My loaches and catfish seem to be scratching themselves against the driftwood in my tank?

Question

It just started yesterday, it looks like they are rubbing their gills. What illness is most likely the culperate. Will Aquari-sol do the trick, I have already raised the temp to 85 and 25% water change (all water properties are good).

Answer 1

It is almost without a doubt a parasite. The most likely answer is ich. Other parasites can also cause this type of behavior, but certainly ick is the most common. Since you don't know for sure what the actual parasite is the best course of action is to treat with a broad parasite medication that would kill the ich as well as other potential problem parasites. I would suggest clout as a good choice. Be very sure to read carefully concerning the dosage levels for treating scaleless fishes!

MM

Answer 2

Sounds like Ich, How long have you had the tank running? And are any of the fish new? I had this problem before where I bought a catfish that should have been brackish water (the store had him mislabeled and I was still new to fish) and when he got sick my whole tank came down with ich and wiped out about 90% of my tank. If it is ich it will attack their gills and start to show white spots, besides rubbing on the drift wood they should be swimming up by the water flow trying to breathe. If this sounds like what they are doing check out this site. It will help better diagnose and treat.

Answer 3

My fish started doing that when they became infected with ich. Also, there is a fungus called fin rot that will cause them to do that. Keep an eye on them. If their skin starts becoming speckled with white dots, as if they had been salted, then that is ich. If their fins start to turn white, that is fin rot. Try Quick Cure, it is formulated to cure ich and fin rot.

Answer 4

You are probably keeping the tank too clean. Your fish feed on the debris at the bottom of the tank.

Answer 5

You don't say what kind of catfish, but when my corys were laying eggs they rubbed against everything, the male too because he was fertilizing them.

Answer 6

hi there
it seem to sound like a illness my fish had once its called either body slime or eye cloud
what i did is went to any pet store and bought a package or 2 of this stuff that is called FUNGUS CURE it works really good and it cures any ick, fungus,body slimes ,eye clouds ,etc.....here are 2 types of fungus cure they are top of the line product and are highly recommended


http://www.aquariumguys.com/funguscure1.html http://www.animalworldnetwork.com/fucuca8ca.html



i hope this helps u
and good luck!

Answer 7

Check the ammonia!

Answer 8

It does sound like the start of a parasitic infection, however before treating you want to be sure. Are your fish showing any signs of white spots, cottony patches or black spots? Not all fish flashing can be attibuted to the ich parasite. However if you see a few white spots or bloches, it is always best to catch it in an early state, however these two types of ich are treated differently so you need to ensure they do infact have one or the other. Also not all ich is white, there is another parasite known as black ich.

here is more on ich, what it is and how to treat it.

Cryptocaryoniasis, White Spot Disease or Marine Ich is caused by an infestation of the ciliated protozoan Cryptocaryon irritans. Although Cryptocaryon becomes a parasitic organism at one stage in its life cycle like Oodinium and Brooklynella do, and it progesses less rapidly than these other ich diseases, in a closed aquarium system it can reach overwhelming and disasterous numbers just the same if it is not diagnosed and treated upon recognition.

Unlike Oodinium and Brooklynella that typically attack the gills first, which allows these ich diseases to advance into life-threatening levels quickly as they go unnoticed, Cryptocaryon usually appears at the onset as salt-sized white spots visible on the body and fins of a host fish, and when the organisms become parasitic, it is then that they move inwards to the gills. Because crypto is more easily recognized in its beginning stage, this makes it much easier to treat and cure before it gets out of control.

Aside from the appearance of the white spots, fish will scratch against objects in an attempt to dislodge the parasites, and rapid respiration develops as tomonts, mucus, and tissue debris clogs the gills. Fish become listless, refuse to eat, loss of color occurs in patches or blotches as the trophonts destroy the pigment cells, and secondary bacterial infections invade the lesions caused by the trophonts.

