Fish Flicking

[deanrar]

a couple of my fish have started flicking its not often i've only noticed it a couple of times so i'm not sure if its real problem, but if it is what could it be and what other signs could i notice?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

There can be numerous reasons for fish flicking and rubbing themselves, but its usually a parasitic infestation of some sort on the fish (usually either whitespot, velvet or flukes- gill or body flukes or both). Can you see any other symptoms in the fish, whether behavioral or physical? Are they hanging out near the surface a lot, gasping or rapidly breathing, gills look inflamed/red, excess mucus/slime on fish, tattered lookng fins, dusting of spots on fishes body or fins etc etc?
Also, you should test your water quality for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates with an accurate test kit/s and post the results here

 

[deanrar]

physically i can't see anything and i've been looking closely at all of my fish for days because i've been worried. But my gourami are often at the surface under my floating plants but i thought that was normal and they are all eating normally, I have increased the temp by nearly a degree in the last couple of weeks after i got gourmai as they prefer slightly higher temps but that is the only difference i can think of. Plus i aways do at least a 30% water change every week.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

physically i can't see anything and i've been looking closely at all of my fish for days because i've been worried. But my gourami are often at the surface under my floating plants but i thought that was normal and they are all eating normally, I have increased the temp by nearly a degree in the last couple of weeks after i got gourmai as they prefer slightly higher temps but that is the only difference i can think of. Plus i aways do at least a 30% water change every week.

If its just flicking and rubbing and some fish hanging at the surface, it sounds like gill and body flukes- treat the fish with an anti parasitic med like "Anti slime and velvet" by Interpet (also treats gill and body flukes) . If you have any critters/invertebrates/crustaceons like shrimp or snails in the tank that you want to keep, remove them from the tank as anti parasitic meds will probably kill them. How warm is the tank currently exactly and what type of gourami is it?

 

[celaeno]

some of my krib fry used to flick themselves on the bare-bottom surface. however, they seemed healthy, no signs of disease. i think they were just trying to pick at the algae or something.

 

[deanrar]

its at 25/77 degrees and they are dwarf gourami, the problem with that may be that i don't think i will be able to catch the shrimp (about 6 little amanos) and finding all the snails could be a nightmare (probably about 10 trumpet snails of various sizes) and my gourami do tend to flick in the same place on my filter pipe which has the most algae on it from anywhere in my tank (oh and one last thing pics of fish with mucus would be useful because i don't know how obvious it will be, i've looked very very close but i don't really know what i'm looking for)

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

some of my krib fry used to flick themselves on the bare-bottom surface. however, they seemed healthy, no signs of disease. i think they were just trying to pick at the algae or something.

It was probably body and gill flukes, fish can live with it for a long time, sometimes it goes away (but often doesn't), but it can also be fatel depending on the fish and most fish which have flukes don't tend to live out their natural life expectancies but rather die young. Its also quite infectious- flicking can also be due to irritants in the water.

its at 25/77 degrees and they are dwarf gourami, the problem with that may be that i don't think i will be able to catch the shrimp (about 6 little amanos) and finding all the snails could be a nightmare (probably about 10 trumpet snails of various sizes) and my gourami do tend to flick in the same place on my filter pipe which has the most algae on it from anywhere in my tank (oh and one last thing pics of fish with mucus would be useful because i don't know how obvious it will be, i've looked very very close but i don't really know what i'm looking for)

The excess mucus/slime can look grey on the fishes body, it can also come off the fish in layers (you'll notice this if its the case)- look for area's on the fishes body which look kinda slimey or discoloured looking.
The gourami is probably flicking in the same place because it has found whatever it is rubbing itself on is the best place for itching off the parasites. However, without meds, it is very unlikely it will rid all the parasites off its body. If you don't treat the fish, you'll risk losing them.
The easiest way to catch the amano shrimp is to simply take out all the decor from the tank so they no longer have anything to hide in or under (be careful to check the decor you take out doesn't have any shrimp attatched to it- same goes for the snails) .

 

[deanrar]

and I have only noticed it happen about 4 times in the last week but it was still enough to get me worried how often would they be doing it if they were diffinentely sick in some way, is it very often? If not it looks like my fishes and sshrimp are going to have a heckit weekend.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

and I have only noticed it happen about 4 times in the last week but it was still enough to get me worried how often would they be doing it if they were diffinentely sick in some way, is it very often? If not it looks like my fishes and sshrimp are going to have a heckit weekend.

It depends on how bad the infestation is, but unless you treat it, the flicking and rubbing will become worse. In really bad cases, because the fish is constantly itching itself, sores start to develop on the fish and leaves it vunerable to other deseases and parasites. Basically, the responsable thing to do would be to treat the fish before it gets worse . Sit down for 1hr and watch the fish in the tank and see how many times they are itching themselves- they are most likely doing it a lot more often that what you have witnessed so far.

 

[deanrar]

yeh i think i'll treat them i don't want to risk it, how long would i need to take the shrimp and snails out for because i have a hospital tank but its very small and i wouldnt want to keep them in there very long.

 

[geo7x]

hang on, forgive me if im wrong, but i dont see any water parameters.
It might not be flukes, in which case treating for it could be pointless. It could be as simple as high nitrates, where fish flick, its happened to me. Even though you do 30% water changes, the tap water can sometimes have high nitrates after there has been a lot of rain.
It could also be the the first stages of whitespot.

Both would mean removing inverts would be unnecessary, so it wouldnt hurt to quickly test your water either with a master test kit or your lfs should be able to test a sample for you.

 

[deanrar]

I have'nt had them checked recently (in the last month) which is bad as i used to get them checked every week but since xmas i have been a bit slack with visiting my nearest fish shop as its about a 15 minute drive and my cars very temperamental.