Fish swimming into sandbed?

[TheStrangler]

Ahoy, I was just wondering if fish swimming towards the sandbed and then slapping the substrate with their tails is any indication of a problem? I noticed my yellow coris wrasse doing it a while ago, and thought it was just a neat hunting behavior as it looked like it was looking for critters that it may have stirred into the water column. I just watched one of my firefish do it a couple of times which made me wonder if it could be a sign of anything else. I haven't seen any other strange behavior or marks on any of the fish in the tank.

To clarify, they aren't diving headfirst into the sand, they swim towards it, and then turn away as if they were playing a game of chicken, slapping the sand with their sides.

 

[Wolf89]

Itching. They have ich. Feed well and you'll be fine

 

[TheStrangler]

I was wondering about itching, but doesn't ich normally leave spots on the fish?

 

[Wolf89]

I was wondering about itching, but doesn't ich normally leave spots on the fish?

Only during part of the life cycle

 

[TheStrangler]

Right on, I'll keep an eye on it. All of my fish are well fed, and seem healthy at the moment.

 

[Wolf89]

Right on, I'll keep an eye on it. All of my fish are well fed, and seem healthy at the moment.

Lots of people will try to scare you and stay QT everything, go fallow, blah, blah, blah, but in reality, ich wont kill healthy, well fed fish.

 

[Wolf89]

Right on, I'll keep an eye on it. All of my fish are well fed, and seem healthy at the moment.

Lots of people will try to scare you and stay QT everything, go fallow, blah, blah, blah, but in reality, ich wont kill healthy, well fed fish.

 

[TheStrangler]

I appreciate the info. I'll just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't become a problem then. My tank isn't very heavily stocked, so I've been fighting to keep the nitrates up, feeding reef frenzy frozen food 2-3 times per day, nothing goes hungry. If white spots don't develop in the somewhat near future, does that mean that it isn't ick, or just that they were able to fight off the infestation? I watched my fish for another hour or so and didn't see them do any more scratching, so I'll hope its a mild case that they'll deal with on their own.

 

[pcon]

There are more conditions than just ich which can cause scratching like this. Flukes is the one that most commonly causes this in my experience. Velvet can also cause itching like this, as well as a large number of other diseases. Rapid PH swings can also cause fish to flash or itch like this. In general it is a sign of disease or discomfort and not a good sign. It is often a very early sign and if action is taken can be treated before more serious issues arise. I would attempt to narrow down what the potential cause might be. If you used prophylactic QT methods and/or haven't introduced anything new in awhile this can eliminate certain possibilities. Testing or PH monitoring can eliminate PH swings as a possibility. Freshwater dip can show if it is flukes. Flukes can be treated relatively easily in tank.

Ich can absolutely take out otherwise healthy and well fed fish if parasite loads are high enough. While it isn't a fun and attractive part of the hobby quarantine and conditioning are quite valuable, and should not be dismissed. Just takes one fish to slip by with something nasty like velvet to wipe out a healthy and thriving tank. An isolated QT tank provides an ideal location to condition fish to captivity and train more difficult fish to take prepared foods.

 

[av8soulfly]

Fluke worms can't be seen either. My butterflies had them and I didn't know it until it was too late. If you can catch one of your "scratchers" I would fresh water dip it for 4 minutes and check if any worms drop off. They are easy to see in a container on a black surface.

 

[TheStrangler]

Will do. I haven't added new fish in a while, but I did add snails a few days ago. I'll watch again today for any more telling info and start testing what I can.