# Itchy Fish



## Ponyo (Jul 24, 2010)

I noticed tonight that all three of my platies are rubbing or flicking against plants and ornaments. They aren't doing it constantly, but often enough to cause me some concern. Two of them were added a few days ago. One seems to be doing well in spite of the itching and the other is spending a lot of time in a back corner and not eating much. I was hoping she was just stressed from moving. Water is testing zero for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. I can't see any white spots on the fish, so I can't diagnose Ich. Is there anything else that would cause the itchy behavior? I'm reluctant to try any treatments until I know for sure what this is.


----------



## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

turn up the heat gradually over these few days and do a water change.if the spots aren't there yet it's just the beginning of ich.


----------



## Ponyo (Jul 24, 2010)

Not the news I wanted to hear, but I kind of suspected Ich could be the problem. I'll keep an eye out for white spots, but probably can't crank the heat too high until I get an airstone. I hope I don't have to turn it up much past 80 because I have a couple white clouds in there. I usually keep the temp around 72.


----------



## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

ouch white clouds..those are gonna be a problem with the heat method


----------



## Ponyo (Jul 24, 2010)

Do you think the White Clouds could handle the high temps for the time it takes to treat Ich (4 days to a week)? What about salt? I really don't want to use copper or other treatments because they'll probably kill my plants and snail.


----------



## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

umm... can't do the salt thing either.ok lets do it this way.use rich ich it seems it's good for getting rid of ich. do not turn up temp and make sure you don't have any salt in the tank.the fish and plants should be ok.yeah i forgot you might need an air stone if the fish start looking like they need air


----------

