My ornate palmas and large endli keep thrusting themselves against the gravel. like they are trying to itch themselves or something. Have kept polys for abotu a year but have never noticed or seen this. Is it normal?
Bichir odd behavior
- Thread starter Gobrian44
- Start date
There is a possibility of ectoparasites, or an overproduction of slime due to a skin irritation. I wouldn't worry too much unless the fish are constantly doing the behavior and it spreads to the others.
Have you recently changed substrate?
Or have you introduced new fish?
Good luck and a happy new year.
Steve
Or have you introduced new fish?
Good luck and a happy new year.
Steve
I to wonder about the introduction of new fishspwd;4752241; said:
look for hairs hanging from your fish
i had some laps with a pericite that looked like hairs simular to gill fluks but were all over not just the gills
Gobrian44;4709253; said:My ornate palmas and large endli keep thrusting themselves against the gravel. like they are trying to itch themselves or something. Have kept polys for abotu a year but have never noticed or seen this. Is it normal?
thrusting the head into the gravel is a normal bichir behavior..if you look at the stickie on bichirs you will come across that behaviour and why they do it..but the rubbing on the substrate could be signs on ick...someone with more experience will help you better with that
here is the extract from the stickie:
Head Burying:
This behavior is curious in that it hasn't been observed in all species as most other behaviors have, mainly Polypterus endlicheri, delhezi, and weeksii. It is a behavior which is used for hunting prey, as well as in situations when the fish feel threatened. They will point their head towards the substrate, and shake their body quickly, burying most of their head with just the eyes showing.
In nature:
Anne has personally observed this behavior being used as a hunting technique in polypterus delhezi and weeksii. Their striped patterns on their backs were great camouflage for hiding in the shadow of a grassy type plant.
It makes perfect sense to infer that this is beneficial to them in nature as an ambush hunting technique, when perching may fail.
In the aquarium:
Because of the brute strength they use to bury their heads, it is important to make sure you have appropriate substrate for your bichirs, with sand being the best, or small smooth pebbles.
This behavior may be used to escape a perceived threat instead of the burst of speed/freak-out behavior, and may be more common in bichirs being kept alone.
Head Burying:
This behavior is curious in that it hasn't been observed in all species as most other behaviors have, mainly Polypterus endlicheri, delhezi, and weeksii. It is a behavior which is used for hunting prey, as well as in situations when the fish feel threatened. They will point their head towards the substrate, and shake their body quickly, burying most of their head with just the eyes showing.
In nature:
Anne has personally observed this behavior being used as a hunting technique in polypterus delhezi and weeksii. Their striped patterns on their backs were great camouflage for hiding in the shadow of a grassy type plant.
It makes perfect sense to infer that this is beneficial to them in nature as an ambush hunting technique, when perching may fail.
In the aquarium:
Because of the brute strength they use to bury their heads, it is important to make sure you have appropriate substrate for your bichirs, with sand being the best, or small smooth pebbles.
This behavior may be used to escape a perceived threat instead of the burst of speed/freak-out behavior, and may be more common in bichirs being kept alone.