Fish is splasing water constantly

[artieg1]

I have a male leopard wrasse, 3 inches long. 2 females in the tank as well, but they are model citizens. The male leopard wrasse has started swimming at the top of the tank and intentionally splashing his tail at the top and sending water running down both sides of the tank. He jumps up there like he is startled, and skims along the top splashing water left and right. Well, not "constantly", but regularly, several times a day. Every day I wipe the tank down and by end of the day both sides are streaked with salt lines. And salt all over floor, couch, etc. Have had him in the tank for 5 months, and this just started 2 weeks ago. No recent additions. No predators in tank. No recent changes I can think of. He is otherwise eating and functioning normally.

I am going to remove his little mischievous butt if I cannot fix this (it is killing my enjoyment of the tank), but wanted to see if anyone could think of any other intervention or solution? We don't have a particularly startling environment in our living room. Could it be a mating thing? Temporary (wait it out)?

Thanks!

 

[SandJ]

My chromis does not like to grab floating food off the top of the water, so he will hit the food and make it sink. I am guessing it isn’t a feeding time thing?

 

[4FordFamily]

That's very odd behavior for a wrasse. Can you post a video of the fish? (it need not be doing what you describe, just so we can assess the general condition of the fish)

 

[JDtimk]

Glass lids might do the trick?

 

[artieg1]

Here is a photo. It does not do it when feeding. It will just occasionally swim to top and splash its tail against water darting forward. Have a screen top, so water gets through.

 

[4FordFamily]

Here is a photo. It does not do it when feeding. It will just occasionally swim to top and splash its tail against water darting forward. Have a screen top, so water gets through.

Beautiful fish, we need a video so we can assess whether this is behavioral or perhaps some ailment. I’d like to see it swimming in its element for ~30 seconds or so.

 

[SinCityRee4r]

Is he trying to gain attention of the female wrasse?

 

[4FordFamily]

Is he trying to gain attention of the female wrasse?

That’s a good hypothesis.

@eatbreakfast @evolved what say you wrasse supernerds?

 

[evolved]

Is he trying to gain attention of the female wrasse?

That'd be my guess as well.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Are the females near when he does it? I've seen some skittish fish behave like this, especially specimens that are already at maturity when captured.

 

[Neo Jeo]

Did you ask him nicely to stop?

 

[Clydester]

I have a male leopard wrasse, 3 inches long. 2 females in the tank as well, but they are model citizens. The male leopard wrasse has started swimming at the top of the tank and intentionally splashing his tail at the top and sending water running down both sides of the tank. He jumps up there like he is startled, and skims along the top splashing water left and right. Well, not "constantly", but regularly, several times a day. Every day I wipe the tank down and by end of the day both sides are streaked with salt lines. And salt all over floor, couch, etc. Have had him in the tank for 5 months, and this just started 2 weeks ago. No recent additions. No predators in tank. No recent changes I can think of. He is otherwise eating and functioning normally.

I am going to remove his little mischievous butt if I cannot fix this (it is killing my enjoyment of the tank), but wanted to see if anyone could think of any other intervention or solution? We don't have a particularly startling environment in our living room. Could it be a mating thing? Temporary (wait it out)?

Thanks!

This is normal behaviour, it does this to attract females. Mine does this as well, every day from noon until 5. I actually find it charming .

 

[Saltyanimals]

My male blue spot just started do this exact same thing! Drives me nuts having to wipe down the sides all the time. The floors I can deal with because I don't have floors to destroy, but my tank sits in my home office behind me so I'm constantly splashed by this new behavior.

The courting is a interesting theory as I just added 4 younger female flasher and fairy wrasses. However these are cirrhilabrus and paracheilinus and completely different than the offending leopard macropharyngodon species. This behavior I can see if I added another female leopard, but I just can't figure out what the issue is. I thought maybe O2 related, but the tank is mature with skimmer and all the usual fixings for a healthy tank.. just mentally unhealthy wrasse.

Did you ever figure out the mystery? I'm debating to get rid of him, but may hold off if it's a temporary insanity thing and he'll snap out of it. lol

 

[artieg1]

Yes, I had to get rid of him. Then another female changed to male and started doing the same, but not as bad!!

 

[Cell]

That's really interesting if this is learned behavior in aquariums and not observed in nature.

 

[Saltyanimals]

Hard to say if this happens in nature as they may not be playing at the top of the ocean surface, but presumably it should be courtship. Interesting that you got rid of your male to replace only to have it happen again after transition. Add mine and that’s 3 examples. Anything that happens 3 times across the internet should be interpreted to mean this applies to all. Lol. Kidding.

 

[homer1475]

I have a black leopard(negrosensis) that does this exact thing. Started several months after addition.

Swims the top front glass a few times a day, splashing water out when he turns to swim the other direction.

Never understood why, and have never had another wrasse do this(I've owned many over the years). I assumed he was searching for food at the surface(starts doing it in the morning after the auto feeder goes off dispensing pellets that often times float before sinking), but he/she? continues throughout the day, and often times into the night.

I do have 2 other leopards, but neither is a black leopard, and I would assume all are female? I do know my melagris, and moyers are certainly females, and now after reading a few descriptions of the male black, I may have a male black, and this very well may be courtship behavior.

 

[LiamPM]

I had a Dusky wrase do the same. I found it only happened when it started its transition and carried on throughout. No idea why it done it and never got any solid research for why. It use to be daily, multiple times a day and in the exact same spot of the tank - I ended up putting a small pvc sheet over that area to stop the water exiting the tank.

Interesting to see others have had the exact same issue with other wrasse species though - Must be something "genetic" to wrasses by the looks of it.

 

[Brucealmighty]

Glass lids might do the trick?

Covering the top by sealing it though, of any aquarium will rapidly deplete the oxygen in the water within hours if you plan on this route you cannot cover alot I had 2 plasterers tubs empty on top of my old tank (tropical fish) and within 2 or 3 hours the fish were all gasping for breath and that was covering around 60-70% of the lids I had with the tubs, they were only there while clearing the dungeon out but had no idea it would be so fast to affect 240 litres of water, but part way cleaning dungeon out there's all my cichlids gasping at the top of the tank so beware about covering tops of aquariums,

As for the bad fish in question if you have a sump could you leave him in there sumps are a more easily covered and serves as a good prison too