scratching it self

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shawn7xm
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2014 6:06 pm

scratching it self

Post by shawn7xm »

Hi I am new to the cichlid world. I have set up my tank, I cycled my tank, I do regular water changes and I test my water. But my African cichlids are scratching themselves. iterated my water, then changed my water and they started scratching themselves again. what can I do to stop it also what can I do to prevent it in the future???
Pam Chin
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Re: scratching it self

Post by Pam Chin »

Hi Shawn,

Sometimes you have play detective, and use the process of elimination to solve these issues.

But first off I would say African Cichlids are known to be scratchers, and as long as you don't observe any ich, or other parasites, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
It could be caused from lots of things: Are your pipes in your house copper? Copper is a known irritant to fish. Are you adding salt to your tank?? Salt is also an irritant, and could make your fish want to scratch. What kind of substrate do you have? sand/gravel? What is your water source, is it a well or city water? City water could have many different additives and more are added at different times of the year.

You might want to consider adding a water conditioner when you do a water change. Many of these help build up the slime coat on your fish which can help protect it. Like these products…..
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=12593

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=4025

These types of products are really non toxic to fish, so you can't use too much. They are standards in the hobby and you should be able to find them anywhere.

Something else to consider that you didn't mention was your pH…. Lower pH contains more acids, the closer you can get your fish to higher pH like 8.5+ may eliminate these issues as well.

Everyones water is different, so its tough to come up with a straight answer, sometimes you just have to play around with it.

Consider some of these points and if you have further questions please feel free to ask. Just start a new question.

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Pam
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