Question about flashing?

Question

I'm currently cycling my 20 gallon tank, and I've got 3 danios and a few white clouds. Just a minute ago, I noticed one of my danios flashing on the bottom and against some of the rocks. I shone a light on him, but I can't see any ich spots or anything unusual. This is the first time I've noticed any of my fish flashing, and he's the only one doing it. I just did a partial water change yesterday, too.

Should I take him out and put him in a separate tank, or just up the salt levels and raise the temperature as a precaution? I know 86 degrees is the standard for killing ich--will my fish be okay in such a high temp? How long should I keep it that warm? I'm a little worried about the ammonia toxicity if I raise the heat--should I do more frequent water changes/use AmQuel+ if I raise it?

(If I *do* end up taking him out, I'm not looking forward to catching him...man, those danios are fast little buggers =_=.)

Answer 1

Flashing is a sign of Ick or other external parasites (as you know), not internal issues. I would not hesitate to bump the temperature up to at least 85*, which does not kill Ick, it just speeds up its life cycle. The salt will kill Ick. Use either gradually add one teaspoon of non-iodized salt, or one cup of salt per 10 gallons (which I have successfully used to treat Ick in SCALELESS fish, but if you want to be safe, you can use less). Before adding any salt, you should do a 30% siphoning of the gravel to remove as much crap as possible. Do 10% siphonings every 3-4 days for two weeks, always being sure to add the amount of salt you removed (10% water change = add 10% of original amount of salt). If one fish has Ick, it is likely still in the water, either dormant, or attached to your other fish, so there is no reason to try to treat each fish individually... Email me if you have any questions.

Soop Nazi

Answer 2

It has intestinal parasites. Yes put it in a seperate tank. If you are trying to catch them, use two nets. Then if you put the danios inside the tank, treat them for it.