swimming funny

[drgallahad]

well i notice that today may fish are kind of swimming side ways( sometime). :fish: they are like rubbing on the rocks. it's my molly and platies. i have 4 molly and 4 platies and 2 cat fish in my 30 ga tank. i do 4 gal water changes every week. my tank been up now for about 6 weeks and my fish been in there for about 3 weeks. i guess i may need to add some meds but what kind? WoW what do i do next...:sconfused:

[tanks4thememories]

well i notice that today may fish are kind of swimming side ways( sometime). :fish: they are like rubbing on the rocks. it's my molly and platies. i have 4 molly and 4 platies and 2 cat fish in my 30 ga tank. i do 4 gal water changes every week. my tank been up now for about 6 weeks and my fish been in there for about 3 weeks. i guess i may need to add some meds but what kind? WoW what do i do next...:sconfused:

Hi, Always start with water quality. Please list your parameters:
Ammo:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
PH:
Temp:

[jay2487]

What you describe is called flashing or scratching. It occurs when a fish gets stressed whether by bad parameters or illness or aggression. It is basically trying to scratch off it's scales and slime coat. No, you don't immediately treat with meds when you see this, you always try to solve problems without adding chemicals to your tank. Believe it or not, most meds are more stressful on a fish than the disease itself. You need to get a test kit and tell us your parameters first. Your water is probably a little off on quality and is stressing the fish. If the parameters all come back good, check for tank aggression, maybe someone is picking on someone else. You said mollies and platys, maybe your water is too soft. Those are both livebearers, it could be that the females are stressed by being chased by the males. With livebearers it's important to have a good female to male ratio to avoid overstressing the females. These are all things you need to look into before you just go adding meds.

[drgallahad]

WOW all sound good, i tested my water and it all in good range. i think everybody is playing good with everybody i guess i need to watch more. I did my monday water change and i haven't notice anybody doing it lately. i had a tank when i was in college 25 years ago dont remeber all it work..:hmm3grin2orange:

[tanks4thememories]

WOW all sound good, i tested my water and it all in good range. i think everybody is playing good with everybody i guess i need to watch more. I did my monday water change and i haven't notice anybody doing it lately. i had a tank when i was in college 25 years ago dont remeber all it work..:hmm3grin2orange:
So what are the numbers please?
Ammo
Nitrite
Nitrate
PH
Temp