A male red zebra's interesting behavior

[dawnflyer]

I set up my tank a week ago and added a mature sponge in the external filter to get everything going. I've got a bn plec and 2 new red zebras in there, with ocean rock and play sand substrate from homebase. First couple of days I had slightly elevated ammonia and nitrite levels - 0.50 and 0.25, so did a 90% water change. Next day they were still a bit high - 0.25 and 0.50 - so another 90% change. Now my water stats are looking good, 0 ammonia and nitrate in a decent range.

The powerhead does stir up a bit of sand near the filter, which is good as it moves the waste towards the filter. But one of the zebras has got a bit of red under his pale pink body and he's flicking about on the sand near the powerhead. I'm wondering if this is just a reaction to the big water change and the not-so-great water for a couple of days, or if it could be something like gill flukes. The bn plec and the other zebra seem fine, just this one that's acting up.

[Cobyx]

Have you taken a closer look at the fish for any signs of parasites, particularly on the one that's flicking near the powerhead?

[dawnflyer]

Haven't examined the fish for parasites yet.

[lentoa]

Did you use a water conditioner to remove chlorine and chloramines from the tap water?

[dawnflyer]

Stress coat was used, possibly the aloe in it's helping, Prime was my go-to dechlorinator but I've just reordered some as I'd run out.

[Cobyx]

I'm not familiar with keeping plecos on sand, is it possible the grains are irritating the one with the red patch, or is this more likely related to the water issues you had?

[flair9]

The flicking is likely due to water quality issues or irritants, possibly parasites, but in your case it's probably just the elevated ammonia and nitrite levels that need to be sorted ASAP. I've never seen my pleco, who's also in a sand tank, exhibit this behaviour.

Edit: I've had issues with Stress Coat in the past, it really irritated my corys and I've since switched to a simple dechlorinator, keeping things straightforward.

[dawnflyer]

The pale red zebra's the only one flicking, but it's stopped now I've taken out the powerhead and turned off the lights. Just the one red zebra doing it, the other and the plec are fine.

Maybe Stress Coat's the culprit, I've heard mixed things about it. Prime's on the way, so I'll do a water change as soon as it arrives.

Levels are good now, bacteria's caught up, so fingers crossed the flicking's just a one-off thing.

[duojanae]

I came across something the other day saying cichlids, and a lot of fish actually, rub against the sand and it's pretty normal, more of a habit thing. My malawis tank's parameters are all good, fish are healthy, no signs of damage or anything, and most of them do this.