Malawis Flicking On Rocks

[Tag2008]

Hi,
Im looking for some advice,

I had a tank set up last night and a load of malawis put in it and today, the owner brought the whole set up and took mature filter media to get an instant set up, I can see there are a good lot of them flicking off rocks and ornaments today..Ive seen my other tropicals do this now and again but these are doing it quite often although not all a good few of them.

Is flicking like this normal in malawis? They were all gasping in the bags before release the bag temperature was at around 21 so they had a good few hours before the tank got up to heat, tank got started at around 7pm fish went in when the tank was at 22 and never got up to 26 till around midnight so they had a while at a low temp.

Water stats seem fine Im using a FW master test kit.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[fishlover500]

By flicking you mean rubbing?

Could be ich Do you see anything on the body or fins/tail that looks like salt?

 

[Tag2008]

By flicking you mean rubbing?

Could be ich Do you see anything on the body or fins/tail that looks like salt?

Ive been reading through this forum and am guessing its maybe Ich?

By Flicking i mean it looks like its scratching their sides and to do it they flick /rub themselves against rocks as they pass , some are just doing it a little and some are doing it more.

I read that gill flukes produce this in fish too so Im not sure what med I may need to have at hand or should I treat with something in case?

I see no signs of illness at all just this rubbing/flicking.

Thanks

 

[WILDER]

Did you use some old water from the other tank.
Did you match temp and ph.
It could be the new tank.
If they were stressed they can easily break out in whitespot.
Whitespot will look like grains of salt on fish or look like they have been sprinkled in salt.
Any excess mucas on the fish gills or body.
Check your water stats as well in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

 

[SharonCC]

Malawis will flick to show aggression...maybe they're just establishing their territory in a new tank...

 

[Tag2008]

Malawis will flick to show aggression...maybe they're just establishing their territory in a new tank...

Thanks Sharron,

Im not so sure its dominance although could be wrong wouldnt be the first time, Im just watching a little yellow lab do it just now, Its flickin its sides off rochs and like shacking his head and then diving to the substrate and doing it there too looks as if he is trying to shake something from his head when he does this. As I say Not all seem to be doing it but if you sit long enough you see a good few doing it. Although there are a lot of clamped fins , one is hiding underneath the heater and this I doubt is normal?

I contacted the owner who wants me not to medicate or feed as he says this is normal for these fish and he is coming to pick them up tommorrow so hopefully for their sake they will be fine.

 

[WILDER]

There is something wrong if the fish have clamped fins and hiding.
Someones before whitespot breaks out you can see tiny bubbles on the fish.
What are your present water stats to see if water quality is fine.

 

[SharonCC]

I agree...the fins should not be clamped. Something's wrong...

 

[Tag2008]

There is something wrong if the fish have clamped fins and hiding.
Someones before whitespot breaks out you can see tiny bubbles on the fish.
What are your present water stats to see if water quality is fine.

Thank you Wilder I appreciate your reply,

I have looked as best as I can but see nothing that looks like white spot at all..
The water stats are fine the PH is only 7.4 but was told this would be ok by the owner as he brought some ocean rock and I added some crushed shells to try and help keep it from falling.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrate: 0

Nitrite : faint trace

I will give them some new water and do a 25 % change as I say since making this post the owner told me not to medicate or feed so may hands are tied now realy and i want them to go back to their own home as Im unsure as to what should be done and dont want to be responsible for them although dont want anything to happen to them while im watching them.

This is their seond day here would white spot have showed by now if this is whats happening?

Thanks again
Tag

 

[WILDER]

If you have a slight nitrite reading I agree water change.
See how they go it might just be the slight nitrite reading.

 

[skimmy290]

from what i know of if in temperatures around mid to high 70's, the parasites need 48 hours to attach to their host. but if the ich is ONLY in the gills, then you won't see ANY white spots. with treatment it probably takes aourn 2 weeks to cure, 4-6 weeks to be safe. fish scratch at rocks because to them it's like a mosquito bite (a really bad one...that could kill..) If you do decide to treat for ich, just stay away from copper treatments and try raising the temp into the 80's. on the other hand, your nitrites may be the only problem...
i use to keep africans cichlids and i always kept my PH at 8.2
and if you have nitrite, it means your not done cycling and nitrite is deadly to fish, even the slightest trace isn't good. after your nitrites go down you nitrates will probably go up, this would be a good time to do a lot of water changes. don't know if this helps or not..good luck. i hate watching sick fish and feeling helpless as well..