Remove the inverts to an issolation tank.
How many gallons is the tank.
How many fish and which type.
Water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.
It wise not to medicate till you actually know what you are treating for.
Flicking and rubbing, and scratching can be bad water quality, parasites, ph, bacterial, irratation to meds.
Do the fish swim in a jerky movement.
Any signs of darting or erratic swimming.
Do the gills look red and inflamed, or pale with excess mucas.
Any excess mucas on the body of the fish.
Any red sores, or red pin prick marks on the fish.
Any signs of laboured breathing, or gasping.
Is there a greyish or blueish film on the fish.
Get a magifying glass and take a closer look to see if you can see any parasites on the fish.
Turn tanks lights and shine a torch on the fish for a gold dusting, golden yellow spots, or a rusty coloured varnish.
Are any scales raised.
removing the shrimp is gonna be tough because the tank is pretty well planted and decorated.
the tank is a 20 gallon long and its stocked with
1 dwarf gourami
6 white mountain cloud minnows
2 golden dojo loaches
3 corys (2 bronze, 1 albino)
3 african dwarf frogs
9 ghost shrimp
and 1 apple snail
the tank has been up for about a year now and is cycled and well-established. i just tested the water with a liquid kit.
ammonia- somewhere between 0 and .25ppm
nitrites- 0ppm
nitrates- somewhere between 20 and 40ppm
ph-6.8 or 7 (its tough to match the colors exactly)
Do the fish swim in a jerky movement. - no, maybe for a second or two after they scratch themselves. i spend a lot of time in front of the tank but i only witness the scratching about once or twice a day. this has been consistent for a couple weeks now.
Any signs of darting or erratic swimming. - same as above.
Do the gills look red and inflamed, or pale with excess mucas. - no, i took a close look and i don't see any redness or paleness on the gills. a couple of the white clouds as a whole appear significantly paler than the others at times though.
Any excess mucas on the body of the fish. - no
Any red sores, or red pin prick marks on the fish. - no
Any signs of laboured breathing, or gasping. - no
Is there a greyish or blueish film on the fish. - no
Get a magifying glass and take a closer look to see if you can see any parasites on the fish. - hm.. i dont have a magnifying glass but i got as close as i could.. no parasites were visible to me.
Turn tanks lights and shine a torch on the fish for a gold dusting, golden yellow spots, or a rusty coloured varnish.
Are any scales raised. - no, i didn't see anything worth speaking of during this either.
Some other stuff you might need to know... I change 5 gallons of the water weekly. about 5 days ago i decided to test the water (something i don't do often) and the nitrates were at 80ppm. i was a little shocked so I did a 50% water change. I guess my bioload might be too much for the once a week change.
I find it hard to believe that nitrates are my only problem though. The scratching did not begin until i bought the white mountain clouds just a few weeks ago. Now i've seen the corys scratch themselves too.
Also, white mountain clouds are a very hardy species so if nitrates were going to kill anything in the tank I really don't think a minnow would be the first to go.
i hope this can help you help me
