Fish Flicking, Swimming Erraticaly, Mainly After The Light Switched Of

[lucc]

Hi I am changig water for 3 month now..... every 3rd day 50-70% sometimes more often.... I have already described everything in posting Silver Dollar dying in November.... Treated fish with multicure 2 monthes ago. Have only strip testers - all Ok(but there is no amonia/c on the tester), I am ordering liquid testers via internet now. How long I will be changing water and why is this happenig? The only time fish ok for 10 days when left with vacation bloc (which reduces NO3,NO4 and keeps PH stable -mine seems to be stable anyway)and we went on holliday - when returned - fish no flicking and all OK. Some days later after taking vacation bloc out - they started again - same symptomes.... Can anybody say what the problem most likely is. (I am sure that about 3 month ago my good bacteria died - took sponge out - no oxygen), but I am changing the water for 3 monthes now... shouldn't everythnig be Ok now (Ok maybe I was cleaning the sponge littlebit too much with aquarim water - wanted the flow to be good - but since about 3 weeks I don't do that... My question is if it is the good bacteria dying off - how long I will have to do the water changes for - 3 monthes and we are exhausted....
Thanks alot Lucc

 

[saltynay]

These should help:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=224306
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=139488
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=150631

 

[lucc]

These should help:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=224306
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=139488
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=150631

Thank you, I can sea I do have to buy proper test kit... can u recommend any site u have a good experience with?
Does anybody know if there is a good company in Canary Islands which would also send it to me and are reliable and the site is safe? Thanks Lucc.

 

[lucc]

These should help:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=224306
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=139488
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=150631

Ok. I bought nitrite, nitrate, amonia/c liquid tests (very expensive here 58 euro - all of them bought separately I didn't find all tests together) and all is very good regarding that. Amonia the best posible outcome - it says healthy enviroment for fish (something like that) - the colour I had and nitrite and nitrate also pretty good - very slightly pink colour - almost invisible and basicaly no problem there.....
But my fish still in distress - rubbing - hitting things..... I started to have the light on in the aquarium so the fish stops hitting objects.... and during the day there is some daylight coming in.... that helped silver dollar but my botias m. started some weeks ago and they are the ones who are showing the symptomes the most at the moment, also saw harlequin and puntius titt. doing same things. I bought better and stronger filtration system which meant I could switch the light off at night - silver dollar was pretty calm and good - not really showing too much of the symptomes, but the botias and some of the small fish yes.... (puntius.titt. and harlequin). But today (I bought the new filter yesterday)I can sea towards the evening (the aquarium light still on) that silver dollar is doing it already (that rubbing - hitting things) so it didn't help much. Botias have the symptomes a lot too. And some days ago - almost 4 months since the silver dollars started this behaviour I have noticed that my last remaining silver dollar (there was 3 before) is developing a small spot on his back thin (the propeler one) and today it is the size of the sugar grain.... I am very tired of everything by now really. I discovered pet shop where they check the water... so I had it checked today, but because of I had holiday tablet in (big tablet for 2 weeks) I was told that the water is too heavy.. I asked - what they mean by that and they told me that there is too much silt in it if it is the right expresion - I am translating that from spanish to my own language to english. I said that I had the white holiday tablet in for last 10 days hoping to better the situation (when we went on holiday we left one of these tablets in and when we came back the fish were fine till about 3 or 4 days later. Well this time it didn't work) The lady from the shop is saying that till that is not sorted (she said to change 20% of the water) she can't give any medication and gave me readily 3 ampules to put in the sponge (made in France glass ampule) 2 were bacteria ones (I don't know why) and one has digest written on it. They were 2 euros each.... I tried to explain that my fish has these symptomes for 4 monthes now and this vacacion block is in only 10 day. To no awail.... I will call them and ask about the white sugar grain size spot on the fin.... What do you think? Anybody has any suggestion? Thank you Lucc PS. My apple snail wasn't coming out much and now is floating on the surface is he dead?

 

[fluttermoth]

I don't know, but could it be that your silver dollar isn't sick at all? Could it be distressed and panicky because it's on its own in a tank that's too small? They are very, very nervous fish.

It's only a theory; anyone else like to comment?

 

[lucc]

I don´t know if I mentioned it, but in last weeks both botias. macr. (I have 2)do it now and you can see maybe 1 or 2 harlequins and 1 cherry barb.... also did I mention that after all this time with these horrible behaviour (almost looks like some parasites bothering them, but u can´t see anything at all) symptomes now silver dollar has 1 white spot like sugar grain? (after 4 months of nothing visual on them).... Lucc

 

[lucc]

I don't know, but could it be that your silver dollar isn't sick at all? Could it be distressed and panicky because it's on its own in a tank that's too small? They are very, very nervous fish.

