Identifying Flukes in Fish

[Josharnold]

Hi,

New here and not entirely sure this is an 'emergency' or not but couldn't find a "fish health" section on here.

I have a pretty well planted 40 gallon tank and have noticed my fish flicking and twitching parts of themselves onto plants , gravel or anything else in the tank. I noticed it a few weeks ago the odd time but have seen fish doing this in even well kept fish shops before so thought nothing of it. Today i saw one of my 10 leopard danios do this 4 times in a row and then later in the day my blue gourami do it three times, People say this is only a worry if its done excessively but i'm starting to get worried now.

Wanting to catch this as early as possible if it is the parasite issue i've read about, should i just purchase some sort of treatment for this straight away or am I overreacting? I think i have seen most fish in the tank do this at some point though none as excessively as the gourami or danio today and i'd like to stop it in its tracks before it gets to the new fish i've just put in (dwarf chain loaches to deal with snails).

None of my fish are exhibiting any other symptoms and the flicking isn't too often generally, just what i saw today bothered me, i can't see anything on there gills but i'm worried this may just be early stages of the parasite.

So could this be a plant fertiliser thing? (i read this somewhere) or should i act quickly with some sort of treatment for flukes? any advice would be great thanks,

Josh

 

[seangee]

Do you have photos or a video?
Did you quarantine your new fish?
Are there any signs of ich, which would appear as tiny sugar chrystals on their fins?

We would need to confirm what the problem is before recommending any type of treatment.
Just FWIW sids (dwarf chain loach) are lovely but they are rubbish at dealing with snails. They do need to be in a group of at least 6 and are very sensitive to poor water quality. They are also quite sensitive to medication so if you do end up treating the tank you should only use half the recommended dosage.

 

[Josharnold]

Do you have photos or a video?
Did you quarantine your new fish?
Are there any signs of ich, which would appear as tiny sugar chrystals on their fins?

We would need to confirm what the problem is before recommending any type of treatment.
Just FWIW sids (dwarf chain loach) are lovely but they are rubbish at dealing with snails. They do need to be in a group of at least 6 and are very sensitive to poor water quality. They are also quite sensitive to medication so if you do end up treating the tank you should only use half the recommended dosage.

I haven't got video i'm afraid, If i'm honest apart from today the occurrence hasn't been regular enough to have caught on camera I can try but it doesn't happen too often.

I unfortunately don't have a tank i can use as a quarantine tank so haven't quarantined anything before going in, if i'm honest i realise now this would have probably helped me control this worry and perhaps would be a way to go in the future.

I have seen any signs of ich, no white spots or anything, is this related to flukes in the gills?

Thanks for the advice on the Sids i will definitely note this if i do feel the need to medicate, To be fair to them my group of 6 has turned the bottom of my tank into a snail graveyard since putting them in but not sure on there ability to completely eradicate them.

 

[seangee]

Fish typically flick because something is irritating them. This could be ammonia or chlorine in the water or it could be some inection or infestation. Although my sids sometimes do this just to cause me worry (along with sleeping upside down and generally pretending to be dead )

As with most problems start with a 75% water change and gravel clean every day for the next few days. Then keep a close eye on them.

 

[Josharnold]

Yeah i'm hoping maybe its just general irritation rather than a parasite issue, hopefully not chlorine is there a test for this? i have heard fish do this for a few reasons and was worried i was maybe dosing too much plant fertiliser. My ammonia nitrates and nitrates do appear to be fine (tested yesterday) but perhaps a large water change might be worth doing, I haven't done a change this large before.

Thanks for the advice so far guys,
Josh

 

[seangee]

What ferts?
Anything containing gluteraldehyde (the so called liquid carbon ferts) should be avoided as it is actually poisonous to fish.

 

[Josharnold]

What ferts?
Anything containing gluteraldehyde (the so called liquid carbon ferts) should be avoided as it is actually poisonous to fish.

I'm using Tropica fertiliser "premium nutrition" its labelled i'm not sure what gluteraldehyde is, is there anything i should look out for?

 

[seangee]

Their website doesn't say what's in it. I use my liquid fertiliser at half the recommended dosage and that seems adequate.
(remember anything you put in the water goes into your fish)

 

[Josharnold]

Their website doesn't say what's in it. I use my liquid fertiliser at half the recommended dosage and that seems adequate.
(remember anything you put in the water goes into your fish)

Thanks for the advice are you UK based? Is there a fert you would recommend?
Thanks, Josh

 

[Colin_T]

Sera Florena is the only plant fertiliser I use in an aquarium with fish.

Seangee has covered most of it pretty well.
If fish are regularly rubbing on objects in the tank, there is either a chemical in the water or the fish have a protozoan infection. If the fish are new it is probably a protozoan infection (most likely whitespot or velvet).

Check your water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. Make sure the ammonia and nitrite are 0, and the nitrate is less than 20ppm.

Stop adding fertiliser for a few weeks.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week and see if it continues. If it does, then increase the water temperature to 30C (86F) and keep it there for 2 weeks. Then reduce the temperature.

Increase aeration/ surface turbulence when you raise the temperature so you maximise the oxygen levels in the water.

 

[seangee]

Thanks for the advice are you UK based? Is there a fert you would recommend?
Thanks, Josh

I have tried several over the years. This is what I have been using for the last few of these. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00025696M/?tag=
The bottle I have was bought in April 18 and is probably still half full. That's for 2 tanks totaling around 250 litres.

Tropica is a respected brand so I wouldn't rush out to change until you need to. I agree with Colin's suggestion for dealing with protozoan infections. If it is white spot or velvet your sids will most likely be affected the worst as they are scaleless. Don't worry, despite what I have said about them they are not hard to keep, mine have never had any problems. But loaches are a good early warning for protozoans or poor water quality.

 

[Josharnold]

I have tried several over the years. This is what I have been using for the last few of these. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00025696M/?tag=
The bottle I have was bought in April 18 and is probably still half full. That's for 2 tanks totaling around 250 litres.

Tropica is a respected brand so I wouldn't rush out to change until you need to. I agree with Colin's suggestion for dealing with protozoan infections. If it is white spot or velvet your sids will most likely be affected the worst as they are scaleless. Don't worry, despite what I have said about them they are not hard to keep, mine have never had any problems. But loaches are a good early warning for protozoans or poor water quality.

Thanks guys I have friends who say this happens on occasion in there tanks as well and at the moment it is quite rare, with me maybe not seeing it at all for a few days at a time but I will definitely take your advice on the water change and gravel vac and perhaps the temperature in the hope of catching it early, I will keep an eye on my nitrate, ammonia and nitrite levels but they were good last time I checked. The Loaches have only just gone in so are doing okay so far, hope they will be okay, I found them just wanting to get rid of snails but they're great, really active fish.

Thanks again for all the advice,