Fishes twitching head and scratching occasionally in display tank

[nayanjyoti2012]

Hi All,

My fishes are twitching their heads and also occasionally scratching against rocks and sand surfaces in my display tank. I already have a Quarantine setup but few fishes looked healthy so I added them without full quarantine.

So should I be worried if they can't outrun the ich or should I remove all my fishes before white spots actually appears?

Please help. Thanks

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hi All,

My fishes are twitching their heads and also occasionally scratching against rocks and sand surfaces in my display tank. I already have a Quarantine setup but few fishes looked healthy so I added them without full quarantine.

So should I be worried if they can't outrun the ich or should I remove all my fishes before white spots actually appears?

Please help. Thanks

Hello,

In the absence of any white spots, scratching and twitching is more commonly a symptom of flukes. You usually cannot see these directly, only the symptoms they cause.

Do you have access to praziquantel?

Jay

 

[nayanjyoti2012]

I'm from India so here we don't have prazipro

How is general cure?

 

[nayanjyoti2012]

Hello,

In the absence of any white spots, scratching and twitching is more commonly a symptom of flukes. You usually cannot see these directly, only the symptoms they cause.

Do you have access to praziquantel?

Jay

I mean API General Cure. I don't currently have it but have to look for.

Also if it's flukes, shouldn't I see white stringy poop
I don't see any as of now but just twitching, swimming fast, occasional scratching and also yawning.

 

[nayanjyoti2012]

Hello,

In the absence of any white spots, scratching and twitching is more commonly a symptom of flukes. You usually cannot see these directly, only the symptoms they cause.

Do you have access to praziquantel?

Jay

Also for flukes, can it spread in water. As for what I've read, flukes can spread if a fish eats poop of an infected fish.

Although I could see almost all fishes developing symptoms at the same time.

But in quarantine, where I'm using copper, they're not showing any signs of twitching..... etc

Sorry for asking so many questions. I'm just a beginner so really want to understand this

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Also for flukes, can it spread in water. As for what I've read, flukes can spread if a fish eats poop of an infected fish.

Although I could see almost all fishes developing symptoms at the same time.

But in quarantine, where I'm using copper, they're not showing any signs of twitching..... etc

Sorry for asking so many questions. I'm just a beginner so really want to understand this

Flukes don't spread by fish eating waste from other fish (internal parasites will do that though). Flukes produce swimming offspring from either eggs or larva produced by the adult flukes. These can then infect other susceptible fish. Copper does not help with flukes though. If the fish seems better under copper, I would continue with that - there could be some protozoan that is causing the scratching (although is more rare to see).

Jay

 

[nayanjyoti2012]

Flukes don't spread by fish eating waste from other fish (internal parasites will do that though). Flukes produce swimming offspring from either eggs or larva produced by the adult flukes. These can then infect other susceptible fish. Copper does not help with flukes though. If the fish seems better under copper, I would continue with that - there could be some protozoan that is causing the scratching (although is more rare to see).

Jay

Thanks for sharing.
Protozoan parasites like? Ich / Velvet?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks for sharing.
Protozoan parasites like? Ich / Velvet?

Ich mostly, velvet usually causes rapid breathing. Brooklynella can also be an issue.

Sometimes, particles floating in the water can cause fish to scratch - they land on the fish’s skin and they think it’s a parasite, so they scratch.

 

[nayanjyoti2012]

Okay noted. I'll treat for both ich and flukes. Praziquantel I should think how to find