It's only a theory; anyone else like to comment?

and one more thing botias do that flicking a lot now, a lot.... it is very distressing to see silver dollar and botias in this state, but you see I changed water again (always siphon it)now it was after 4 days (this time only 40 %) and they were perfect for about 1 day. The thing is in last 5 days I can see somethnig else in the soil now, there are these dark brown collour, small, fine, narrow, bits - they look all identical (u can see it in the bottom of the bottle in the siphoned water. Looks like something could be inside or maybe was inside - I don´t know it is not transparrent, but suspicious, but before that, there was nothing like that at all. Lucc. I will have to change wate tonight again...

 

[lucc]

I don't know, but could it be that your silver dollar isn't sick at all? Could it be distressed and panicky because it's on its own in a tank that's too small? They are very, very nervous fish.

It's only a theory; anyone else like to comment?

and one more thing botias do that flicking a lot now, a lot.... it is very distressing to see silver dollar and botias in this state, but you see I changed water again (always siphon it)now it was after 4 days (this time only 40 %) and they were perfect for about 1 day. The thing is in last 5 days I can see somethnig else in the soil now, there are these dark brown collour, small, fine, narrow, bits - they look all identical (u can see it in the bottom of the bottle in the siphoned water. Looks like something could be inside or maybe was inside - I don´t know it is not transparrent, but suspicious, but before that, there was nothing like that at all. Lucc. I will have to change wate tonight again...

I still think it is parasites, u can´t see anything on the fish, but the things I am finding in the siphoned water (from the gravel) - small dark brown short, thin things (I would say something came out of it) and when I siphone the water out it is usualy about day or day and half and I guess they are back in bigger number and as every day passes the symptoms worsen and the other day I saw punteus and there were tiny white things around it in the water and this punteus tried to swimm away and was moving to shake them off - that is how it looked like and the thing is I don´t know what are these things... nevertheless I am going to pet shop they have some medication and desinfectant for me (lets see if it works)....otherwise it is very dificult to see anything in the water... Lucc

 

[lucc]

I don't know, but could it be that your silver dollar isn't sick at all? Could it be distressed and panicky because it's on its own in a tank that's too small? They are very, very nervous fish.

It's only a theory; anyone else like to comment?

and one more thing botias do that flicking a lot now, a lot.... it is very distressing to see silver dollar and botias in this state, but you see I changed water again (always siphon it)now it was after 4 days (this time only 40 %) and they were perfect for about 1 day. The thing is in last 5 days I can see somethnig else in the soil now, there are these dark brown collour, small, fine, narrow, bits - they look all identical (u can see it in the bottom of the bottle in the siphoned water. Looks like something could be inside or maybe was inside - I don´t know it is not transparrent, but suspicious, but before that, there was nothing like that at all. Lucc. I will have to change wate tonight again...

I still think it is parasites, u can´t see anything on the fish, but the things I am finding in the siphoned water (from the gravel) - small dark brown short, thin things (I would say something came out of it) and when I siphone the water out it is usualy about day or day and half and I guess they are back in bigger number and as every day passes the symptoms worsen and the other day I saw punteus and there were tiny white things around it in the water and this punteus tried to swimm away and was moving to shake them off - that is how it looked like and the thing is I don´t know what are these things... nevertheless I am going to pet shop they have some medication and desinfectant for me (lets see if it works)....otherwise it is very dificult to see anything in the water... Lucc

So I had water checked again and they haven´t find anything. I was told the chap which checks the water will be there the next day, so I left the water there...... so I don´t know if any parasite can live in that water till the next day. They offered anti-parasitick treatment and desinfection.... I will be going there in about 2 days time (I have desinfectant at home I never used - new about 4 months since I bouhgt it and I have at home multicure, ektozon. Will see if they have something better or they will try to sell the stuff they have anyway.... will see. Otherwise I don´t know what is the problem.... my fish botias and silver dollar are now very jumpy (one of the symptom they have, you know when they move realy fast - they get startleted, also the mouth movement - faster from time to time they do that, and also that thing when they open their mouth realy wide for a moment.) Also I would like to know if they were realy checking the water for parasites, because I don´t realy know that - do I? Well anyway they didn´t seem to find any. Lucc