Africans rubbing but no spots or other noticeable sign

[chefrific]

My africans (malawi peacocks and haps) are rubbing sporadically all over the tank. Sometimes on the bottom (sand) and sometimes on the wood or terracotta pots I have in the tank. They show no signs of ich (spots) or any other noticeable sign of a problem. all my levels are good and my temp is 80 degrees. This is driving me nuts. Any suggestions as to what may be going on or what I should do???
Note: all of the fish in the tank are rubbing, and all of the fish have only been in this tank for around 2 weeks. They are all adult and sub adult males. The tank is a well established tank that has been up and going for over 2 years that I used as a growout tank for my arrowana, but I never had any health issues in tank.
Thanks for any suggestions/comments.
-Chef

 

[boldtogether]

It could be anything from external parasites to excessive slime-coat to stray voltage. I have had all these at one time or another with my Africans and it very much is a concern, esp. if ALL the fish are doing it. Adding salt will sometimes help, but if it is excessive slime coat, than salt could make it worse. You could have stray voltage....at one time my Africans seemed pale, jumpy and scratchy with no reason, with perfect water parameters. I discovered on a whim I had like 45vac in the tank. I simply put a grounding probe in the tank and the scratching immediately stopped, they all colored up and stopped jumping around(flitting, flashing,whatever). I have since learned that stray voltage isnt as noticeable with bigger fish as they arent as "bothered" by it, however, stray voltage has been linked to HITH and LLE and could have a long term affect. This was true for my big Oscar as it wasn't acting like the rest of the fish.

Just a side note, I first exhaustively explored all other possible reasons before stumbling upon a stray voltage conclusion. Ich could be present and not be seen. There are other parasites that will irritate the fish and cause them to scratch, try Google.

I would medicate the tank with a parisite type med, just to be safe, try exploring salt/slime coat and check for voltage in the water. If the fish start breathing heavy, i t could be fluke worm/ gill flukes and that will make them scratch.
I hope you find a solution. I know the frustration first hand and how irritating an unseen irritant to the fish is also to the keeper!
My 2¢

 

[chefrific]

thanks for the feedback. Ok, how do I check for stray voltage and if it is that, what and where do I get a grounding probe? Thanks!

 

[Pharaoh]

What are parameters of your tank?

I would continue to watch the tank and possibly step up the water changes, although I have had lots of Mbuna that did this and there wasn't a problem.

 

[BODYDUB]

Could be high ammonia........

 

[sick08]

Hey chefrific,

Hows the fish doing now? Any progress?

Got the exact same issues as you and just dosed the tank for ick whitespot and uped temp just incase ... even though theres no visible signs on my malawis but the rubbing on the sand has moved from one hap moori to other mbunas.