Royal Grama "flashing"

[Scottrshoe]

My royal grama looks fine, is active in the tank and is eating aggressively, however it sometimes "flashes" against the sand bed. Is this normal, or is it the early signs of a problem? I lost lost a couple of fish to what I thin kwas flukes last year, so I am a little nervous about it.

 

[vetteguy53081]

My royal grama looks fine, is active in the tank and is eating aggressively, however it sometimes "flashes" against the sand bed. Is this normal, or is it the early signs of a problem? I lost lost a couple of fish to what I thin kwas flukes last year, so I am a little nervous about it.

This is not abnormal behavior for a gramma and other basslets as long as it is seen as periodic and not continuous. If constant may suggest possibility of flukes but other behaviors associated with flukes will be decreased appetite, yawning effect, clamped fins, hiding and rapid breathing as examples.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My royal grama looks fine, is active in the tank and is eating aggressively, however it sometimes "flashes" against the sand bed. Is this normal, or is it the early signs of a problem? I lost lost a couple of fish to what I thin kwas flukes last year, so I am a little nervous about it.

Royal Gramma are prone to gill flukes. If you see constant scratching (and that is subjective) you can try a Prazipro treatment to see if that alleviates the symptoms.

I don't worry if a fish scratches a few times an hour, but if it becomes more frequent, I usually opt to treat.


Jay

 

[Gretchacha]

I was wondering the same about my royal gramma and fangtooth blenny (in separate tanks). I added crabs and snails two weeks ago from Reef Cleaners and I just noticed this behavior occasionally since then.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I was wondering the same about my royal gramma and fangtooth blenny (in separate tanks). I added crabs and snails two weeks ago from Reef Cleaners and I just noticed this behavior occasionally since then.

I thought reef cleaners don’t house fish in with their cleaner animals, but I don’t know for certain. If they don’t, it makes it much less likely that their animals would introduce a fish disease.

Still - watch the scratching, if it gets worse or if you see rapid breathing, you may need to treat for flukes.


Jay

 

[Gretchacha]

I thought reef cleaners don’t house fish in with their cleaner animals, but I don’t know for certain. If they don’t, it makes it much less likely that their animals would introduce a fish disease.

Still - watch the scratching, if it gets worse or if you see rapid breathing, you may need to treat for flukes.


Jay

Yeah, I didn’t qt them for that reasy, however, I think they come direct from the ocean weekly, so they have wild stuff on them. I realized that after the QT that I put some snails and a hermit in got over run with hydros.