Hi.........do fish have "itches"

[silver]

My Blood Parrot was scratching himself all over the tank a minute ago......then he stopped! I've seen him do this before, but not for as long as this. Then he stopped.......as if he was just "itching"......

Do you think that fish have "itches" like we do.....

Or do you think it is ich???

 

[sunflower]

What are your water parameters?

 

[PETsMARTchick]

I don't know if fish can simply itch, but I know that when a fish is scraping his body across ornaments and things it can be a sign of Ich or Gill Flukes. Does he have any more symptoms? You might want to check out the pinned topic on diseases in the Beginner Questions section.

 

[cutechic]

I don't think a fish would itch on plants/ ornaments generally. As PMc said, it may be a sign of ich or gill flukes. Perhaps do a water change and see if he keeps doing it.

 

[diVer]

I've read about and seen fish relieving itches in the wild. The best example that comes to mind is when I saw a basking shark jump about 20 feet out of the water.

 

[silver]

Hmmmm...
There is no other sign of ich......besides the occassional scrape across stuff. He does it kind of hard though, it looks like it would hurt

Parameters are almost always at zero in that tank...the nitrites MAY creep up to 0.1ppm or MAYBE 0.2ppm but hardly ever. I've been doing weekly water changes for a while now. NitrAtes are around 40ppms and PH is moderate....about 7.6!

What do gill flukes look like??

Otherwise he looks and acts really happy and healthy!!

 

[PETsMARTchick]

Here's the info on gill flukes from the pinned topic:



Gill Flukes Parasite livign in gills. Gills become inflamed.

Symptoms: The gills may turn red and swollen. The fish may scratch himself against objects and breathe rapidly.

Treatment Use appropriate medication and raise the temp and if possible give a salt bath

 

[Bol]

Silver,

From what I understand, a fish can 'scratch' like that (by the way, that's usually called "flashing") for a variety of reasons -- pretty much anything that irritates the skin will cause it.

Could be early ich, could be gill flukes, could be a lot of things. I'd start at the simple end, though, and I'd suggest doing a water change or two to get your nitrates down to around 20 ppm, and see if the fish still flashes.

 

[silver]

Thanks guys!! Now at least I know that's what it's called! )

I just did my weekly cleaning and ammonia and nitrItes are at 0ppm....nitrAtes are at 40ppm......after a 30% water change! That is the lowest I can get them in that tank, don't know why

Hardness is moderate and PH is about 7.6
............
He doesn't do it all the time! That tank is right next to the couch so I monitor the fish quite often and I've only seen him do it about twice before this time, and months apart from eachother!.......could he have had something stuck in his gill......I did clean the tank glass and that gets all the tiny pieces of shrimp pellets all stirred up (then I change the water once it all settles again)........could that possibly have ANYTHING to do with it..or is it even a possibility at all??

 

[Bol]

nitrAtes are at 40ppm......after a 30% water change! That is the lowest I can get them in that tank, don't know why

Checked your source (tap?) water for nitrates lately?

 

[rvm]

some of my fish do exactly the same thing. Mostly the Clown Loaches, but I've caught the tiger barbs at it every now and then too. I thought it was ich as well, so I treated with Protozin, and they still do it every now and then. Can't see any signs of white spot or inflamed gills, and they seem to be perfectly happy. My water params are pretty much the same as yours silver, and my tap water nitrates are at around 50ppm, I use a nitrate filter to clear nitrates from the tap water, and my tank hovers around 25-50ppm. But they still flick every now and then.
I keep a good check on them, but I think it is just an itch like we get!!!

 

[silver]

WOw................... thanks rvm...........

That makes me feel a little better!!

My new clown loach is doing it too.....I think I'm going to medicate with Coppersafe, anyone ever tried that with Clown Loaches???

Bol > Ya, my tap comes out at 0-ammonia 0-nitrItes and 18-nitrAtes

In 2 of my tanks the water stays at around 20ppms of nitrAtes.......

 

[Bol]

I've never used Coppersafe, but ... personally, I would hesitate to treat for a disease if I wasn't sure the disease was there (i.e., your fish may not have ich, or any parasite).

On a side note, if you decide that the nitrates are a problem, I'd suggest looking into some fast growing plants, and/or a nitrate reducing product. One such product is called NitraZorb (by, I think, Aquarium Pharmaceuticals). It's a pouch that will absorb (adsorb?) a given amount of nitrates, and then it needs to be 'recharged' (by soaking in salt water, I think).

 

[pandapops001]

Please be cautious though, my black molly started doing this, it turned out to be "velvet" so i treated it, unfortunately being a newbie perhaps i didnt get there quick enough because we lost him

I'm not saying it is this, but please be careful, it was horrible losing him like that

Symtoms are

Flicking off objects
Staying at the surface of the water
rapid gill movement
red patches (didnt see this on mine)
patches like velvet

Best of luck
Miranda

 

[heresmike]

Some of my fish have also done that very thing w/o it turning into a disease of any kind.

I thought it was called "flicking" ... but I guess it might be "flashing"