# Fish flashing more with parasite medication??



## riverpaws (Dec 7, 2011)

I had to treat for ick in my tank. My fish are more active but seem to be flashing more with the meds in (they flash the most right when I first put it in). Is this normal?

EDIT: Most of the fish are fine. There are 3 that are flashing more and twitching and generally acting like something is driving them crazy.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Replied in your other thread.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... t=#1679886


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

They may be flashing because of the ICH and not the treatment. It could be both. Hard to say.


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## Nodalizer (Nov 7, 2011)

I would guess since one of your fish was in fairly advanced stages of ich that these others had a fair amount too.

The medication might have irritated the parasite and caused them to flash, it won;t kill the parasite while it is attached to the fish, and this would be why its causing the fish more discomfort then before. I would say a good sign its working.

Just be sure to remove any rough rocks and treat these seperately. A lot of major problems with ich come from the fish damging itself on rocks.


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## riverpaws (Dec 7, 2011)

Okay, thanks as always for your good help (especially Nodalizer, I appreciate your dedicated responses to my posts and your sound advice in the other thread!!).


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## Nodalizer (Nov 7, 2011)

All good, keep us updated.


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## riverpaws (Dec 7, 2011)

Today less flashing, fish seem better, but still worried about the three that were flashing more yesterday. They seem to have some grayish patches on them. ???

The maingano is almost completely better, just breathing a little heavily still, but no pinched fin, swimming out in the open like normal, eating well. I will continue to dose the tank, and keep the temperature higher. I will probably also test the water.


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## Nodalizer (Nov 7, 2011)

Are you able to get a picture of the greyish marks ?

Thinking maybe an injury. They are not acei are they ?


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## riverpaws (Dec 7, 2011)

Nodalizer said:


> Are you able to get a picture of the greyish marks ?
> 
> Thinking maybe an injury. They are not acei are they ?


My camera is not going to cooperate. I will keep trying but let's work under the assumption that I can't get a picture.

Yes, they are three Acei. Why? *worried*


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## Nodalizer (Nov 7, 2011)

Have had a lot of problems with acei and ich lately in the forums. My personal opinion is there are super sensitive to ich.

Increase the oxygen in that tank as much as you possiblly can. Make sure the surface of the water it chopping up a lot, and do not play around with heat any more for now.

I would do daily large water changes making sure to vacum the substrate well to get as much ich outta it as possible. Add the meds back in when you change water.


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## TrashmanNYC (Dec 10, 2007)

Nodalizer said:


> Have had a lot of problems with acei and ich lately in the forums. My personal opinion is there are super sensitive to ich.
> 
> Increase the oxygen in that tank as much as you possiblly can. Make sure the surface of the water it chopping up a lot, and do not play around with heat any more for now.
> 
> I would do daily large water changes making sure to vacum the substrate well to get as much ich outta it as possible. Add the meds back in when you change water.


I just lost 5 Acei to Ich.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

TrashmanNYC said:


> Nodalizer said:
> 
> 
> > Have had a lot of problems with acei and ich lately in the forums. My personal opinion is there are super sensitive to ich.
> ...


That sucks. Sorry to hear.


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## riverpaws (Dec 7, 2011)

Sorry to hear about the lost Aceis.

I am doing daily water changes (about 25%, is that too much?). It's so odd to me that most of the fish except the four that are affected seem impervious to the ick. You'd never know there was anything wrong with the tank except for those four fish. The maingano is doing increasingly better, but the Aceis are looking as if they've been through a war zone. They are still WAY active, eating like pigs, but the gray patches are still prevalent.

I have stopped moving the temperature up and the powerhead seems to be working well.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

25% is what I did. I had success doing 25% but more importantly than the water change is the gravel vacuuming or substrate vacuuming. What I did was vacuum my crushed coral and sand and whatever water it took out then that is fine. It turned out to be 25% give or take.

Acei's for some reason seem to really struggle with ICH. I wish you the best. Maybe a Xmas miracle will happen and they will be saved!!!


