Damsel in distress?

[merjo]

Hi guys,

I am new to salt water fish hobby, i bought a damsel and i noticed that often times it will scratch its sides on the object in the aquarium

and also, it would brush its tail rapidly on the sand as if fanning it and scattering it all over .

Is this normal for a damsel to play around like this or is there something wrong? An itch maybe? He seems to be fine, eating well and even

very playful with other fish. Please advice what to do? Is this normal?

I have a medicine for fin rot, and ulcer and for other bacteria, is it ok to put a drop inside the tank or do i need to separate the fish?

Thanks in advance. Hoping to hear from the experts .

Best Regards

merjo

[albinosage]

Probably ich, but damsels are very hardy, it will probably survive it effortlessly. What you should worry about is the other fishes, monitor them and see if they have similar symptoms like white spots or skin lacerations, and don't add any new fish for the time being.

How old is your system and how many fishes are inside?

[yikai]

damsels seldom "play" with other fishes. urs seems to be very docile which is good... my $2 damsel killed a $50 fish and i was having trouble getting it out.

anyway, ur damsel seems to be suffering from ich. they are extremely hardy though... very hard to die.

[merjo]

Probably ich, but damsels are very hardy, it will probably survive it effortlessly. What you should worry about is the other fishes, monitor them and see if they have similar symptoms like white spots or skin lacerations, and don't add any new fish for the time being.

How old is your system and how many fishes are inside?

Hello binosage,

Thank you for the feedback. Basically, i have 2 fishes in my tank, and i think both are damsels, 1 blue and 1 4 stripes black and white. I just started and the tank is probably 3-4days old. I had 2 clown fish before and all died of itch and ulcer (just my guess after reading some info in the internet ).

I am already thinking of buying another clown fish but thanks for your advice. So is just alright to let the damsel survive the itch? and what will be the right time to add new fish? Sorry for many questions.

Best Regards,

merjo

[merjo]

damsels seldom "play" with other fishes. urs seems to be very docile which is good... my $2 damsel killed a $50 fish and i was having trouble getting it out.

anyway, ur damsel seems to be suffering from ich. they are extremely hardy though... very hard to die.

Hello LemonLemon,

Appreciate your reply as well, and sorry about your $50 fish, and i am glad you've mentioned about it, coz, i now know that damsels can attach other fish too He actually chasing other fish, I'm thinking maybe he is playing It does seem that he got itch alright, can i use the ulcer meds in the main tank?

Thanks for the feedback.

Best Regards,

merjo

[merjo]

damsels seldom "play" with other fishes. urs seems to be very docile which is good... my $2 damsel killed a $50 fish and i was having trouble getting it out.

anyway, ur damsel seems to be suffering from ich. they are extremely hardy though... very hard to die.

Hello LemonLemon,

Appreciate your reply as well, and sorry about your $50 fish, and i am glad you've mentioned about it, coz, i now know that damsels can attach other fish too He actually chasing other fish, I'm thinking maybe he is playing It does seem that he got itch alright, can i use the ulcer meds in the main tank?

Thanks for the feedback.

Best Regards,

merjo

[albinosage]

I just started and the tank is probably 3-4days old.

Hi Merjo, I think your problem might not be ich, but an inproperly cycled tank!

It is essential to "cycle" a tank for 4 weeks at least when you start an aquarium from scratch, if not your system will not be able to break down the ammonia and nitrite from the biological activities in your tank.

Your clown fishes probably died from ammonia or nitrite poisoning, and the damsel probably got the ich from the stress of swimming in his own pee and poo

You can google the terms "aquarium nitrogen cycle" to find out more about the cycling process. You can also do a search for "cycling" under the following sub forums:

New to the Marine Aquaria Hobby

Setup of a marine tank

There should be a lot of topics on cycling cos it is something that pops up every couple of weeks. If you're still unsure, post your questions and we will try to help

[merjo]

Hi Merjo, I think your problem might not be ich, but an inproperly cycled tank!

It is essential to "cycle" a tank for 4 weeks at least when you start an aquarium from scratch, if not your system will not be able to break down the ammonia and nitrite from the biological activities in your tank.

Your clown fishes probably died from ammonia or nitrite poisoning, and the damsel probably got the ich from the stress of swimming in his own pee and poo

You can google the terms "aquarium nitrogen cycle" to find out more about the cycling process. You can also do a search for "cycling" under the following sub forums:

New to the Marine Aquaria Hobby

Setup of a marine tank

There should be a lot of topics on cycling cos it is something that pops up every couple of weeks. If you're still unsure, post your questions and we will try to help

Thanks binosage for the detailed info. Yeah I'm guilty of it , guess I'll blame it on overly excitement...so far the fishes looks fine except for very occasional scratching hehe. I don't see any signs of slowing down and weakening. I don't know how long they're gonna survive though maybe I'll continue to observe for the time being. I will go through the forums you've mentioned and read as much as i can regarding tank cycling. Thanks for the tips.

Best regards