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my platies get itchy?

20K views 20 replies 5 participants last post by  Rip 
#1 ·
lol that's what it seems like...

i have 3 female platies in a tank, and once in awhile i notice something weird. they'll swim up next to a leaf or a rock, and kind of turn sideways, and then swim so their body rubs up against the object. almost like they're trying to get something off their skin, or they just itch a bit. i assume i'm not the first person to ever notice them do it, but why are they doing this?
 
#4 ·
I've got to go, but I'm sure other people will help you out with this. It can be a pain, but it's fixable (if it's ich). I raised my tank temp to 86 and added daily dosings of quICK cure (you can find it at walmart) and it was all gone in 3 days:). Good luck!
 
#5 ·
Occasional flicking is fine but not frequent. Any other symptoms?

Do NOT treat yet! He said there are no white spots. Then look out for other abnormal symptoms than jump to conclusions and risk killing your fish. Forget the meds first and prioritize watching out for abnormal signs.
 
#6 ·
Ya, doht treat yet. is there anything different with the fish, any thing on it or coating it? sometimes theyll rub and scratch before the white spots appear, so once you see them, id treat the tank. you want to get rid of it as soon as possible
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#7 · (Edited)
i'm not gonna do anything. i wasn't suggesting that i thought they were sick, cuz none of the fish in my tank act sick, or look sick, including the platies. i just thought it was peculiar behavior, and was curious to why they do it. that's good that occasional flicking is fine, cuz it's only occasional. i only wondered if anyone knew why they occasionally "flick".

one bloodfin tetra has a white spot on it's back, but he's had it since i got him several weeks ago. it looks like a scar to me. and he doesn't act weird, and no other fish have gotten white spots since then.


i noticed the platies doing it a few weeks back, but then not at all until just today again. and they're not constantly doing it or anything. (and i observe them on a daily basis)
 
#8 ·
Scars are quite possible with fish. Flicking is caused by silt irritation usually especially if you are using sand.
 
#9 ·
I've had platies do this in the past and I'm starting to think argonite sand in my tank is the culprit. In one case I had a platy flicking off leaves right before she gave birth too. Please don't jump the gun and treat for Ich unless you see white spots. I did that once and it was a big mistake, leading to lots of unnecessary stress and death. I think it's better to take the conservative route and keep water free of ammonia and nitrite and monitor PH. Even if there is a parasite, the fish's immune system may be able to overcome it if water is clean and stable.
 
#10 ·
after observing the platies for the past few days, i see them doing it alot. i have 3 platies in a 55 gallon community tank. their tankmates are...

8 Bloodfin Tetras
6 Zebra Danios
5 Peppered Cories
3 Otos

no other fish have been seen flicking against plant leaves, only the platies. i've looked at every fish, and can't see any white spots, on any of the fish. sometimes if the light hits their body at the right angle, i might see a sparkle in their skin, but nothing looks white to me. only the platies exhibit any strange behavior at this point, but i'll be keeping on eye on things. also, i don't know if this matters, but i just recently converted this to a light to moderately planted tank.
 
#11 ·
I find this disturbing. Point a flashlight on them in the dark and see if there is golden sparkling dust around their bodies. Could be velvet but it's hard to say.
 
#13 ·
Do you have a hospital tank?
 
#14 · (Edited)
i have a second 10 gallon tank that only has 5 fish in it, but no, it's not being used as a hospital tank. i can see no white spots on any of the 3 platies. i kinda think i might be able to see a single spot on a few of the zebra danios, and a few of the bloddfin tetras, but some of them is only when the light hits it the right way. i've never seen ich before so i don't really know how obvious it is to see. i also don't see any white spots on the cories or the otos. if it is ich, and i have to add salt to the tank and raise the temp, can those 5 kinds of fish all withstand it?

the water is very clean. ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0
 
#15 ·
No treatment yet. Ich usually goes for the fins first so watch the fins for possible spots. I was just considering hospital tank as a possibility since you do need it anyway regardless of the situation. If this does happen to be ich, then you will need to treat everyone altogether. Nothing we can do much yet but observe them for other symptoms that will clearly tell us the exact issue.
 
#17 ·
10g minimum. It's much easier to deal with wacky water parameters than a 5g or anything else smaller. A tub may also work but a tank is more advantageous as you get to observe the fish from every angle whereas a tub will restrict your view to the top only.
 
#18 ·
last night i saw one of my Zebra Danios flopping around on the bottom of the tank on the gravel. he was falling on his side, and spazzing out. so i filled up a 1 gallon tupperware container that i use for water changes sometimes, and put him in there. after about 15 minutes of watching him, he seemed totally fine, so i put him back in the main tank. he sank to the bottom and started flopping around again, so i put him back in the tupperware container. when i first saw him flopping around, i thought i could see 3 white-ish spots on his back. i left him in the tupperware container until now, while i'm on my lunch break, and he's still alive ans swimming around like there's no problem. i'll be home for good in another 3 hours, then i'll try acclimating him back to the main tank and see what happens.

i still don't really see any white spots on the fish, especially not on their fins. a few have spots on their back if the light hits it at the right angle. on thursday i didn't hardly see the platies flicking against plant leaves at all, but then yesterday they were doing it alot again. so i don't know what's going on. and still no fish have died or have white spots on their fins. i'm thinking of doing a water change tonight. if anything, maybe it will help dillute the water if there's something in the water that's bothering them. last night i tested ph (7.4), both nitrite and nitrate were at 0, and ammonia was a hair over 0. yellow with a slight greenish tint.
 
#19 ·
yesterday one of my two baby bloodfin tetras died, day after a water change. the zebra danio from my previous post ended up being okay. my platies aren't flicking hardly at all today, but they still seem lethargic.

on 2-12, i added a small peppered cory to the tank, totalling 5. today, i've thought he's been dead a few times. he floats on his side at the top of the tank, but i'll blow on the water or something, and he'll swim back down, and then just hover in the middle of the tank, right side up.

something seems wrong in my tank. could it be some kind of a fungus or a bacteria? again, i've never seen what ich looks like, but i see no white spots on any of my fish. anyone have any other theories about what could be the problem in my tank? none of this really started until sometime after 02-04 when i started adding live plants to the aquarium.
 
#20 ·
my fish tend to do this sometimes it looks like there itching themself every now n then even my clown loach does it they bounce off the leafs it looks cute no signs of anything on my fish that do it.
 
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