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## riverpaws (Dec 7, 2011)

13razorbackfan said:


> 25% is what I did. I had success doing 25% but more importantly than the water change is the gravel vacuuming or substrate vacuuming. What I did was vacuum my crushed coral and sand and whatever water it took out then that is fine. It turned out to be 25% give or take.
> 
> Acei's for some reason seem to really struggle with ICH. I wish you the best. Maybe a Xmas miracle will happen and they will be saved!!!


Thanks! I hope so too! I've NEVER had trouble with ick before and definitely not with cichlids so I'm kind of...not enjoying it. Not that a fish disease is ever enjoyable. Meh.

Thanks for the help. Hopefully the infection won't take too much longer to beat. Aceis struggling with ick is something I'd never have called. So odd. I thought cichlids were supposed to be somewhat parasite resistant...maybe I dreamed reading that somewhere.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

riverpaws said:


> 13razorbackfan said:
> 
> 
> > 25% is what I did. I had success doing 25% but more importantly than the water change is the gravel vacuuming or substrate vacuuming. What I did was vacuum my crushed coral and sand and whatever water it took out then that is fine. It turned out to be 25% give or take.
> ...


I know how you feel...after my last bout with ICH everytime I see any kind of scratch or anything on my fish my heart just about jumps out of my chest thinking it may be ICH or something worse. Terrible feeling. Has me hesitant to add any more fish for a while.


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## riverpaws (Dec 7, 2011)

> I know how you feel...after my last bout with ICH everytime I see any kind of scratch or anything on my fish my heart just about jumps out of my chest thinking it may be ICH or something worse. Terrible feeling. Has me hesitant to add any more fish for a while.


Yeah, you said it EXACTLY. I really really really hate trying to get male/female ratios right on fish who are not sexually dimorphic (aceis, maingano) because it means putting new fish in and it scares the heck out of me. I'm terrible at trying for female mainganos. Last time I put a bunch in trying to get some females and it backfired. I got one female out of that venture and a bout with ick.

I even have a quarantine tank and sometimes THAT doesn't even completely take care of the problem. Out of curiosity, how long does everybody leave a new fish in quarantine before taking it out and putting it into the main tank? I've heard 2 weeks...but 3 has always seemed safer to me.


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## ebo (May 5, 2007)

Dejavo..... I just added a Royal Pleco to my 72 bow front last Wed. now have ICH I only buy from one local Fish store and this is a first. Have treatment in now and an adult Acie (6inch) is taking it pretty bad. He was hitting his reflection tonight so I turned lights off. Also worried for my Gold Nugget pleco have had him almost 3 years and he is about 4inches and so pretty.
Did a 50% waterchange before meds, will do a 25% next two days. Great thread lots of good info as I was wondering if I should vacume each time.
One question.....my water did not stay "Blue" for long is that normal? I'm running a Flovul 404 and AquaClear 500 no carbon
Thanks, and good luck with your fish
AL


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

ebo said:


> Dejavo..... I just added a Royal Pleco to my 72 bow front last Wed. now have ICH I only buy from one local Fish store and this is a first. Have treatment in now and an adult Acie (6inch) is taking it pretty bad. He was hitting his reflection tonight so I turned lights off. Also worried for my Gold Nugget pleco have had him almost 3 years and he is about 4inches and so pretty.
> Did a 50% waterchange before meds, will do a 25% next two days. Great thread lots of good info as I was wondering if I should vacume each time.
> One question.....my water did not stay "Blue" for long is that normal? I'm running a Flovul 404 and AquaClear 500 no carbon
> Thanks, and good luck with your fish
> AL


Yes....vacuum gravel/substrate daily. I also had great success with the tank in total and 100% darkness. I would slowly turn one light on daily for a few minutes to inspect and let them eat to have the strength to battle through.

Acei seem to have a terrible time with ich once it shows itself on the fish.


