# Fish twitching



## Baos (Apr 22, 2010)

After using three different treatments my fish still continue to twitch and have white poop.

My tank is not the cleanest as I was using the walstad method with soil. Only I choose the poorest quality soil there is. I am slowly removing it a few cups every change. The water is very turbid and often full of diatoms or brown dust algae.

I have treated with jungle parasite clear with praziquantel for about a month.

I have treated with prazipro for about a month.(at about 1 and 1/2 dose)

And I have treated with salt. I used enough salt in the tank to kill off my water hyacinth but I didn't keep track of exactly how much.

They seem to twitch less for a while but it always returns. 

Is it possible whatever parasite is able to hide in the dirt?
Is it possible I have something else wrong?


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## jiang604 (Apr 21, 2010)

the twitching like if scratching on objects maybe because of external parasites. possibly flukes. White poop =/ internal parasites is most likely the case. I have used prazi pro but to no anvil. Try using epsom salt as that will cause it to poop out faster + maybe levamisole from Patrick in Canadian aquatics.


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## Baos (Apr 22, 2010)

no scratching on objects.


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## Death's Sting (Apr 21, 2010)

what are ur water parameters?


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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

thay might have gill flukes and the white poo can just be stress are the fish still eating ? With the parzi por you need to have the right temp and use the right dose.


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## kbuntu (Apr 21, 2010)

White poop is often a sign of internal parasites in the digestive tract. You could try Paracide-D or any other internal parasite medications.


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## Baos (Apr 22, 2010)

Guaranteed the fish are stressed. I have the tank holding a few warm water fish who can't survive in colder water. However these fish fare far better in cold water. Perhaps to the disapproval of my fiance I should setup a temporary tank just for them and drop the temperature then try the prazipro again.


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## davefrombc (Apr 21, 2010)

Another possibility is the fish are being irritated by something in the soil and the medications .. I would risk the disapproval of your fiancé and set up another tank and move all the fish into it .. minus the soil and meds, and minimum salt , if any .. See if the twitching and white poo stops. Clean up the affected tank, change the substrate to something more suitable for the fish and move them back. Remind your fiancé it is your hobby and pastime ... You could take up booze , drugs and a roving eye for a hobby if she really dislikes your aquariums that much  Duck when she responds .


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## darb (Apr 21, 2010)

try and watch and see where they are flashing, in the gill area or all over their body.

If they are flashing on the gill area it could be parasites, it could be a bacterial gill infection or it could be your water parameters. Typically water parameters would be A/N/N, but your your case I would be suspicious of there being something in the soil mix that is irritating the gills.

Pazipro and Jungle tabs are both the same active ingredient, which is praziquantel. As long as you followed the dosing directions on the bottle it is safe to assume that it either was not effective against the parasite, or there is no parasite. No point in trying it again.

Salt can be effective, but I have read that you need to bring the salinity up to 1.010 to ensure that you have killed off all freshwater parasites. I am guessing that your water hyacinth died off at 1.02, maybe at the most 1.05.

If it was me, I would move the fish to a hospital tank (what kind of fish BTW), wait and see if the new environment solves the flashing issue and then consider further meds if the problem persists.


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## Baos (Apr 22, 2010)

The fish that show the signs are Australherlos red ceibal. Here is a link that explains all about them http://www.cichlidae.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4826&start=40&hilit=centurion

It's not flashing, just a slight twitching that has no stimulus. I'll see if I can get a video of it later. At one point I used to believe it was a fake charge.

As for the soil, in the beginning it killed off a few fish. I was told it would settle down. Maybe there is still something wrong with this soil. Lesson #1. Never put anything called BLACK DIRT in your tank for a npt. get miracle grow organic choice.


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## darb (Apr 21, 2010)

Baos said:


> As for the soil, in the beginning it killed off a few fish. I was told it would settle down. Maybe there is still something wrong with this soil. Lesson #1. Never put anything called BLACK DIRT in your tank for a npt. get miracle grow organic choice.


that would be my first priority then, there could be any number of chemicals and additives. you could redo the whole tank, or move the fish over to a hospital tank to see it it solves the problem first.


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## Baos (Apr 22, 2010)

I don't have a holding tank big enough for all of them. I'm going to take out whatever I can scrape clean from the dirt and do a daily 90% water change. Each day they seem to replace the dirt that I took it from so after a few days I shouldn't have much left in the tank. One thought was that they could have h2s poisoning. The dirt definitely has a bad smell. Not sure I would describe it as rotten eggs though. Rather and earthy decay.


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## catgoldfish (Apr 21, 2010)

Dude get rid of the dirt. Clean it all out. Just get a 68L clear rubbermaid storage tote to use as your temp tank. Clean out the aquarium and bleach it . Start over.


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## BettaGuy (Apr 22, 2010)

I'm curious, have your fish stopped eating? I attempted to treat a friend's betta with maracyn 2 with the exact same symptoms. Only, aside from random head twitching, hiding behind the filter, and white poop, the fish stopped eating altogether and died after treatment ;( I hope your fish pull through!


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

I like Catgoldfish's idea of moving your fish into a Rubbermaid bin and getting all the dirt out of your tank, washing it and then setting it up again. You could even keep your fish in the bin with a heater and filter for awhile until debris in your tank settles down. 

You'll probably end up with a tank that you're happier with and your fish will be happier, too. Maybe there's a lot of manure or something in your soil, producing ammonia. It's hard to say.


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