Flashing Fish, but not Ich

Quite a few of the fish in my 30 gallons are flashing, but I don't see any other symptoms. I have neon tetras, rasboras, and a pearl gourami in the tank and all species are flashing (I can't tell if everyone is flashing though).

I haven't introduced anything new to the tank recently, so I don't think it's ich. My water parameters look okay at 0,0,~20.

Any ideas why they might be flashing?

 

Quite a few of the fish in my 30 gallons are flashing, but I don't see any other symptoms. I have neon tetras, rasboras, and a pearl gourami in the tank and all species are flashing (I can't tell if everyone is flashing though).

I haven't introduced anything new to the tank recently, so I don't think it's ich. My water parameters look okay at 0,0,~20.

Any ideas why they might be flashing?

first stage of the ich parasite is internal when it looks like salt on the fish that is the last stage before it falls off and multiplies
it starts off internal and they will flash because of that
give it a few days and it may be visible but hey I could be wrong hope you find something out !!

 

But like I said, I haven't introduced anything new recently and ich can only get into a tank from an outside source. My gourami has been flashing occasionally for a couple months, but recently my other fish have started as well, and this has been happening for a few days.

I guess something that happened recently was a heater malfunction. The temperature shot up to 90F, but I caught it soon and brought the temperature back down. But I can't see how that might affect anything.

 

Flashing does not always mean ich is present.

My discus will flash if he is being irritated by something like another fish. This is the main reason a fish will flash, they are irritated by something in the tank.

Look for any other fish being overly aggressive, do a water change, and look for any symptoms of disease/injury (major fin tears, cloudy eye, popeye, bumps, open wounds, fungus etc)

 

If it continues, I would treat with PrazI Pro (praziquantel). It is a gentle treatment that works both for internal and external parasites and will not harm the bio-filter. I always treat my tank when I introduce new fish. The majority of fish will have to some extent flukes and other parasites. When you start seeing visible signs, its time to treat.

 

I forgot to mention, one of my neon tetras has been bloated for a few days to the point of pineconing. I did a couple Epsom salt baths. He's still bloated, but the scales have gone down.

I also recently observed one of my espeI rasboras chasing the others and looked like he was guarding another espei. But I don't think espeis court or pair off, so I guess this is aggressive behaviour. However, the espeI doesn't bother the neons.

As for meds, I just don't want to cause unnecessary stress either by using the wrong med or treating for something non-existent.

@CindiL, when you get new fish do you treat right away before you see symptoms?

 

I've used prazI pro as well with great success. I have loaches who are notoriously sensitive to medicine and they did fine with it.

 

I forgot to mention, one of my neon tetras has been bloated for a few days to the point of pineconing. I did a couple Epsom salt baths. He's still bloated, but the scales have gone down.

I also recently observed one of my espeI rasboras chasing the others and looked like he was guarding another espei. But I don't think espeis court or pair off, so I guess this is aggressive behaviour. However, the espeI doesn't bother the neons.

As for meds, I just don't want to cause unnecessary stress either by using the wrong med or treating for something non-existent.

@CindiL, when you get new fish do you treat right away before you see symptoms?

Sometimes I do, I always did when I had goldfish. Its a worming medication, can be used preventatively but doesn't have to. Once I introduce new fish if I see any signs of rubbing, flashing or any long thick white poop, I treat. It can be used for all marine life except will kill the flatworms in marine sand tank setups if they are being cultured. I have shrimp and snails and have never seen a negative impact.

One thing I would say is to not treat more than once every week. The medicine is active in the water for four days so I usually wait, do my normal weekly water change and treat again if I think its needed.

 

Do you typically do a full regiment of weekly doses or just one dose typically for preventative measures?

 

If there are no symptoms just one preventative dose. It seems to really help cut back on any new fish loss due to opportunistic parasites from the stress of not only being shipped to the store but then days or probably rarely weeks later to another home and another tank setup.

 

Thank you. If the symptoms continue, I'll see if PrazI helps.

 

Thank you. If the symptoms continue, I'll see if PrazI helps.

hows the fish ? was it ich

 

Thanks for asking. It's definitely not ich, but I still don't know what it is.

After I asked on here, I didn't notice them flashing again and thought I was imagining things or it went away. So I didn't get the Prazipro, but just a few days ago I noticed them flashing again :/

I'll probably get the PrazI this weekend. I'm just deciding whether I want the 1oz for $7 or 4oz for $15.50. I'll be treating for my 30 gallon so the 1oz should be enough since it treats for 120 gallons, but I don't know whether I'll need it in the future. The two bottles are also from different store: 1oz is closer and 4oz further.

 

You could always order them online as well. I have the 4oz and it's always handy when getting new fish as there is no harm in treating fish food with it.

 

Yeah, I'm kind of leaning on getting the 4oz since it's cheaper per oz and like you say, it's nice to have on hand. I'm just worried that I might buy it and use less than 1oz before it expires.

As for online, $15 is the cheapest in store and online (in Canada). That store has very competitive prices so I'm glad I live relatively near it (it's out of the way in my general daily routine) since I'd have to spend over $100 for free shipping with them.

 

Update: I got the PrazI and treated awhile ago and have been monitoring them since. They don't appear to be flashing, but even before the treatment, they flashed infrequently which is why I'll continue to watch them.

Just before I treated them with the Prazi, I saw my gourami with long white stringy poo, so I was able to confirm parasites. Now I'm thinking, maybe I should have treated my other tank which is right beside the infected tank at the same time. There doesn't seem to be any problems with my other tank so should I still treat it, just in case?

 

If it was me, I would treat as a preventative. Its gentle and effective. I generally treat whenever I add new fish to a tank.