"Rams will rub against the plants or substrate to stir up food, but will do it as a sign of dominance also."

[rebe]

Does anyone have an idea if this is true or not?

Grasping at straws really, I still have this minor issue with my male Bolivian ram flicking onto the sand. A single male ram, with corydoras and rasboras. No flicking or signs of illness in any of the other fish, and there isn't anything visually wrong with the ram other than this flicking behaviour. 52 gallon tank with plants, wood and sand. Water parameters are good.

The ram reverses a little bit, then flicks the substrate in front of him. Pauses, then does it again. Repeats a few times. He doesn't do it constantly but today I've seen him do this flicking behaviour 2 or 3 times.

I'm looking for an answer because I don't like not knowing what's going on with one of my fish, especially when it's something that is normally a sign of discomfort or illness.
I've uploaded a short video, the colour is all washed out but you can see the behaviour I'm talking about.

 

[GaryE]

That's scratching. He has gill parasites of some sort, probably flukes.

I can't suggest meds because there's a long swim between where we are, but look for something that treat flukes. They are pretty common. They also get around, so I would expect them to be on every fish.

The usual other option is Ich starting, if any new fish have been introduced. But that seems less likely.

I would avoid salt treatments with the Corys.

 

[rebe]

That's scratching. He has gill parasites of some sort, probably flukes

Thank you Gary!
I treated every tank with Flubendazole and sterilised my equipment a few months ago.
Could flukes come back after that do you think?
The only thing I've introduced the tanks since then are tissue culture plants. Maybe they were contaminated

I will treat again with the Flubendazole, that is supposed to treat flukes and worms.

 

[GaryE]

Tissue cultures should be clean.

Ammonia causes that, but your posts have always sounded like you were well on top of water changing. Flukes can survive treatments sometimes. Then they can slowly build up. It's hard to get parasites that get into the gills.

 

[rebe]

Flukes can survive treatments sometimes. Then they can slowly build up. It's hard to get parasites that get into the gills.

Thank you again!
I can treat with Flubendazole each time I see him start this flicking behaviour.

Would a UV steriliser filter help with this do you think? I can get a budget one on Amazon for 25-30€

 

[GaryE]

There, I'll defer to others. I don't know.

I expect the flukes are embedded in the gill tissue, so UV wouldn't get to them. I think they encyst, which makes them tough customers. A Mikrogeophagus like yours 'geophages' - sifts sand or earth eats, and so might pick them up more easily if they fell into the sand. Maybe. Just speculating.

 

[rebe]

A Mikrogeophagus like yours 'geophages' - sifts sand or earth eats, and so might pick them up more easily if they fell into the sand. Maybe. Just speculating.

I find it strange that I don't see any flicking or flashing from the corydoras. The ram must just be more sensitive then them.

 

[MaloK]

At the beginning of an infection they can take a while before establishing to the point of causing noticable disconfort.

A UVC light will help a lot in killing the parasites during their free swimming stage for sure. If you use a UVC light make sure that your filtration media and the fishes are not exposed to the light at all , it will kill them too.

I would also add a ICH medicine in addition of your Flubendazole. Anything that contains Formaldehyde, Malachite green, Copper sulfate. Will give a much broader range of effectiveness and give a good assistance to your flatworm medication.

If that doesn't cut it I would switch to Praziquantel.

Flubendazole is less effective or even not against Ergasilus, Dactylogyrus, Trichodina and Costia Necatrix (the most common gill parasites). than Praziquantel.

So the addition of a ICH targetting medicine would cover these at the same time.