Snakehead Fish Problem

Nozebleed

I have a dwarf Snakehead (channa pulchra)..its currently in a 180L coldwater tank..i know its a tropical species..but he's been fine for the last 2 months or so the tank is 23 degrees at room temperature..

lately the poor guy has started scratching and twitching..quite bad. no visable signs of disease are present..but as a pre-caution i treated the tank for slim and velvet and then white sopt..2 weeks of treatment for both, with plenty of water changes..

but although he's not as bad he still seems to be scratching,head twitching wuth open mouth quite vigerously and then darts up for air at mad speeds..im not too sure what to do next..can anyone recommend further steps.

ValerieR

I don't know much about this particular fish, but, from your description, it sounds like he quite unconfortable about something indeed.
Some fish tend to dash and scratch when they have a touch of whitespot.
Which product did you use for the treatment?
What are your water parameters (both ammonia and nitrite should be zero).
I see on the web that the recommended temperature should be between 22 and 28. If I were you, I would quickly acquire a heater (they don't cost that much). This would ensure that the temperature is kept stable for the fish. Temperature variations would put the fish under pressure and could cause whitespot to declare itselft. The other reason for having a heater, is that you could rise the temperature to 28 ; this would have the effect of accelerating the regeneration process of the white spot organisms and make your treatment more effective.
I hope this helps.

ValerieR
www.irishfishkeepers.com

Nozebleed

yeah..i decided to stick the heater in this evening..the had fallen to 21 with the poor weather..so im gona keep it around 25...the product used for both slim/velvet & white spot were interpet no's 7 and 6. the fish did improve but still he's a bit pissed! hopefully the heater will do the buisness..they're a lovel fish..you should have a browse on youtube. thanks again.