Why are my fish flicking or scratching themselves.
We scratch because something is irritating our skin.
Well so do fish when they have something clinging to their scales. Fish scrape themselves against pond surfaces to try to remove the offending organisms.
You can tell if this flashing behaviour is taking place by noticing a silvery or white flash as the fish twists and turns exposing its underside. The occasional flash is nothing to worry about but persistent flashing needs attention.
Parasites is the most common reason why fish flash.
There a number of parasites that attach themselves to the body of fish and bore their way into the body for example Lernea elegans or anchor worm. Close observation by netting the fish will reveal whether or not there are such parasites attached to the body. For those much smaller parasites it might be necessary to take a scrape from the fish's body and examine it under a microscope to look for moving organisms.
How to take a mucus scrape.
- Catch the koi or goldfish in as gentle a way as possible and bring to the edge of the pond.
- Carefully lift the net and fish until part of the body is exposed. Then in a single movement using a glass microscope slide draw the edge of the slide along the flank of the fish from head to tail to make sure you don't damage the scales of the fish. Release the fish after gathering the mucous.
- Prepare the sample of mucous for microscopic examination (100X or more) by making a level film between two glass slides where the one slide is used to distribute the mucous evenly .
- Look for moving bodies under the microscope or regularly shaped bodies in order to confirm the existence of parasites.
- To find out which parasite it is try this websiteor use an authorative koi book. Then select an appropriate treatment for that parasite.
It is unlikely that the treatment will remove all parasites but the concentrations will be reduced markedly.
The more common parasites to infect fish are Trichodina, Chilodinella fish lice (Argulus) and anchor worm (Lernea elegans).
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