[mosasaur]

I've been out of the hobby too long and have forgotten too much.. right now, all I have is 3 tanks of guppies and in all three I have fish rubbing themselves against the plants ("glancing"). No visible parasites, no fungus, not even clamped fins. What could be the problem, and what is a treatment that would be safe for my plants? Parameters: the pH is about 6.8, TDS 148 with the water having a lot of calcium carbonate, no nitrite, less that 20 ppm nitrate. Water is crystal clear.

 

[sewingalot]

It sounds like shimmy, a common livebearer problem. Look for Molly Bright by Jungle Labs. A lot of times, it is comming from bad water conditions. I am thinking the breeder or pet store may have had less than ideal water for the guppies. Improved water quality will help a great deal.

 

[Church]

Before doing anything drastic, just add something to the tank like NovAqua, or something else that just adds more of that slime coat to the water. Often times this flashing behavior is the result of the fish "itching" from not having enough slime coat in the water, making their skin feel uncomfortable. Is this a new tank? If so, that's probably the only issue. I can't rule out parasites or anything, but it can't hurt to just try sliming up the water a bit first.

 

[mosasaur]

Not brand spanking new, but the 29G has been set up about 2 months with fish in it only for the last 2 weeks. The 25G has been set up 3 months, fish in it for 6 weeks. Does this qualify as new? I will try some Novaqua or an equivalent product - thans for the suggestion.

 

[sewingalot]

What is the water temperature? Really, its a common symptom of poor water conditions or vitamin deficiency, commonly D. Just feed them a well balanced food and change the water frequently and they'll usually clear up on there own. By the way, molly bright is nothing much more than a water conditioner for mollies: http://www.clubjungle.com/uploads/msds/Molly Bright.pdf

 

[mosasaur]

Water temperature

76 degrees, measured at the farthest from the heater.

 

[sewingalot]

Temperature is good, water quality is fine. Just keep up with the water changes for now and see if there is any improvement.

 

[mosasaur]

Temperature is good, water quality is fine. Just keep up with the water changes for now and see if there is any improvement.

OK, and I just added API's "Stress Coat".

 

[lauraleellbp]

Any improvement?

If the fish are still flashing, I'd treat for external parasites.

 

[Church]

^ Ditto.

 

[mosasaur]

I just checked the 29G, the one where glancing had been a real problem - several fish show definite signs of ich. Off to the store in a bit to get malachite green.... no plants yet in the tank but Elodea and Najas, so no real worries. If anyone has comments on malachite green, please let me know. It's good to raise the temperature to about 8o, isn't it?

The 25G - a few fish ocasionally flashed, but all look very healthy and I no longer see any flashing.

 

[Church]

Yes, raising the temperature helps to speed up the life cycle of the ich. Also a little aquarium salt is beneficial as well. Malachite Green will stain the crap out of your silicone and suction cups, among other things, so be prepared. I'd recommend moving the fishies to a QT, treat that tank with the malachite green, and then the tanks they came from can be heated up and salted.

I'm drawing a blank at the moment, but does anyone know if UV kills the free-floating ich spores? If so, I recommend UV'ing your tanks as well.

 

[lauraleellbp]

Yes, an UV would kill the ich when they're in the free-swimming stage.

Here's a really good article on ich:

http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml

 

[Church]

Wow, Laura, that's an awesome article! I have bookmarked it, and will refer to it in the future. Thanks!

 

[mosasaur]

I've bookmarked it, too.

I've started the kosher salt treatmment and have raised the temperature in the tank to 86. The problem is - I will be leaving a week from tomorrow and will be gone two weeks. Sunday and Monday, I will reduce the salt concentration (but not totally) and what happens while I am gone - happens. I have no big investment in the tank at this point. If the fish are cured, wonderful! If not, I have done what I could. I netted newborn fry from the tank - hopefully I did not transfer any Ich organisms with them - so i will at least have some genes from the guppies. Thanks for the advice, people, I do appreciate it.

No way to get a UV unit in time. This is the boondocks,, everything but VERY basic stuff is mail-order.