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View Full Version : Fish Behavior....what does this mean?



giroux68
02-26-2003, 09:34 PM
A few of my older fish have been shaking their dorsal and tail fins rapidly, rubbing against plant stems and drift wood. Today I watched as 2 of my youngest (2inch) started to shake together in unison.... I thought this might be a courtship display, but I have no idea.

ReeferKimberly
02-26-2003, 11:00 PM
well just shaking in front of eachother could be a sort of courtship but when u mentioned rubbing it made me think more towards some kind of parasite. i heard a lot of shaking usually means gill flukes but it could also mean a lot of different things. have you noticed any more unusual behavior or observed anything different looks wise? what color is their feces? do you see if any of them are breathing heavier then usual or out of only one side? questions questions...to get down to what it is and be sure we may need more info.

ps, some fish will just shake once in a while and it means nothing, but when it gets to be all the time then it's time to worry
kim :-*

BlueTurquoise
02-27-2003, 12:27 AM
If they shake then it is most likely courtship. But if they scratch themselves against something then I would be worried. It could be both, you never know.

Keep an eye on them, if they are sratching then that is definately not just courtship!

ps. Nice avatar pic Kim!

Carol_Roberts
02-27-2003, 12:53 AM
Constipated discus also shake and shimmy . . . . .

ReeferKimberly
02-27-2003, 02:01 AM
hey thanks chong!
it took me a while to find an animated one that could ift the 65 x 65 b/c i don't really know how to resize...
kim :-*

larry lob
02-27-2003, 05:30 AM
Hi,

Sorry but did you say 2 inch fish? i take it they are less than 6 months old? i seriously doubt that fish that young are showing, keep a watchfull eye on them some thing gave em an itch, had you just made a water change? maybe new water was a little off for them.

Eyes open keep us posted

HTH

Larry

giroux68
02-27-2003, 12:30 PM
One is now looking very dark and hiding out away from the others, breathing faster than the rest. I have added salt and turned up the heat. From what I have read here, I am thinking gill flukes. They all seem to not be eating at all either.

discuskrib
02-27-2003, 05:10 PM
definately not a good sign
you may also want to do a few extra water changes over the course of the next week as well.

Ardan
02-27-2003, 08:38 PM
Could be gill flukes.

praziquantel is pretty good for that. get it by email at billman@citynet.net

hth

amirnezhad
02-28-2003, 10:15 AM
Hi,

ham helper said that it could be kind of parasite! :(
Now I have 6 Discuses and 2 of them do just like what giroux68 said, their color turned to dark and they do not eat anything :-[
What can I do for this 2 poor fishes? Changing their place? adding some salt (or ...) to water? how much? turning up the heat? Please help me :(

Thanks

amirnezhad
02-28-2003, 10:34 AM
Hi again

I read some messages about adding epsom salt into tank, but I dont know what kind of salt do you mean? Is this is that kind of salt that added some iod in it or not?

Thanks?

giroux68
02-28-2003, 11:46 AM
Talked with a LFS guy yesterday for a while. Very helpfull. I decided to start with Paraguard in the tank first since I have a planted tank. The small white flea looking things have mulitplied at an unreal rate and can be seen on the plants everywhere. Fin fraying can be seen on a few more fish. The biggest are affected the least. Added 1 tbls./5galls of NON Iodionized table salt. I'm hoping this works and I don't lose the fish and the plants - Everything had just started to come together and then this......

Jeff
02-28-2003, 12:50 PM
Forget the plants and save the fish.

Carol_Roberts
02-28-2003, 11:33 PM
Time to clean the tank, filters and increase water changes . . . bugs and frayed fins = water quality problems

giroux68
03-02-2003, 02:28 PM
this photo is of the white bugs I have. Not the best but maybe someone can ID them.

giroux68
03-02-2003, 02:31 PM
A photo of one of the fish. He has white sploches on his side, poor quality photo, but they are all hiding in the corner. On the good side, the high fin cobalt looks like he is getting better. Eating, moving around, light color... Hoping the rest of them follow suit.

Carol_Roberts
03-02-2003, 04:28 PM
It's really hard to medicate fish in a planted, graveled tank. You should have a bare bottom hospital/quarantine tank where you can increase temps, add salt and meds without worrying about the effect on plants.

giroux68
03-02-2003, 04:36 PM
If you have the hospital tank and get the fish healthy in it, then return the fish to the planted, won't the bad things in the planted tank still be there? How long do you have to leave the planted tank with out fish before these parasites die off?

Also - does Paraguard kill off the bio filters?

Carol_Roberts
03-02-2003, 04:56 PM
Lets see, I think Paraguard is formaldehye and malachite green, so won't kill filter at doses on label.

You could try pulling all the fish out for a month and then sticking one back in to see if fish dependant parasite is dead.

You really need to get your planted tank under control without fish. Meds to take care of the bugs on plants may be harmful to fish. Meds to cure fish may be harmful to plants . . . .

Do you know what the plant/bug problem is and how to fix it?

giroux68
03-02-2003, 07:14 PM
Day 5 of the Paraguard treatment. Things are looking up!!
Bug population is going down and the fish are looking much better. NH4 was on the high side when tested today (that is why I thought meds might have killed the good stuff). keeping up with the 25% water changes. I'm hoping that I am thru the woods on this one. That will teach me no to have a Q- Tank.

Carol_Roberts
03-02-2003, 10:03 PM
I'm glad to hear they are doing better. Discus really respond to extra water changes :heart1:

jamesmcsyd
03-03-2003, 07:41 PM
I ofen have the same trouble, medicating in a planted tank. However, under normal treatment circumstances, the only meds that I know of that will kill of the plants is salt. Formalin will knock the bio-filter out a bit, but not enough to cause serious nitrite problems, especially if you are doing w/c.

I have found that trichlorofon and prazi will not harm the bio filter, nor any great effects against plants.

James

giroux68
03-05-2003, 02:50 PM
All is well. I think what ever the problem was is fixed, I hope. They are all healthy looking now and eating well. But that could be from the black worms that got here yesterday. You all weren't kidding about how much discus like these things!!