the water quality going downhill with the filter off because it's a sparsely inhabited newly set up tank (the filtration is old, though) with new sand... there's no detectable nitrate. And I don't think there's enough fish in a 100g to make ammonia spike in just the 8 hours the filter was off - or am I way off? (my kit doesn't test ammonia)

What sucks is that this is an acrylic tank, so I can't use the extra HOB filters I have laying around. I'm stuck with this one extra canister or a sponge.

Should I just do daily water changes and assume things will be OK, or is there more that I should be worried about?

Shoot... I just noticed the molly coming down to the sand too. He's not flicking quickly but does still seem to be trying the same thing. He is a top dweller... I've never seen him down low. (Right now I have both filters running, btw).


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## bernreuther (Jan 29, 2007)

My biggest concern at this point is that because of the hour, I can't do another water change till tomorrow, since I am out of dechlorinator and the stores are all closed. For now I'm just going to add some salt.

Water temp is 84, if that matters. I suppose I can crank it to 86 with the salt, since that seems to help with most things.


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## bernreuther (Jan 29, 2007)

hmm, maybe the de-chlorinator I used today was diluted or not full drops (end of the bottle), and they're flashing due to chlorine?

That'd only be like 3-4 gallons of unchlorinated water (the last installment after the filter leak) in a 110 tank, and on all previous changes I always put way more than the necessary one drop per gallon... and Chicago water doesn't use too much chlorine (I had a fancy goldfish live 2 years without ever getting dechlor) so that shouldn't be it... right?

They just ate normally and now are all sifting the sand as usual. Maybe they just wanted more salt.


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## bernreuther (Jan 29, 2007)

Yesterday they all seemed OK whenever I watched them, and today they're still sifting happily, but I saw the older male flash once a little while ago and he's still kind of clamped (bottom fins mostly) and showing more black coloration along his center line. His forehead looks a little weird too, almost like he got beat up a bit. It has sort of a cracked-glass look to it, like dry skin might look if you got superglue stuck to your fingertip (yes, this just happened to me, which is where that example comes from). I tried to get a photo but the flash sort of washed it out.

It seems that he has lost the battle for dominance with the newer (and more attractive) male... could it just be that he's a bit stressed because of that? Or is this something I need to worry about?

Aside from water changes, are there any other steps I should take?

The good news is that I fixed the filter, so it is running normally.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Hi,

I'm a little unclear of exactly what's going on here but I'll try to help just the same.

It's normal for fish to flash but if they seem to be doing it constantly, or appear to have rubbed an area raw from rubbing, then there may be a problem. Also if the fish do alot of flashing directly after a water change then it maybe that something in your water is irritating them.

How big is this tank? How many fish in it? Have you tested the water recently for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? If your filters were off for any length of time then your beneficial bacteria may have died and this can cause an ammonia spike.

Also if the filter wasn't running efficiently this may have caused an 02 problem. Every so often you need to change the O-ring on Eheim filters or they will leak when the filter is turned off.

Robin


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## bernreuther (Jan 29, 2007)

Hi Robin,

If they just do it on their own occasionally without it always meaning there's a problem, that's a relief. I only noticed it a few times, and each time it was the males. The look fine otherwise, no irritation at all.

Actually the Eheim was leaking while running... it was a real pain. I finally got it fixed though. It stayed off (but full of water) for 8 hours overnight one night.... do you think that killed the bacteria? It's the only filter on the tank right now till I get the new bulkheads to set up the sump.

It's a 110 with a bunch of tetras and 2 rainbows aside from these redheads. They all seem OK. So if flashing isn't always 100% indicative of a problem then that's a relief. I'll still keep an eye on them, of course.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

> I finally got it fixed though. It stayed off (but full of water) for 8 hours overnight one night.... do you think that killed the bacteria?


Maybe. Filters need air to keep the bacteria alive. With no water movement there would be no air. Whether or not the beneficial bacteria in your Eheim died in 8 hours, I don't know--there's too many variables with any given filter and tank set up to say one way or another. 
Test your water daily or every other day for the next week or two to monitor any possible rise in ammonia. 
If you get any kind of ammonia reading at all then do daily or every other day partial water changes using a good quality declorinator. If for some reason you can't test the water then I would just do the daily/every other day partial water changes for the next several weeks to be on the safe side. 
Having two filters on your tank is the way to go. It allows you to alternate maintenance between the two, improves water movement and if one filter breaks down your tank still has some filtration.

Robin


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