Fish are scratching themselves

Today I witnessed my fish scratching themselves. They basically dive towards an object and scratch.

10 gallon. Cycled. 0 ammonia. PH is 7.4/7.6

Obviously ich is a suspect, but there really are no other signs of it. Skin looks healthy and they behave as they always have. I have many plants and invertebrates in it.

Somehow I managed to unplug the filter for a while which I think might explain the problem. It seems like since discovering this it has reduced scratching, though they still scratch some.

I'm thinking of throwing in a teaspoon of salt as a preventative measure.

 

By scratching themselves are they damaging their skin or just it really seems like they are scratching . I'm not saying they aren't scratching but more how hard are they doing it. Only thing I would reccomend is ICH. I would say it could be an internal parasite but that's ONLY if ich doesn't appear soon. What kind of fish are they .

 

1 betta
4 platys.

are not damaging themselves yet. All of them are doing it.

 

If you could fill out your aquarium info, that would help us to help you.

What temperature?
How long have the fish been in there?
You say cycled, 0 ammonia ok, what about nitrite and nitrates?
How long was the filter unplugged?

Also - no need for salt, it may only irritate them further.

 

I'm thinking velvet, flukes or internals.

 

I had assumed cycled. Turns out nitrites have a significant presence. 0.5-1ppm

 

OK, it could be nitrite poisoning coupled with the onset of ICH.

Your first step is to get the cycle completed.
And if not already, I would consider raising the temperature to around 80-82F, and add an airstone for oxygenation.

Daily water changes, using a good conditioner such as Prime or Kordon Amquel+ with Nova+

And maybe Tetra Safe Start. https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/q-a-with-tetra-about-tetra-safestart.58116/

 

Well, a 40% water change did the trick. I also threw in a teaspoon of salt. I hadn't realized that my water had gotten so brown, probably from the driftwood.

The ghost shrimp weren't too happy though.

 

Inverts don't do well with salt. It's really important to know any sensitivities that your species may have prior to medicating (salt is considered a med).

It's also really important for you to stay on top of your readings. If you tested within 24 hours of putting a dechlorinator in, you're probably getting false readings. I would suggest daily readings and water changes as demanded by the results of those readings.