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## ebo (May 5, 2007)

Thanks Razorback, up early and all survived the night, completed 25% water change lowered the water level a bit and put in meds. Vacuumed bottom real well....so far so good....


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## riverpaws (Dec 7, 2011)

ebo said:


> Thanks Razorback, up early and all survived the night, completed 25% water change lowered the water level a bit and put in meds. Vacuumed bottom real well....so far so good....


the blue goes out of my tank pretty quickly too. Just makes sure you have no carbon (which you said you didn't, so it's all good) and I think it's okay.

No ick left on my fish. All eating well and active but still ragged fins. Especially the pectoral ones.


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## ebo (May 5, 2007)

Not to take this thread off topic, but I witnessed something interesting during this ich break out.I have had tanks pretty much my whole life. I got my 72 bow front in 1999 and decided to go to Cichlids in 2007. I joined here and read all I could about the hobby, this site is priceless. When I was ready in 2008 I ordered everything I needed for the change over from freshwater.
I did as Marc Elieson recomended and set up undergravel jets, one powerhead on each side of the tank pushing 3 jets each. That being said here is what I witnessed, my Golden Nugget Pleco lives on the back wall of the tank and I have a jet shooting straight up that wall He positioned his body facing into that jet headfirst hanging on to that back wall. The current was really moving him around and it was as if he was using the current to scratch his body. It was hard to tell if he had white spots because of all the yellow dots on him. He moved to a front jet head facing up and used the current on his belly and that is where I noticed all the ich on him. I have had this fish for 3 years and never seen him do that before. I have a log going back to 1999 and did not ever record anything like what I saw.
The Acei did the same thing with a jet in the front of the tank but he always has enjoyed the powerfull currents. I will take notice if I witness this again as it may be an early sign of parasites.
Again for all the new people to this site read as much as possible....as they say the more you read the more you know.
Thanks again everyone for your inputs.


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## riverpaws (Dec 7, 2011)

ebo said:


> Not to take this thread off topic, but I witnessed something interesting during this ich break out.I have had tanks pretty much my whole life. I got my 72 bow front in 1999 and decided to go to Cichlids in 2007. I joined here and read all I could about the hobby, this site is priceless. When I was ready in 2008 I ordered everything I needed for the change over from freshwater.
> I did as Marc Elieson recomended and set up undergravel jets, one powerhead on each side of the tank pushing 3 jets each. That being said here is what I witnessed, my Golden Nugget Pleco lives on the back wall of the tank and I have a jet shooting straight up that wall He positioned his body facing into that jet headfirst hanging on to that back wall. The current was really moving him around and it was as if he was using the current to scratch his body. It was hard to tell if he had white spots because of all the yellow dots on him. He moved to a front jet head facing up and used the current on his belly and that is where I noticed all the ich on him. I have had this fish for 3 years and never seen him do that before. I have a log going back to 1999 and did not ever record anything like what I saw.
> The Acei did the same thing with a jet in the front of the tank but he always has enjoyed the powerfull currents. I will take notice if I witness this again as it may be an early sign of parasites.
> Again for all the new people to this site read as much as possible....as they say the more you read the more you know.
> Thanks again everyone for your inputs.


How interesting...I put a powerhead in and the fish with Ick did seem to like it.


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## ebo (May 5, 2007)

No signs of ich this morning, vacuumed again and added last dose of meds. Will do another water change tomorrow and add some stress coat to help with the sore spots on the Acei.
Hope this never happens again.
Noticed alot of scales in the vacuum tube today, is that normal?


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

ebo said:


> No signs of ich this morning, vacuumed again and added last dose of meds. Will do another water change tomorrow and add some stress coat to help with the sore spots on the Acei.
> Hope this never happens again.
> Noticed alot of scales in the vacuum tube today, is that normal?


Probably from lots of scratching and flashing. Just continue to do treatment for another 7 days with gravel vac every day. I know this seems like a lot of work...but it works. Also...just because the ICH appears gone...it probably is not. Just continue treatments and you should be ok.


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