Although copper is very effective on Oodinium, and it works well to eliminate crypto organisms in their free-swimming tomite stage, it is not as effective on the Cryptocaryon trophonts that burrow deeply into the tissues of fish. A combination of freshwater and formalin treatments adminstered by means of dips, baths, and prolonged treatment over a period of time in a QT is recommended

Reinfection will occur no matter how effectively the fish have been treated if Cryptocaryon is not eradicated from the main aquarium, which can be accomplished by keeping the tank devoid of any fish for at least 4 weeks. For fish-only aquariums hyposalinity can be applied, and to speed up the life cycle of the organisms, elevate the tank temperature to 85 degrees for 10 days to 12 days. For treating reef tanks, FishVet No-Ich Marine, Ruby Reef Kick-Ich, and Chem-Marin Stop Parasites are Cryptocaryon specific remedies that are said to be "reef safe". Several days prior to returning fish to the main aquarium, clean all filtering equipment, change any filtering materials, and do a water change.

Remember to remove all filters media and turn off protein skimmers when treating for any types of Ich.

Although many over-the-counter remedies contain the general name Ich or Ick, carefully read the product information to be sure it is designed to specifically target and treat "Cryptocaryon"

Brooklynella hostilis - these protozoa reproduce asexually by means of simple binary fission through conjugation, which is why they are able to multiply so much more rapidly than Cryptocaryon (White Spot), and Oodinium (Velvet Ich), and why it can kill fish within a few days and even hours upon recognition

Most similar symptomatically to Oodinium, this too is a parasite that primarily attacks the gills first. At the onset fish may scrap up against objects, rapid respiration develops, and fish often gasp for air at the surface as the gills become clogged with mucus. Fish become lethargic, refuse to eat, and colors fade, but the most noticeable difference that sets Brooklynella apart from Oodinium is the heavy amount of slime that is produced. As the disease progresses a thick whitish mucus covers the body, usually starting at the head and spreading outward, skin lesions appear, and it is not uncommon for signs of secondary bacterial infections to arise.

Suggestions range from copper, malachite green and other remedies, with some recommended being used in conjunction with formaldehyde. However the general consensus is these types of medications are either largely ineffective or do not work at all, and that the best and most effective treatment for Brooklynella is formaldehyde alone. Typically a standard 37% formalin solution (shop & compare prices) is mixed with either fresh or saltwater in a separate treatment container, initially all fish are given a quick dip or a prolonged bath, followed by continued treatment and care in a QT. Of course the longer fish are exposed to the formalin treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this "disease". Whether to administer a dip or a bath to start with is something you will have to determine yourself, but there's a very simple way to do this.

Since these are Free swimming parasites which are in watersources, come attached to our fish etc. The only way to ensure NO ICH is to get a UV Sterilizer and addit to the tank. The UV Sterilizer kills the free swimming forms of various ich and other parasites.

Black ich
Black Ich disease appears as small black spots distributed over the fish's body. The spots are about half the size of a pinhead or smaller. They are primarily found on the body and are are especially easy to see on light-colored body areas or on the transparent areas of the fins. Affected fish will scratch on the bottom or other aquarium objects. Other signs of the disease include lethargy, development of a pale body color, and lack of appetite. The disease is caused by a small worm known as a tubellarian. After parasitizing a fish, the worms develop on the fish's skin and gills and acquire dark pigmentation. They are freely mobile and will tend to move over the surface of the fish. After five or six days depending on the environmental conditions, they drop to the bottom of the aquarium. There they mature, with the development of the young worms within their body. Once the development of the young is complete, the adult worms burst, releasing the free swimming young that infest new host fish. The worms can be controlled with various commercially available medications. Formalin based products or those containing organophosphate compounds such as trichlorfon appear to be the best medications. In addition to the use of medications, any excessive buildup or organic material and debris should be siphoned from the aquarium several times during treatment. Since the young worms develop on the aquarium bottom, the removal of debris will aid in controlling the disease by reducing their numbers.

Hope this helps