Texas cichlid flashing

I have a Texas cichlid and she keeps flashing (rubbing on things looks like she's launching off them) and there's no signs of any disease or parasites but I can't imagine why she's flashing. It's not constant, but she did it for a few minutes yesterday and again today. Can someone tell me if this is normal or if she's doing it too often and I should be concerned? Thanks!!

 

It's usually one of the first signs of Ich. Keep a very close eye on her. Make sure she is in her preferred temp range, not being harassed, just overall not stressed.

 

She's not stressed I don't think, she's the biggest one in the tank but I'll keep an eye on her. And I usually keep the lights off during the day (they still get daylight) and just turn them on so I can watch them in the evening

It's usually one of the first signs of Ich. Keep a very close eye on her. Make sure she is in her preferred temp range, not being harassed, just overall not stressed.

Would I be able to see ich more clear on the smaller fish in the tank?

 

Flashing can mean a lot of things. Have you tested your water? Ammonia irritation can cause fish to flash. Do the gills look inflamed or clamped? That could also be ammonia or skin/gill flukes. Skin flukes can also look like bruises on the body. ICH can also be a cause.

Or she could just have an itch. Just keep a close eye on her.

 

Would I be able to see ich more clear on the smaller fish in the tank?

I don't believe that the size of the fish matters.

 

Flashing can mean a lot of things. Have you tested your water? Ammonia irritation can cause fish to flash. Do the gills look inflamed or clamped? That could also be ammonia or skin/gill flukes. Skin flukes can also look like bruises on the body. ICH can also be a cause.

Or she could just have an itch. Just keep a close eye on her.

I am getting the master test kit tomorrow so I will test it then but I keep up on my WC and do them weekly. I checked for clamping of the gills and find and there's none of that. It's hard to see bruises on her because of her coloring

 

Yeah I don't see any obvious bruising or inflamed gills. But flukes can be hard to diagnose. If it turns out not to be ICH or ammonia and she continues to flash, I might consider a few doses of prazI pro to be safe and see if her flashing gets any better.

 

Ok I'll check the water tomorrow. It seems like she does it a couple times when she does. Not constant so maybe it is just an itch but I'll definitely keep an eye on it.

 

Here's my ph-


Nitrite-


Nitrate-


Ammonia-


After seeing this I don't think it's anything to do with the water unless you guys think otherwise?

 

el337 . What do you think of these readings. I'm color blind

 

To me, it looks like pH is 8.0, Ammonia looks to be between 0-0.25, Nitrite is 0 and Nitrates between 40-80. Unsure about the flashing but it looks like it's time for a couple of back to back water changes of at least 50%. How often and how large are your water changes usually? It's best to keep it under 20ppm.

 

Usually 30-40% change once a week

 

I'd bump that % up and see if those extra water changes help him.

 

Should I do 50% 2x a week?

 

I'd probably do 2 50% changes back to back to get those nitrates down. Then see what the nitrates are after 1 week.

 

2 WC in one day or do one today and one tomorrow?

 

I'd do it in one day. Spaced a few hours apart.

 

Ok sounds good

I just got done with the first one. Can I test my nitrates now or will I not see any difference till the 2nd one?

 

You'll see a difference, but your nitrates were so high I'd do a second 50% change in a few hours, then test. Write down what you/we think it is (mainly el because i'm terrible at judging colors) and then in a week test again and see how much your nitrates have risen. That will give you a good idea of how quickly your nitrates rise and how many water changes you need to do.

 

Ok I'll post what the test reads after I do the 2nd change in a few hours

 

I still don't think the nitrates is what is causing her to flash. Though nice clean water will likely help

 

Should I try adding some salt to the water to see if it helps?

 

I'm not a big fan of salt. So i'd wait until after all of the water changes before doing anything else.

 

Ok will do. Any other suggestions as to why she could be flashing?

 

Not outside of what I've already suggested. Ammonia/Flukes (skin or gill)/ICH are the ones most common that I'm aware of.

 

Here's my nitrates after the 2 water changes. Looks to me 10-20ppm now

 

Looks a little darker than 20 but not quite 40. Did you do at least 50% each? Perhaps another one is needed. Are you also thoroughly vacuuming your substrate and rinsing your media in removed tank water?

 

Yes on all of that. I can do another 50% change tomorrow if you think it'd help

 

It would definitely help.

 

Ok I'll do another 50% tomorrow

 

In process of another 50% WC!

 

Ok how does this look?!

 

Much better. Even with my color blindness...it looks good. I'll let el337 tell you the number. But write it down and test again in a week. We'll see how much it changes

 

Awesome!! My water looks so clear & clean!!

 

Yes, much better. I'd say 10-20 bc I can never tell those two shades apart.

 

Yeah I couldn't really tell either. So when should I test again? Midweek? I usually do my WC on Sunday/monday

 

I'd say Monday. Also try to see if your texas is still flashing or flashing as much this week.

 

Ok will do. I didn't see her do it at all yesterday

 

This is what my nitrates look like after a week

 

I'd say at least 40ppm. I'd do a minimum 50% weekly. Any flashing from your cichlid?

Edit: After your 50% water change, test nitrates again. If it looks like 40ppm (which means it was originally 80ppm), you'll want to do another 50%. That would mean your nitrates climb to 80ppm each week and two 50% water changes each week are needed 3-4 days apart.

What kind of filter do you have on this tank?