ChronicTyler

I;ve had the odessa barbs for about 2 weeks. Last night I noticed that the males and one of the females were rubbing against on piece of driftwood once in a while. I turned the heat up to 84. I dont see any white spots yet but their the only fish that appear to be rubbing against things. and its not all the barbs. only the 3 males and one or two of the smaller females. ( i have 7 odessa barbs all together) in the tank i also have 2 kribs, 3 cory and5 rainbow fish. no other fish seem to show any rubbing or weird behavior. I sadly dont have a quarantine tank though. my questions is... is it ICH? and should i begin adding medication or just keep the temperature high and see if any white spots appear? any chance the barbs could be spawning or something? because its only on one piece of driftwood that i notice. i have 3 others pieces in there.

hooxeii

Don't add medication, especially if you don't know if it's ich or not. You won't see ich until it is on the fish themselves. The heat prevents the ich protozoans from reproducing once they get to that stage of their life cycle.

What are your water parameters? Usually a pet store will test the water for free if you ask them.

I'd keep the temp high; be sure to increase the airation in the tank as warmer water holds less oxygen. If you don't have an airstone, it'd be a good idea to get one

Edit: Forgot to mention; if you're concerned it's spawning behavior, look up the species on youtube. There's tons of vids on there.

TedsTank

Flashing like that can be an indicater of a too hi ammonia reading. The other fish may not show those symptoms yet if the barbs are more sensative. Check you parameters as soon as possible. Can also possibly be a parasite of some kind.

Start with the parameter checks....its most likely off.
Don't worry about a parasite yet....only a possibility.