Flashing caused by something besides ich?

[TammyLiz]

My 5 yoyos have settled in nicely and seem very happy in the tank. They are always out and about. I think I've seen one duck into one of the caves for a moment maybe once or twice.
But, yesterday I saw one of the yoyos rubbing his side on the bottom again! There are no spots on him or any other fish in the tank. There were no spots on him before, either, and he was the one that was flashing the most. Now I'm wondering if it really is ich. Could there be another reason for him to be flashing? I haven't seen a spot of ich in a few weeks and here he his flashing again. I've had them for about a month now.

Tammy

[Wendie]

I have three kribs that suddenly started flashing about three weeks after they were in my tank. I didn't see anything at all wrong with them until one day I spotted a white dot on the tail. Needless to say after careful inspection they all had white spots on their tails.

Mind you I've been slowly treating them for two weeks now and hopefully most of the spots are gone. The strange thing is that none of the other fish in the tank every came down with the ick. Just those three.

[Martin Thoene]

While flashing may be a symptom of Ich, it can be caused by many things, but basically it's a sign of irritation.

If we have an itch, we scratch it. If it's in the middle of our back where we can't reach we rub it against something or get someone else to scratch it.

Fish do not have the luxury of fingernails to alleviate itching, so rub against something in an effort to stop the tickle.

Every time we get an itch, we don't assume we're coming down with a deadly disease, so don't panic until there's a reason too.

Sometimes something as simple as a water-change can stop the flashing.

Martin.

[TammyLiz]

Ok I actually skipped last weeks water change because my sister had her baby.
So maybe that was the reason, Martin, and I don't have anything to worry about.
And Wendie, I'll keep an eye out in case what happened to your kribs happens to my yoyos.
I am beginning to lean more towards the belief that ich can lay low in a tank and pop up at any time. I know some people think thats silly but it must be true in some tanks. I don't believe its in EVERY tank, though.

Tammy

[Rod]

I think I read somewhere it is in every tank, and takes hold when fish stress or get ill...

I think....

[Wendie]

It would not surprise me. Out of a clear blue sky I saw one spot on one of my big female bettas in a tank that is completely separated from the other group of tanks and in another room. It has it's own tools and there is no contact between the two tanks. I even work on the tanks on different days and always clean up before doing anything else. I have four separate groups of tanks.

What really puzzles me is the fact that none of the other fish in the tank even showed a single spot. Those poor fish had at least 4 spots on each tail. I used ick guard for scaleless fish on them.

[barbara]

What really puzzles me is the fact that none of the other fish in the tank even showed a single spot. Those poor fish had at least 4 spots on each tail. I used ick guard for scaleless fish on them.

actually it may not be that unusual for only some fish in a tank to succumb to ich. i've seen three different tanks evidence ich...first in the first tank i had where only the platies got it and not the mollies or swordtails and then (years later) a loach tank where the clowns and mollies* had it but not the rosy barbs or striatas...and the third situation....well i caught that early and i think that only one or two striatas showed ich whereas the kubotai never did. that being said i suppose it is possible although it seems somewhat improbable to me that those who didn't show it on the exterior of their bodies may have be infested in the gills which is the usual place where it first takes hold...

*the mollies usually would not be in with clowns but this was a temporary situation...just wanted to mention that as i would not recommend mollies and clowns in the same tank under normal circumstances.