inchy fishies

Question
i have had my fish tank for 5 months now and its been going great. I have 3 danios. 2 platies and more...

my question is one of my female danios have been like itchy. its scratching itself agains the gravel plants and everything. I first thought that is was stressed from laying eggs but it continued for longer... atleast 3 weeks now. I dont see any fin rot or any cuts but im just conserned is this normal??

Answer
My first thought would be parasites or possibly fungus. Are there any signs of parasites on the fish? For example white specks that look like salt? Or fungus, like white fuzzy patches? There are actually a lot of reasons why a fish would scrape. What are your water levels? PH, Nitrate, Nitrate, Ammonia... etc? I would start with a water change, removing as much water as possible. Repeat changing at least 50% of the water once a week. You can change less water (25%) if you do it several times a week. Does the Danio seem to be trying to scrape a certain part of it's body? For example her belly? I'd love to help you, but don't want to suggest treatment for parasites if it's fungus or vise versa... I would think the chances of it being internal parasites would be the best because you aren't seeing any signs on the body yet. You might try a treatment for internal parasites. These are usually readily available at any fish supply store. If you see signs of worms hanging from the anus, get back to me... this would be camalanus and requires a more aggressive treatment.