itching???

[bielbugs]

i noticed my clown loach rub itself against a couple times against one of my decorations... I thought I remembered reading a post somewhere that said this was a symptom of something but don't remember.

Does anyone know?

[Chrona]

Rubbing against stuff is a classic sign of parasites, in particular ick. I don't know anything about clown loaches, though, but I know they exhibit weird behaviors sometimes, so it may not necessarily be parasites.

[bielbugs]

i know clown loaches are prone to ich, I also know that some meds shouldn't be used because they are scaleless

[cocoa_pleco]

yeah, ich or anchor worms. i THINK melafix and pimafix can be used on scaless fish. NOT SURE

[bielbugs]

It seems that most people mention white spots... and I don't see any anywhere... I probably should go get some meds just in case. Should I wait and keep an eye on him to see if the behavior continues, or should I play it safe and medicate?

[Chrona]

Pimafix and Melafix does not treat ick, they only treat bacterial and fungal infections. Ick is a parasite that requires special stuff to be used. I think for most ick medications, it's like 1/2 the recommended dose for scaleless fish. I could be thinking about something else though. As for treatment, I personally like to hold out a little longer until I know exactly what is going on, especially when using medication that the particular fish doesn't like.

For ick, in particular, it's kind of pointless to treat early on, because rubbing means they are already infected. When the parasite is burrowed under the skin, it is effectively immune to any medications. You'll have to wait a few days for the white cyst to grow, and eventually pop out into it's free-swimming state before meds can actually do anything. So personally, I'd wait until you can actually see the little bubbles before treating for ick.

[Lady Hobbs]

Clowns are prone to ick so I've read but they're also weird-o's. I put slate in their tank because they go nuts over it. Skid across the thing on the sides of their faces and always rubbing themselves on it. They just like to mess around now and then and I also wonder if they don't sharpen their barbs this way.

Hard water can also cause fish scratching.....especially the scaleless type but if you see nothing, then assume nothing is wrong.

[cocoa_pleco]

if theres no visible symptoms, wait it out.

My clawed albino frog loved driftwood. For some reason, he would walk on his hind legs only on driftwood

[bielbugs]

thanks everyone, I'll continue to keep an eye on him but I'm thinking that he is just having fun

[cocoa_pleco]

having fun watching his owner pi$$ himself thinking hes diseased? lol

sometimes i think fish do that kind of stuff on purpose:1: :1: :1:

[bielbugs]

having fun watching his owner pi$$ himself thinking hes diseased? lol

sometimes i think fish do that kind of stuff on purpose:1: :1: :1:



LOL

I can believe that!

[cocoa_pleco]

yeppers:1: :1: :1: :1: