Fish Glancing

Question
I have a 75 gallon tank that is approximately 2 1/2 months old.  I keep 5 cichlids (Ahli, Bumblebee, Red Zebra, Electric Yellow, and another one -not sure of the name) as well as 2 Synodontis cats.  They all get along beautifully.  When I started the tank, we experienced New Tank Syndrome, and it was a battle.  We did water changes nearly everyday, added Biozyme, and finally made it through without any fish loss.  However, since the start up of the tank, the fish have all had glancing behavior.  I did treat the tank, after we got it leveled out, for ich (even though there were no "visible" signs of ich on the fish) in the hopes that it would stop the glancing behavior.  It didn't and they are still glancing.  The fish appear otherwise very healthy, active, and eat well.  Are there any other reasons as to why they would glance?  I can tell you that the cats don't do it - the cichlids do.  I am trying to find info on the web, but it all leads me back to ich.  Any suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated. - Rebecca

Answer
Hi Rebecca:  The glancing behavior is indicative of a skin irritation and while that would present as a beginning symptom of ICH it is not always associated with the parasite.  It may well be that the fish have an irritation from a water chemical that does not appear on the test strips.  I would treat them with Stress Zyme which is a great product for just this kind of situation.  It helps the fish maintain their slime coat which is a slick film that covers the fish.  If after you treat them they are still glancing then please let me know... dave